61% of U.S. Cities Facing Budget Crises

As the nation climbs out of the first recession in eight years, many of its cities are being left in the dust.

In a survey released Monday, the National League of Cities found that six out of 10 cities will face a budget deficit this year.

And a quarter of all U.S. cities will face the kind of shortfall that led Bridgeport, Conn., to its unprecedented bankruptcy filing last month, the group said.

“All the ingredients that combined to create a crisis in Bridgeport may not be as pervasive elsewhere, but the fuse of deteriorating fiscal conditions is getting shorter and burning hotter in cities and towns everywhere,” said Sidney Barthelemy, mayor of New Orleans and president of the league.

At a press conference to release the report, Barthelemy called on the Bush Administration to spend less time on foreign policy and to focus more on problems at home.

“Bridgeport is a fire bell,” he said.

The group said 61% of the nation’s municipalities will have to tackle a general fund deficit in 1991, up from 46% in 1990. The survey was based on budget data from 525 cities, ranging from tiny Brown Deer, Wis., to New York.

Although cities have generally been able to continue garbage collection, maintain parks and keep libraries open, the league warned that tight finances could endanger even these basic services.

While big-city budget problems are grabbing headlines, the plight is just as serious in small towns that dot the nation.

“The small cities and towns of America are facing some big problems,” said Paul Thornton, chairman of the league’s Small Cities Council.