States, Cities Demand Say in How Fiscal Cliff Cuts Will Come

The nation’s states and cities are once again getting ready for federal aid cuts, but this time around they want a say in Washington’s negotiations.

Many say they fear the efforts in Washington to avoid the looming fiscal cliff will lead to devastating budget problems, reports The New York Times. With the federal government’s long history of slamming states and cities through cuts in federal aid, many locations are forced to cut services or increase taxes. Some of the federal changes have also, in the past, required localities to face expensive mandates without having funding to meet them.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan said spending cuts and tax increases are intended to be so undesirable, that they get opposing sides in Washington to strike a deal on taxes and spending just to avoid the antagonism, but they still come up with terrible answers.

Meanwhile, Republican Governor-elect Pat McCrory of North Carolina, who is the former mayor of Charlotte, state and local officials need a stronger voice since the White House and Capitol Hill’s answers to financial problems slam localities.

“I don’t think the debate should be just between the White House and Capitol Hill, but the state and local government should be at the table,” McCrory said. “Because I assume some of their answers are going to be pass-throughs to the states or to cities, as I saw as mayor in the past.”

More than a dozen mayors with the United States Conference of Mayors have gone to Washington to lobby lawmakers in recent days, and last Monday, several governors from both parties discussed the issue on a conference call with Vice President Joe Biden.