Public Safety, Mandates And Economic Conditions
Top NLC Annual Opinion Survey
Assuring public safety, curbing unfunded federal
mandates, and building strong local economies are the
most important priorities for America's cities and
towns, according to the National League of Cities' annual opinion survey of municipal officials.
The survey, conducted in October and November
1994, found a cluster of public safety issues at the forefront of current problems and future concerns on the
minds of local government leaders. The findings are
based on responses by 382 elected municipal officials
drawn from a random sample in cities with populations
of 10,000 or more.
Five of the top six conditions identified by local
officials as most deteriorated over the past five years
involved crime and violence: youth crime, gangs, violent crime, drugs and school violence. Three of ten
"most important conditions to address" in the next two
years relate to public safety: violent crime, youth crime
and gangs.
Unfunded mandates — laws or regulations imposed
on cities, but without funding by federal or state governments — continued as the top single issue adversely
affecting local governments. Mandates led three lists: conditions which worsened in 1994, which deteriorated
the most over the past five years and which were most
important to address in the next two years.
Nearly half of the survey respondents reported improving local economic conditions for the second year
in a row. At the same time, attention to economic matters remained a major concern for the future, appearing
in four of most important issues to address in the next
two years,
The survey compiled some stark findings about
crime, violence and public safety. Nearly two-thirds of
the respondents (63%) said youth crime worsened during the past year, and more than half reported worsening conditions involving school violence (52%) and
gangs (51%). Forty-nine percent said drug problems
worsened during the past year, and 41 percent said
violent crime worsened.
Asked to identify the conditions which deteriorated
most over the past five years, 35 percent of the officials
put unfunded mandates on their "top 3" list, followed
by youth crime (31%), gangs (26%), violent crime (25%),
drugs (19%) and school violence (18%).
In a follow-up question about ways to improve public safety, the survey revealed a strong preference
among local officials for a mix of strategies designed to
achieve desired outcomes instead of focusing strictly on
enforcement or prevention.
Asked to select measures most likely to reduce
crime, the top choice — strengthening and supporting
family stability, selected by 64 percent — reflects a
growing sentiment that public safety needs to be considered in a much broader context than traditional anticrime solutions. The next highest choice — jobs and
targeted economic development, selected by 48 percent — revealed another facet of new thinking.
The next four choices — more police officers (40%),
after school programs (33%), neighborhood watch programs (32%) and more police foot patrols (32%) —
brought in a combination of law enforcement and
crime prevention techniques more commonly thought
of.
The five measures selected least likely to reduce
March 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 15
crime were: more death penalties (8%), building more
prisons (8%), elimination of parole (10%), gun control
(12%) and citizens reporting crime (12%).
While local economic conditions and city fiscal
conditions have recovered significantly over the past
two years, local officials remain very attentive to issues
related to jobs, economic capacity and municipal finance.
Four of the ten most frequently mentioned concerns
for the next two years are related to local economies: city fiscal conditions, overall economic conditions, infrastructure and unemployment.
Nearly half of the survey group (48%) said local
economic conditions improved during 1994, and nearly
the same assessment of improvement (46%) came in the
response of unemployment levels.
At the same time, nearly one-fifth of the respondents said their communities had experienced worsening economic conditions (22%) and worsening unemployment (19%).
The signs of a strengthening economy were also
reflected in the assessment of municipal service levels
by local officials. More than half (53%) said they were
able to maintain or increase service levels during 1994,
and nearly two-thirds (63%) said they expected to maintain service levels in 1995 without having to increase
taxes or fees.
The survey also asked how well current service levels measured up against local needs in the community,
and nearly four out of five respondents (78%) rated their
service levels as "good" or "very good."
One of the ways that many communities are stretching resources to provide services is through regional
initiatives with neighboring jurisdictions. The survey
asked about the importance of regional cooperation in
helping local governments achieve their goals, and
nearly seven out of eight respondents (86%) said it was
important or very important.
Page 16 / Illinois Municipal Review / March 1995
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