Assess authority to implement measures
Teams addressing policy issues emerging throughout the Respond, Stabilize, and Transform stages should assess the city's authority to implement policy changes and prioritize accordingly. At the same time, teams can work with county, state, and federal partners to move the needle on more ambitious policy proposals.
ASSESSMENT
Some questions to guide your thinking
- What is the city's authority to change tax and other revenue policy?
- What is the city's authority to change expenditures?
Reading
Understanding the city's fiscal policy space
Brookings Institute 30 minutes
What are the constraints on local governments to enact fiscal policy, and what is their capacity? This paper argues that different cities have different levels of capacities and constraints, and introduces a framework for understanding your fiscal policy space.
- Constraints for cities include the state-local regulatory system, tax and expenditure restrictions, and limited state aid.
- Alignment between the city's tax revenue and its economic base can contribute to long-term resilience.
- See page 26 for a sample of where major US cities fall in the framework.
Reading
Understanding the city's fiscal policy space
What are the constraints on local governments to enact fiscal policy, and what is …