The National League of Cities released a new report Paying for Local Infrastructure in a New Era of Federalism. Declining funding, increasing mandates and misaligned priorities at the federal and states levels have put responsibility for infrastructure on local governments. But what ability do cities have to take up this call? The authority of cities to meaningfully address growing infrastructure challenges is bound by levers authorized to them by their states. The report finds that cities are limited in the number and scope of tools they are authorized to use, and that access to these tools is highly uneven in states across the country.

Summer Minnick is the Director of External Relations and Federal Affairs. She can be reached at 517-908-0301 or sminnick@mml.org.