In a nutshell... government is running out of money! From the federal government to the smallest city or village, government is caught in a revenue-squeeze that is impacting on its ability to provide basic services. Planners are searching for cost-effective ways to "do more with less". Unless government adopts new policies and procedures, it will become more and more difficult to provide the same level of service with fewer dollars.

Government is caught between "a rock and a hard place". The taxpayer has spoken: "NO NEW TAXES"! Budgets are tight and the budget pressure isn't expected to ease in the foreseeable future. But, despite the taxpayer stand against new taxes, the taxpayer still demands the same level of service. There's the pinch!

Costs of operations are increasing. So is the workload. Government is expected to maintain the same level of service, despite the fact that it costs more for labor, equipment and inventory. But that’s only half the problem. Thanks to federal/state mandates and growing communities, the workload has also increased. For example, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requires cities provide handicapped access at all intersections. But, the federal government didn't pay for these needed improvements. The city has to meet ADA requirements and still stay within budget.

This study focuses on public works and street departments. These departments are typically the second-highest budget item and represent over 25% of the city or county's total budget. The average size city which participated in the survey was 22,000, with the majority of the cities, towns, township populations being under 15,000. These smaller government organizations are especially hard-hit because they lack the revenue-generating capacity of federal and state governments. They have a limited tax base, where revenues typically come from taxes and fees; sales tax, property tax and occasionally, income tax.

With the general down-turn of the economy, increased lay-offs through corporate "down-sizing" and increased farm and small business failures, many of these communities face higher unemployment and a revenue loss that is reaching devastating proportions. Not only is the tax base shrinking, the demand for services (especially social services) is expanding.