Survey I Part II Results

Sent to finance directors or clerk-treasurers at 281 cities in May 2008. 236 cities responded, representing 84% of cities and 89% of city residents.

Contact Information
City/Town
Name

Title
Phone
Email

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What's Below:
Your City's Fiscal Condition
Development Information

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Your City’s Fiscal Condition

If your city is currently below your tax rate ceiling (considering all tax options available to you), what keeps your city from using its full tax capacity?
(Check all that apply.) (214 responses)

Current revenues meet our service needs (count 43; 20%)
City Council won’t approve (count 79; 37%)
Citizens won’t approve (count 78; 36%)
Resident’s ability to pay (count 86; 40%)
Available tax options would be ineffective for our city (count 12; 6%)
N/A – our city is already at our full capacity for all available taxes (count 46; 21%)

As a proportion of your operating budget, are you now paying for projects with more or less debt service than you were four years ago? (221 responses)

More (count 86; 39%)
About the Same (count 98; 44%)
Less (count 37; 17%)

If your city has not reached its maximum general obligation debt capacity, what factors prevent you from doing so?
(Check all that apply.) (219 responses)

Our city lacks revenues to support additional debt service (count 114; 52%)
Our city doesn’t use our full debt capacity to meet our service needs (count 84; 38%)
Citizens won’t approve (count 43; 20%)
City Council won’t approve (count 42; 19%)
Other (count 22; 10%)
N/A – our city is already at our full capacity (count 5; 2%)

In the past four years, have reserves increased, decreased, or not changed? (222 responses)

Increased (count 97; 44%)
No Change (count 48; 22%)
Decrease (count 78; 35%)

Please indicate which actions your city has taken over the past four years (since 2004) to balance the budget. (214 responses)

	Significant increase	Slight increase	Maintain	Slight decrease	Significant decrease	Not authorized in your city
Reliance on ending balances/reserves	count 39; 18%	count 57; 26%	count 92; 42%	count 9; 4%	count 13; 6%	count 3; 1%
Infrastructure spending	count 43; 20%	count: 45; 21%	count 66; 30%	count 33; 15%	count 20; 9%	count 5; 2%
Public safety spending	count 36; 16%	count 78; 36%	count 81; 37%	count 8; 4%	count 9; 4%	count 2; 1%
Other spending	count 6; 3%	count 55; 25%	count 93; 43%	count 33; 15%	count 19; 9%	count 2; 1%
Scope of services	count 8; 4%	count 35; 16%	count 137; 63%	count 24; 11%	count 4; 2%	count 3; 1%
Size of workforce	count 9; 4%	count 73; 33%	count 92; 42%	count 28; 13%	count 9; 4%	count 2; 1%
Number/scope of public/private partnerships	count 5; 2%	count 35; 16%	count 131; 60%	count 6; 3%	count 2; 1%	count 30; 14%
Number/scope of interlocal agreements	count 7; 3%	count 66; 30%	count 134; 61%	count 3; 1%	count 0: 0%	count 4; 2%
Number/scope of local contracts for service delivery	count 1; 0.5%	count 30; 14%	count 150; 69%	count 6; 3%	count 1; 0.5%	count 19; 9%

Within the past four years (since 2004), has your city increased taxes or fees in order to sustain services? (225 responses)

Property
Yes (count 130; 58%)
No (count 87; 39%)

 

Sales
Yes (count 26; 12%)
No (count 188; 84%)

 

Utility
Yes (count 105; 47%)
No (count 115; 51%)

 

REET
Yes (count 17; 8%)
No (count 185; 82%)

 

Hotel/Motel
Yes (count 8; 4%)
No (count 185; 82%)

 

User fees (business licenses, ambulance, recreation, etc.)
Yes (count 99; 44%)
No (count 112; 50%)

 

Other
Yes (count 28; 12%)
No (count 31; 14%)

If your city has increased taxes, please identify which services you were trying to preserve? (Check all that apply.) (206 responses)

No increase (count 47; 23%)
Public safety (count 93; 45%)
Streets/transportation (count 89; 43%)
Parks/recreation (count 62; 30%)
Other infrastructure (count 31; 15%)
General government (count 105; 51%)
Other (please explain) (count 13; 6%)

Is there anything else we should know about your city’s fiscal condition?

Development Information

To what extent has your city’s effort to generate economic development increased city revenues? (217 responses)

No Increase (count 57; 26%)
Minimal Increase (count 72; 33%)
Moderate Increase (count 35; 16%)
Significant Increase (count 19; 9%)
Don’t Know (count 19; 9%)
N/A – our city is making no economic development efforts (count 15; 7%)

Has your capital budget increased, decreased, or remained about the same over the past six years (since 2002)? (216 responses)

Increased (count 119; 55%)
Decreased (count 28; 13%)
Remained about the same (count 69; 32%)

If your capital budget has increased, what do you attribute the increase to?

Have you delayed/reduced spending on capital development projects in the past six years in order to balance the budget? (218 responses)

Yes (count 114; 52%)
No (count 88; 40%)
Don’t know (count 16; 7%)

Do you expect you will need to delay/reduce spending on capital development projects in the next six years in order to balance the budget? (218 responses)

Yes (count 131; 60%)
No (count 27; 12%)
Don’t know (count 60; 28%)

What are the projects that have been impacted the most?

Thank you for taking the survey.