TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Struggling amid plummeting sales tax revenues caused by the coronavirus crisis, municipalities across Florida are warning of the need for drastic budget-balancing measures, including layoffs, unless significant financial assistance arrives from Tallahassee and Washington.
What You Need To Know
- Municipalities struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic
- Local leaders hoping from more action from the state of Florida
Some of the initial cost-cutting measures cities and counties have taken since the outbreak began have merely stemmed the pace of their fiscal crises, local leaders told reporters this week.
The federal CARES Act included $150 billion in aid intended for local governments, but relatively little of that cash has made its way to local coffers.
The only city in Florida eligible for direct aid from Washington is Jacksonville because it's the only city in the state with a population of more than 500,000, the threshold established by Congress.
Some local officials are expressing dismay that state leaders haven't been more assertive in sending a portion of the state's CARES Act funds to city and county governments. While the act encourages states to send cash to cities and counties, there is no requirement to do so.
"Federal support for states, cities and towns is essential to maintaining the public services our communities depend on," said Jeremy Schwarz, the City of Miami's chief of staff. "Without this financial relief, we will be forced into making impossible decisions as to which services to cut or whether to lay off what public service areas."
Schwarz said laying off police officers and firefighters isn't out of the question, and a Miami-Dade County School Board member told reporters non-instructional personnel including custodians could receive pink slips depending on the severity of the continued fiscal strain on local school systems.
In the absence of more action from Tallahassee, local leaders are joining together to call on Congress to pass $1 trillion in funding to keep city and county governments afloat.
In May, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House passed the HEROES act, a measure that included $375 million for municipalities. Even before the House vote, Senate Majority Leder Mitch McConnell said his chamber wouldn't be considering the act.
A recent analysis by Moody's found that in the absence of further action by Congress, municipal fiscal crises across the nation could result in 4 million layoffs.
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