Political Quotes

“I formerly served as the mayor of Gillette, WY, a city of 20,000 people. As I look around this Chamber there are too few here that have any experience with trying to balance a budget for a city or town, which may explain why this unfunded mandate proposal is being brought up with so little attention given to how it will increase the dire financial situation of States and municipalities. A recent report by the National League of Cities found that municipalities will face a shortfall between $56 billion and $83 billion from 2010 to 2012. Headlines across the country confirm that city leaders are responding to deficits with layoffs, furloughs, payroll deductions and cutting city services, all of which will impact police, fire and emergency services departments. This week it was Camden, NJ, laying off 383 employees, including 67 firefighters and up to 180 police officers. Another survey found 87 percent of city finance officers said that they were less able to meet the city's fiscal needs in 2010, than a year before. The outlook for States is just as dire, especially considering that Federal stimulus dollars, which many States have used to partially fund budget gaps, will run out after 2012. States will face an estimated $300 billion budget shortfall for 2011 and 2012. And the extent to which States and municipalities are facing underfunded public employee pensions is truly staggering. A PEW Center on the States report out this year pegs it at a $1 trillion gap.”