League President William Pitt, on behalf of the NCLM Board of Directors, identified a series of pressing issues facing cities and towns amid the pandemic in
letters Friday to Gov. Roy Cooper, Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore. Pitt, a member of the Washington City Council, 感谢他们和他们的工作人员为帮助该州度过危机所做的工作,然后他讨论了当地经济命脉——小企业所面临的财政压力. "For employers with smaller workforces and smaller operating margins, particularly retailers, surviving weeks of reduced or non-existent income streams is simply not feasible," said Pitt. "These businesses will need help to survive." Just as state government depends on sales tax revenue generated by these businesses, local governments do as well, Pitt continued. "Cities and towns receive $1.2 billion annually in sales tax revenue, with that revenue stream representing more than 25 percent of many of their budgets," he noted. "On the expense side, public safety makes up the largest portion of non-utility municipal operating budgets, and it is those personnel that we will be relying on heavily in the weeks ahead."
Meanwhile, 供水和下水道公用事业公司——其中许多已经陷入财务困境——承诺不会切断对拖欠客户的服务. They may face budget shortfalls, Pitt pointed out. "Meeting operational costs in this environment will be difficult, and customers need help," he told the state leaders.
当地官员也在讨论他们需要通过远程理事会会议和公用事业运营来提高法律和监管灵活性. “通过修改法律来满足这些需求可能是必要的,这样才能最好地为公民服务,并确保我们尽一切努力限制Covid-19的暴露," Pitt said. It all comes as local governments are working on their budgets for the new fiscal year, and are now doing so blind, "without having a true picture of their revenues and financial status."
The crisis has further highlighted an issue the League has long pushed --
the need for better broadband access so individuals and communities aren't isolated. 允许地方政府与私营供应商合作,是确保企业能够在中国开展业务的关键一步, workers and students will have the online access required."
"We very much appreciate you considering these concerns," Pitt told the governor, Sen. Berger and Speaker Moore. "We are all in this together, 我们要知道,在未来的日子里,要充分解决摆在我们面前的任务,唯一的办法就是, as we say at NCLM, work as one and advance all."