The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) launched, on May 11, the Mayors COVID-19 Fiscal Pain Tracker, a resource that provides accounts from 150 individual cities of the significant revenue losses cities are experiencing due to the COVID-19 crisis. The Tracker, which will be continually updated, also shows the specific actions cities have been forced to take to balance their budgets as required under law, including laying off and furloughing employees and ending community programs and services.
The Mayors COVID-19 Fiscal Pain Tracker demonstrates that across the country, cities are facing severe revenue losses that have forced them to curtail services and layoff or furlough critical employees. The USCM has called on Congress to provide emergency aid to states and cities of all sizes to mitigate the budget shortfalls resulting from COVID-19’s impact on local economies.
“This new resource clearly illustrates what mayors across the country have known since this crisis began – every city, regardless of size, needs help from Congress and the Administration in order to protect their neighborhoods and rescue their economies,” said Bryan K. Barnett, Mayor of Rochester Hills (MI) and President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Cities are on the frontlines of this fight, and we need direct assistance from the federal government to ensure that we can continue to provide basic services to our residents and emerge from this crisis positioned to thrive.”
“The road to recovery runs through America’s cities, but without federal assistance, cities will likely become a drag on the very economic recovery that they would otherwise be leading,” said Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Unless Congress and the Administration come together to provide emergency financial relief for America’s cities, more essential workers and first responders will lose their jobs and more critical services will be curtailed.”
The Mayors COVID-19 Fiscal Pain Tracker provides a snapshot of the current situation in cities, with 150 included now, and will be continually updated as new information is provided. Sources of the cities’ information include direct reports from mayors and other city officials, budget documents, press releases, and news reports. The Tracker can be accessed here, and data from the tracker can also be downloaded as a CSV file.
