Adhere that she is here to talk citi who isector of here to talk with us. You know him a yours. I followed your career, so keep up the great work. Thank you. First of all, for the National League of city is and what it does. The National League of cities is the oldest Municipal Association that represents cities in america. In 2024, we would be 100 years old. Our mission is to be the voice of citys cities. We advocate on behalf of the issues impacting cities. Technical assistant, best practices, next practices, and we get our municipal leaders prepared to provide solutions and deal with real issues every day they are facing in their community. Host now, the National League of cities recently conducted a tody a survey of cities figure out what is going on during can during coronavirus. Can you tell us what you found out . We really found out that it will be a devastating time for cities right now as well as after this pandemic has been into lysed in some way. What we found out is that 80 of the cities, especially those between 50,000 500,000, we are going to see a 17 reduction in their revenue, and about 98 of them said they would see a shortfall, because of the pandemic they are dealing with, because they had a budget, but it did not, in any way, anticipate of such a travertine tragedy we are experiencing in america right now. Also, 55 said they would have to furlough employees, and some of those employees are what we consider essential today, as we go through this covid19. That could include some of our fire services, emt, as well as public service. Also,eartening, is that 38 indicated they expect to either furlough or lay off employees. This is already happening. All over america. , cities likel you Cincinnati Ohio is already laying off employees. We have cities like new york who will have to cut essential aervices, and they are major member of ours. Over oneio, a city of million, has already indicated they will have to either borrow money or lay off employees. Our survey startled us in a way. Was goingis pandemic to have an impact or is having an impact on cities. Until you have until you start looking at the numbers and digging in to what is happening in america right now, in terms of stayathome enclosing restaurants and other businesses , no one had plans for this. No one was prepared, but our municipal leaders are on the forefront every day trying to figure out how they will get through this pandemic so that the citizens are safe and feel as if they have a future in this nation, specifically in this city that they live. Host i someone thing in your survey i wanted to point out. All the way at the bottom of your page, it says more than half of all cities, of all sizes, reported police will be affected. What type of effect will you see on Law Enforcement from the coronavirus pandemic . I think there is no question that that is an essential service, public service, very important to every city in america. When you start looking at making cuts, you start looking at everything. Sometimes, we focus on Public Safety, which is essential, and i think, as we look at our budgets in our nations and cities, i think that will be one of the last things they would look at. But, you know, Public Safety is highlighted. Other programs, Small Business funded programs, housing initiatives, homelessness, all of those are also going to have to go into the process as they basict providing services, initially, and then toer programs will also have be looked at. As a former mayor, in florida, when we went through so many hurricanes, those were the kinds of decisions that i had to make. They were not easy. They will never be easy. Know, cities and towns, and villages, are not like the federal government. We dont print money. We have to balance a budget every year, and in balancing that budget, we have to look at all of the essential services and needs of the community, no matter the size. And, make those tough decisions. Again, new york has decided they will have to close parks. They cant continue to do those types of services fulltime, and as well as manage their buzz it budget. Right now, they are looking at ways to save during this time, thatou can also expect professional development of programs around equity and excellence, all of those things, including for loading furloughing and laying off employees, and that is startling. That is why we are pushing so hard to get the federal that went to recognize are the implementers. Funders, buthe when it comes down to what is happening in america, it is happening in neighborhoods. It is happening in communities. It is happening in the streets of our nation. It is not just happening statewide. This is the essential point we hope your viewers in listeners will take away from this conversation we are having today , that this is about real lives, not just about numbers, policy, and politics. Host clearance, once again, for the viewers, explain how this pandemic is affecting is it because tax revenue is lower . Is it because people are leaving . How does this pandemic affect a city or towns budget . Cities around america are structured differently in villages and towns. In certain states, sales tax is a basic revenue. For major cities like washington, d. C. Or orginia area, or maryland, you can look at ohio and california. Isrism tax in nevada devastating that community. Because they live, eat, and sleep on that. All of that has closed. There is nothing going on in las vegas right now. New york, the tourism. Even small cities have certain ands that they live by develop their budget by. Water and sewer, all of those revenues are baked into the budgeting process. Then, you have to look at your expenses. We have to balance our budget. We cannot just go in and create debt without having money to fund that. The shortfall for many city decisions,about hard and when you have to make those kinds of decisions as the mayor, i can tell you, as a former one, there are a lot of sleepless nights, tossing and turning, and then there is the fact that you really have to look your citizens in the face every day if you cut elderly care for senior centers, or if you cut the youth program, or if you cut the housing. That is what we are fighting for here in washington, every day. It to get our federal government , congress as well as the administration, to understand that cities are the place, if this is being implemented and carried out every day, and we need a partner with the federal government. We are seeing this shortfall, and i already indicated 98 say all of those revenues i just mentioned are being cut. Are lost, because of this pandemic. We will open up special lines this morning to let our viewers weigh in on the conversation. Rule ruralhad residents. At this hour, i want to know what is going on with your city services. City residents, your number will 202 7488000. Municipal employees, whether you will be elected, city council, whether you work for cities transportation or city transportation department, whether you work for your city police department. You are the ones these budget cuts affect. Employees, your telephone number will be 202, 7 48, 8001. If you have an opinion about all of this and dont fit into those categories, i still want to hear from you. Your regular telephone number for everyone else will be 2027488002. Keep in mind, you can always text us at 2027488003, and we are always reading on social , and, on twitter, cspanwj on facebook, facebook. Com cspan. Clarence, we have several people texting us, asking you, as a former mayor, to give us your opinion on the places that are trying to reopen. For example, heres one tweet that wants to know if it is safe to open large places for large gatherings, and another one that asks about Governor Desantis, what do you think about his decision to allow florida beaches to reopen . Once again, one more tweet here says smart cities will reopen and let their citizens get back to work and play. What do you think as head of the what do you as head of the National League of cities, should places start reopen . Guest i think that that is an important question, and everybody is wanting to get back. I think that every governor, every mayor has to assess what is best for their community. But, taking into consideration the health and safety and longevity of that community, what we do not want to do is rush, because we are all sequestered in our homes, in quarantine in our homes, staying home. We need first of all, to listen to the scientists and health professionals. The cdc has provided guidance, and i recognize that the president has a threestep plan, but the first thing we need to do is be able to understand that, if we do not manage this in the appropriate way, what we will have is a resurgence, so, when we see the numbers start to balance off and not continue to have residents in hospitals and or the tests are not increasing, it may not be the time to move quickly. I think, specifically, what Governor Desantis he is assessing what is happening in florida, and he has made a decision that that region of florida, which is the do ball, jacksonville area jacksonville area, is an area that he feels that has slowed down or has not increased as much. What i have made that decision related to the beach is in florida question beaches in florida because of the desire of the people . I am not sure i would have done that yet, but the governor has more information than i do. As a mayor, we see this data every day, and we walk downtowns every day, or we drive around every day, and we have a lot more information than any other level of government, so i think that the mayors in america have to be smart. And somebody talked about smart cities. Using data, using your Health Department information, and making a decision that is best for your city longterm, because what we dont want to do is have and have to go backwards and start this process over again. I think if we can just hold on and look at the data and the science, and make that decision based on that information. Host Congress Passed the cares act, which set aside 150 billion for cities. Here is a Little Information about it. The city and counties with 500,000 residents, spending must be related do to the public thats related to Public Health emergency. What does it take for cities to get that money, and have we seen that money start flowing into cities around the country . Guest that is a good question, and we thank the administration, on moving congress, quickly to get the cares act passed and signed, because it is very important that we have those resources. We think that those cities of 500,000 that have gotten those dollars, that is 36 cities. It is important that they use them and get the programs and the testing, and systems in place. We also note that, as i indicated, there are 19,000 towns, cities, and villages in america, and we want to make cares act 3. 5, that more cities are able to get those dollars. Because what is happening, of that 150 billion, your viewers and listeners, please know that that is shared with the state, tribal government and cities as well. Those 29 billion of dollars go to cities that are 500,000 or more. We know that our leaders are going to be able to use those dollars, but our advocacy is that we want those dollars to go directly to cities. We are advocating in 3. 5 that those dollars are allocated directly to all cities, towns, and villages in america, so our residents, all residents, the hundred million left behind, will have dollars in money to get working. Is were seeing basically got a 12 punch. Revenues are being slashed at the same time that expenses are growing. We thank the administration and of 500s for the pass population cities that have gotten those dollars, but we really need to work hard to make ofe that the city chattanooga, tennessee, jackson, and another point of fact, there are some states that do not have a city that is over 500,000. So, we are not seeing any dollars go to those cities. Getre advocating hard to all americans to be able to have money come to their cities, so they can start their recovery. Host lets let our viewers join in on this conversation. We will take our first call from kevin, calling from denver, colorado. Kevin is actually a municipal employee. Kevin, are you in the government or do you work for the government . Caller i am actually the colorado municipality state League Director and a member of the organization of the National League of cities. But, myself and 48 of my colleagues around the country are all working with nlc on behalf of our municipal members. Host go ahead. Caller i just want to reaffirm what clarence is saying, and let me just say that the work in the work of the National League of cities, clarence, and his staff in bringing municipal issues to washington, d. C. And keeping them in front of leadership is outstanding. Here on the ground in colorado, our our 270 member municipalities around the state are all dealing with reductions in revenue from 25 to 40 , some more. Primarily sales tax, because that is the driver of revenue in colorado municipalities. Of course, that is because businesses are closed or unlimited operations, but that has a triple trickledown effect. Much bigger than a trickle, because we city we see cities now announcing restrictions and operations, furloughs, budget cuts, some with layoffs, and small small towns lik towns. These will have real impacts on Municipal Services that people care about. It is imperative congress and the administration understand that. And, work to support meanness of operations through this downturn so that we can keep delivering services that people need, expect, and want. Host go ahead and respond, clarence. Guest first of all, kevin, thank you for calling in. I appreciate your support. Jesse, i did not see that one at all. Host [laughter] dont worry, i was going to accuse you of that in a couple seconds. Guest all i know, but kevin is right. Cities right now are struggling, and in colorado, as kevin talked springs, a small ,ity of about 10,000 population they are furloughing 179 week. Ees, one day per we dont see that translated in real life. Let me make it in real life. An employee that is essential to the city making minimum wage or even making a living wage. Check, it10 of their will have a tremendous impact on the lives of their families, so that kevin has been advocating with get dollars to every city in tremendous impact on the lives of their families, so this is what we look at every day. Kevin has been advocating with his senator to get dollars to every city in colorado, and mayor hancock, the mayor, is one of those leaders who was that she was working hard. What kevin said is the same thing that is happening in every state in america, and we need to be able to have a partner with our federal government to help us get back started, kick up our economy again. Host i want to read a tweet from you. You were a former mayor of a small town in florida, maybe around 5000 people, if i remember correctly. This person on twitter says that cities say they are stretched in their budget, yet they have recklessly made their own bed with exorbitant employee pensions and created a retirement class way above most private sector employees. This person on twitter said cities have made their own bed by overspending. Do you agree . Guest of course, i do not agree with that. I think that, if you look at city budgets, and i already said this before, city have to have a balanced budget, and they manage their budget based upon the revenues that they have, like any other business. Every mayor in america is a ceo, just like a private sector ceo. I think that some of the statements about Municipal Service or municipal leadership is not accurate, because i have worked in the private sector and i can tell you that it works the same way. It is about revenues and expenses. There are cities, through this time of prosperity that we have had the last eight or so years, that have saved reserves that they are going to use right now. Detroit, the mayor talked about this in a report to his citizens and talked about the fact that they had 307 million in reserves, and that will be eaten up because of the pandemic. That is not misuse of funds or giving raises. And, let me also be very candid with the tweeter. Municipal employees deserve the same life that the private sector does. They go to work, and they work just as hard, at every level. They also deserve to be able to retire, and live the same level of lifestyle that they did when they worked. Just like private sector. I think the misnomer here is that because you work for government, you dont put your heart in. You do not get up every day and make sure that the streets are clean, or the parks are safe, or the community when the firetruck comes, that those persons are qualified and ready to sacrifice their life. There are 98 of our employees that serve our communities that are working hard, just like in the private sector. So, i do think that there needs to be some sensitivity on both sides. And, in my role as ceo of the National League of cities, i have really focused on making sure that there are conversations between the public and private sectors, because good Public Policy is not developed just by working in a city hall. It needs to engage the private sector as well. Good communities are not just developed by the private sector. They need the Public Sector input. When a leader, a municipal mayor, council member, or leader of any type, corporation, recognizes that our communities will prosper more, economies will grow, and are cities, towns, and villages will be a place that every citizen will , its nots my home just the place i drive to work. Isy will say everybody working together to make the community better. I would say my comment here, to the person who gave the question, i think i would love for you to go and spend the Day Department in any City Government. And, i think you will see you have hardworking folks, just like those in the private sector. Host let us see if we can get a couple of quick questions before we end this segment. Let us go to janet from chicago, illinois. Janet is also a municipal employee. Janet, what part of the city do you work for, or are you in City Government . Caller i am retired from chicago police.