Transportation congestion, rising health care costs, uncertain economic development programs, inadequate housing and growing unemployment are at the top of the list of issues facing.... Transportation congestion, rising health care costs, uncertain economic development programs, inadequate housing and growing unemployment are at the top of the list of issues facing America's city officials, according to a new survey released today by the National League of Cities. The State of America's Cities Survey found that half of city officials are more pessimistic about the direction the country is heading. Not since 1995 have 50 percent of officials held this view.

NLC President Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams released the report at the opening press conference for the NLC Congressional City Conference, where he discussed the importance of partnering with the federal government to reverse these growing trends and cited the importance of positive Congressional action in support of programs that help cities.

"Six years ago, the Nation's Capital was struggling under a mountain of debt. Our downtown was rife with boarded-up stores and parking lots." Williams said, "Today, we're a changed city. Gone are the deficits. We've had eight balanced budgets. We have $34 billion in economic development pouring into our city. Our progress came from hard work, but also from supportive programs like the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Section 8, and the Community Oriented Policing Program (COPS)."

All of these programs, NLC officials noted, are under fire in the President's proposed budget.

"When you look at the proposed FY 2006 budget, we see that it may adversely affect cities and towns of all sizes, precisely in those areas where we need federal assistance the most," said James Hunt, NLC First Vice President and Council Member from Clarksburg, West Virginia.

The report also cited health care as a major source of concern for many local elected officials. A majority of city officials (55 pct.) cite the cost and availability of health services as a condition in their city that has worsened over the past year. During the past few years, the cost and availability of health services has consistently ranked as a top deteriorating condition (21 pct.), one that poses a "major problem" for city officials (35 pct.), and that needs to be addressed in coming years (15 pct.).

City officials also saw growing unemployment as a major source of concern. Six in 10 city officials note that unemployment is either a major or moderate problem (18 pct., 42 pct.) in their city. It is ranked as one of the top ten conditions that city officials say have worsened in their communities during the past five years (15 pct.) and needs to be addressed during the next two years (14 pct.). When city officials were asked in 2000 how unemployment had changed in the past year, only six percent responded that it had worsened. In 2005, nearly one in three city officials said that unemployment had worsened in the past year.

Another significant finding is that four in ten city officials saw an increase in the need for survival services for people in their city, including food, shelter, heating, clothing and healthcare.

Other major concerns cited by local elected officials in the survey were the impact of unfunded mandates and preemption of local authority, the availability of quality affordable housing, and racial and economic inequalities.

Fifty percent of city officials are pessimistic about the general direction the country is heading (up slightly from forty five percent in 2004). Despite the national concerns, city officials are generally optimistic about the state of their individual cities. The survey revealed that 90 percent of respondents feel that services are being adequately provided, that community and quality of life factors are improving, and that there is the potential for better relations with other levels of government through positive impacts of federal and state government, and through collaboration with other local governments in their region.

"These and the many other critical issues facing local governments require a deliberate and effective partnership and a collaborative spirit between Washington DC and Main Street USA," said NLC Second Vice President Bart Peterson, mayor of Indianapolis, Ind. "We are here in Washington to extend our hands to Congress and the Administration and to begin the work that needs to be done."