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NLC Survey Finds Mounting Concern Among City Officials as Economic Insecurity Grows
10/06/08
Forty years after the federal government declared “war” on poverty, and in light of persistent economic pressures on America’s households, a new report by the National League of Cities (NLC) reveals that ninety percent of municipal leaders surveyed said that poverty has either increased or stayed the same in their cities over the past decade.
Poverty and Economic Insecurity: Views from City Hall found that eighty-one percent of municipal officials believe local government has a responsibility to take action to reduce poverty. As a result, many cities have developed new strategies to address poverty.
“City leaders are taking action, in collaboration with other local leaders, to address poverty and equity issues,” said Phyllis Furdell, senior author of the report and NLC Project Manager. “City leaders are being strategic about how they approach the issues and how to leverage the resources to produce better outcomes.”
NLC’s Stimulating Municipal Action to Reduce Poverty Initiative has studied dozens of innovative practices being implemented by cities across the country. Among those efforts are:
• In Savannah, Georgia, seventy county-wide leaders from a wide-variety of sectors came together in 2003 to create Savannah’s Poverty Reduction Initiative, which offers a systemic approach to reduce poverty through infrastructure improvements, neighborhood community-building, workforce development, as well as addressing barriers to self-sufficiency.
• Portland, Oregon’s Economic Opportunity Initiative includes 21 workforce development projects providing intensive education, training and job placement services for low-income and nearly low-income residents.
• San Jose, California’s Strong Neighborhoods Initiative is focused on improving services, creating economic opportunities and improving the quality of life in nineteen neighborhoods throughout the city.
The two strategies within their capacity to implement that are most effective for reducing poverty according to those surveyed are economic development to bring more businesses and jobs into the community (identified by eighty-nine percent of officials), and strengthening neighborhoods by making them safer and enhancing services (identified by eighty-six percent). However, seventy-two percent believe that federal policies have more of an overall impact on reducing poverty.
City officials cited the biggest barriers to combating poverty as being insufficient city government resources (eighty-one percent) and outside economic factors (eighty-three percent).
“This study indicates that while cities are ready to step up and confront the challenges of poverty, there is only so much cities can do without supportive federal policies to help them succeed,” said Donald J. Borut, executive director of NLC. “After years of a hands off federal approach, the next Administration must re-examine the federal government’s role vis-à-vis our cities and develop policies and programs to address those needs. This becomes even more important as we confront the long term consequences of the current financial crisis.”
The report noted that one step the federal government could take to help cities is to update its method to measure poverty, which was developed in early 1960s and has changed little since despite new technologies, uneven inflation among household needs, and the shifting priorities of American households. The measure shapes the content and extent of many federal and other programs.
Seventy-one percent of local elected officials reported that a family of three would need more than the current federal poverty threshold of $17,600 to make ends meet, with forty-one percent reporting a family of three would need between $20,000 and $30,000 and 30 percent reporting $30,000 or higher.
Poverty and Economic Insecurity: Views from City Hall is based on a survey conducted in the spring of 2008 under a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The National League of Cities commissioned Lake Research Partners to conduct a survey among elected officials throughout the U.S. The survey was conducted from February 1, 2008 to March 15, 2008. Surveys were sent to 3,360 elected municipal officials in 1,120 cities. Surveys were sent to the mayor and two randomly selected council members in each city with a population of 30,000 or more in all fifty states. In total, 577 elected officials, representing 424 cities, responded to the survey using either the online or paper format, resulting in a 17 percent response rate and a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.
The National League of Cities is the nation’s oldest and largest organization devoted to strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity, leadership and governance. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans. The National League of Cities is working closely with city leaders to address poverty through multiple initiatives that give city officials opportunities access to best practices and innovative approaches.
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