Action by the House of Representatives and the Senate to fund the federal government through March 2013 means the federal programs that fund many key local government services will, at a minimum, receive the same amount as in FY 2012. In some instances, there is even positive news -- an increase -- to report.
NLC’s Energy, Environment and Natural Resources (EENR) Steering Committee held its fall meeting on September 13-15 in North Little Rock, AR, where members focused on energy and sustainability issues including natural gas production and the hydraulic fracturing process.
A major new report developed by NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education and Families offers city leaders a detailed guide for building management information systems in order to coordinate local afterschool programs more effectively.
In the spring of 2012 NLC welcomed the Sustainable Cities Institute (SCI) to the Center for Research and Innovation. This dynamic, online platform continues to be a ‘go-to’ resource for local government leaders seeking information, support, and guidance across a range of sustainability areas.
In a joint comment letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), NLC, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties, objected to the unsupported premise of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning Enterprise Underwriting Standards for Property Assessed Clean Energy Programs and called on FHFA to reject the proposed rule, which would block local government PACE programs, and instead adopt a modified version of FHFA's proposed "alternative 3."
When it comes to public procurement, joining a cooperative purchasing program is an established best practice for cities and towns. But not all purchasing cooperatives are equal and U.S. Communities, created by public agencies for public agencies, offers more.
The annual City Fiscal Conditions report by the National League of Cities reveals that cities continue to face the prolonged effects of the economic downturn in 2012.
Women in Municipal Government (WIMG), an NLC constituency group, is now accepting nominations for its prestigious WIMG Leadership Award, which recognizes individual female achievement in local government and strives to promote and encourage more women to run for elected municipal office.
NBC-LEO Foundation graduating Fellows Trey Chinn, councilmember, Laurel, MS., Erica Gilmore, councilmember, Nashville, TN and keynote luncheon speaker Sheila Oliver, speaker, New Jersey General Assembly were among participants at the NBC-LEO Summer Conference in New Orleans.
Neal Peirce discusses the predicted expansion of the world's "consuming class" -- one billion new middle-class city residents whose demand will fuel astronomic expansion in commerce, ports, building and vehicle sales, between now and 2024 -- and whether all economic growth is always a good thing.
