Many city officials want the 110th Congress to increase funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and not to put additional restrictions on local taxing authority, according to a recent poll conducted by the Washington-based National League of Cities (NLC). The results of the poll, which were released during the NLC's Congressional City Conference in March, showed that increased violent crime, traffic congestion, poor transportation infrastructure and immigration were top issues for city officials. Telecommunications and education regulations were concerns for many other poll respondents. “We want Congress to stop sending us new responsibilities without the money to implement them — what we call unfunded mandates,” NLC First Vice President Cynthia McCollum said in a press release. “Instead, we want to see increased local flexibility and a greater investment in infrastructure.” Copies of the poll are available on the NLC Web site, www.nlc.org.

Top concerns of city officials:

• 67% say their cities have seen a significant increase in violent crime, particularly in cities with populations over 100,000.

• 65% say the growing number of immigrants entering the country has affected their communities.

• 28% say increasing funding for the CDBG program is the most important request they have for the current session of Congress, while 25% say maintaining local taxing authority is most important.

Source: National League of Cities, March 12, 2007