Using actual municipal revenue data for all 942 cities in Iowa, from 2007-2015, the public finance team examined the trends in each of the revenue sources as well as the aggregate revenue, before, during and after the recession (the scale of recovery). The cities were broken down into 7 categories based on the size of their total annual revenues, because not all cities of similar population size have similar budgets (revenue and expenditures). The motivation for this study was to use financial data during and after the 2007-2009 recession to observe impacts on each revenue source. In addition, the study also provides insights into how cities of different sizes (urban versus rural) were impacted to assess any variations. The authors hope this study may offer some lessons to anticipate how the ongoing economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic may impact the revenue stream for cities in Iowa.
Fiscal Stress after the Great Recession: A Study of Rural Counties in the U.S.
The whitepaper summarizes findings of a recently conducted national survey of state county associations. The two-part survey was designed to assist in understanding the level of fiscal stress in rural counties, the changing intergovernmental fiscal relations, and the use of innovative practices at the county level to deal with fiscal challenges.
Look back before going forward – Cityscape, September 2017
The article identifies and highlights the need for local governments to understand their fiscal trends and conditions as they get to work on budgets for the next fiscal year.