Recent Research Reports
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City Budget Shortfalls and Responses: Projections for 2010-2012
While the nation’s economy may be approaching the late stages of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, local government budget tightening and spending cuts over the next several years could well impose a significant drag on the nation’s economic recovery. Cities face layoffs, canceled contracts with small businesses and vendors, reduced services and sizable budget shortfalls for 2009 that are expected to grow much more severe and widespread from 2010 to 2012.

Municipal Officials' Views on Public Engagement
According to NLC's new survey report about Municipal Officials' Views on Public Engagement, municipal officials report widespread local efforts to engage the public. There is broad agreement on the importance of “useful, balanced information” as a basis for public engagement processes. Additionally, because of the current economic difficulties, one in three municipal officials (35%) report that their city has been doing more than usual in the past year to engage the public in budgeting and finance processes. 

City Fiscal Conditions in 2009
Cities are in the early stages of registering the effects of the nation's economic downturn, according to the National League of Cities' annual report on fiscal conditions. The report, "City Fiscal Conditions in 2009," finds that the ability of cities to meet their financial needs will worsen through 2010 and beyond.

State of America's Cities 2009: Local Retail Slowdown
City officials around the country are reporting declining retail sales and increases in retail store closings in their communities. The survey also finds that locally owned retailers on main street are particularly vulnerable. City officials from cities reliant on sales tax revenues are more likely than city officials from cities with other types of revenue structures to report that retail conditions are worse now than they were last year, before the major impacts of the recession took hold.

State of America's Cities 2008: Annual Opinion Survey of Municipal Officials
As economic conditions continue to worsen, so do sentiments of city officials about the direction of the country.  More local officials are pessimistic now than during the first year of the previous recessions of the early 1990s and 2000s. Additionally, healthcare, transportation, and education top the list of issues that city officials feel are the most important for the next presidential administration and Congress to address. 

Poverty and Economic Insecurity: Views from City Hall
Forty years after the federal government declared "war" on poverty, and in light of persistent economic pressures on America's households, a new NLC report, Poverty and Economic Insecurity: Views from City Hall 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.   Full report   Executive summary
Cities and State Fiscal Structure
This report examines state-local fiscal structures and the way in which state fiscal regimes do or do not create a fiscal environment that makes it difficult for municipalities to effectively fund their own activities – including those that contribute to economic development at the local and regional levels.

Housing Finance and Foreclosures Crisis: Local Impacts and Responses
Cities and towns across the country are facing mounting fiscal challenges as a result of the home mortgage crisis. In fact, one-third of city officials (33%) say that their city revenues and/or revenue estimates have decreased some (27%) or a lot (6%) over the past year. This research brief, based on a survey of over 200 local elected officials, presents how the housing crisis is impacting cities, as well as the specific actions cities are taking in response.