Unions representing civil servants in the city of Scranton, Pa., are girding for battle after the mayor announced recently that he would be cutting pay for police, firefighters, garbage collectors and other public workers to minimum wage. … The lawsuit will be among several legal actions the unions may take after Doherty made the announcement…
Category: Cities
“Cities Facing Worst Fiscal Situation Since 1980”
The Pew Charitable Trust report, outlining the bleak context in which I’m trying to devise a dissertation research strategy. 2012 looks to be one of the worst years in the cities I’m studying since the early 2000s. City officials and the vast majority of workers are deeply entrenched in an ongoing recession, despite the fact that…
Montclair, New Jersey: small town battle over the budget
Montclair, NJ is a small (37,000+), fairly affluent and diverse town in New Jersey, with views of the Manhattan skyline. The town has a three-way mayoral race underway that seems to hinge on debates over whether the town needs to trim spending on social programs, such as preschool and libraries. A “liberal” town, having the same…
Saving a bankrupt city in Japan
Interesting piece on “Japan’s youngest mayor,” trying to “save” the bankrupt city of Yubari, Japan. Most young people have already fled this city of empty streets and shuttered schools, whose bankrupt local government collapsed under the twin burdens of debt and demographics that are slowly afflicting the rest of Japan. Now, Yubari, a former coal-mining…
A Budget By and For the People – Politics – The Atlantic Cities
It might be the hottest idea in democracy since the voting machine. In an effort to cut wasteful spending and generate political support, cash-strapped municipal officials are turning to a process called participatory budgeting, which allows residents to devise and vote on small-scale infrastructure projects. Pioneered in Brazil, its since been taken up by some…