More than 700 U.S. cities have halted plans to improve roadways, buy new equipment and complete a wide array of upgrades to water systems and other critical infrastructure, as government officials slash spending to shore up the massive holes in their budgets created by the coronavirus, the Washington Post reported. The decision to suspend or terminate some of these long-planned purchases, upgrades and repairs threatens to worsen municipal services and harm local businesses, according to the National League of Cities, which deduced from a new survey released today that more federal aid is necessary to ensure that local financial woes do not imperil the country’s economic recovery. Cities had already predicted they would need about $500 billion from Washington to help cover the massive, unanticipated declines in tax revenue and other costs incurred from the pandemic, which has shuttered businesses and left millions of Americans out of work. But federal lawmakers have been unwilling to authorize such a cash infusion, forcing many cities to take drastic steps to balance their budgets for fiscal 2021, which for many governments begins on July 1.
