Two out of three finance officers from across 550 major US cities are predicting a RECESSION as soon as 2020 – with shrinking municipal revenue a key indicator of economic gloom
- According to a new report from the National League of Cities, cities are feeling the impact of changing economic conditions
- It noted highs and lows in property, sales and income tax collections with all three revenue sources trending downward in recent years
- It also shows a gap between revenue growth and spending growth, more so in larger cities than smaller cities
- The report found the Midwest is experiencing the worst of declining markets
- The report analyzed the responses from financial officers in 554 cities of varying sizes, but all with populations greater than 10,000
Finance officers in major U.S. cities are predicting a recession as early as 2020.
According to a new report from the National League of Cities, cities are feeling the impact of changing economic conditions – which is an early indicator of a larger national threat.
According to the report obtained by Axios, cities’ revenue growth stalled in the 2018 fiscal year, but this year’s continued drop.
It noted highs and lows in property, sales and income tax collections with all three revenue sources trending downward in recent years, suggesting an impending recession.
According to a new report from the National League of Cities, cities are feeling the impact of changing economic conditions. It noted highs and lows in property, sales and income tax collections with all three revenue sources trending downward in recent years
The report analyzed the responses from financial officers in 554 cities with populations greater than 10,000.
The report shows that big cities in the U.S. are experiencing a wider gap between revenue growth and spending growth than smaller cities.
Axios reports: ‘Expenditures grew by 1.8% in 2018. City officials predict they’ll grow again to 2.3% in 2019, thanks to climbing costs associated with infrastructure, public safety spending and pension costs.’
It also found that business investment in 2019 is declining – something that tends to impact bigger cities first.
Axios reports that housing market growth is also starting to slump in some of the priciest markets including San Francisco and Seattle.
The report found the Midwest is experiencing the worst of declining markets.
Overall fund revenues in midwestern cities dipped by 4.4percent in the 2018 fiscal year.
This was mostly driven by steep revenue declines in the region’s largest cities – including Chicago which recorded an 11.7percent revenue decline.
And it’s those finance officers in the midwestern cities who are being vocal about their concerns that their budgets can’t support the communities’ needs.
Meanwhile, the South, West and Northeast regions all showed some growth in general fund revenues, however the growth is slower than previous years.