The National League of Cities (NLC) kicked off City Summit 2022 welcoming more than 3,000 local elected leaders to the heartland for its annual three-day conference. Kansas City Mayor Lucas welcomed attendees to the City of Fountains, “I have been a member of the National League of Cities since 2015… the transformative changes that this group has helped lead are exceptional and vital to our country. And in particular we are excited to be back together in Kansas City for our first in-person conference for quite some time. Now we are back together and stronger as the National League of Cities.”
City Summit attendees will spend the next three days attending workshops on the most pressing issues facing America’s cities, towns, and villages. NLC celebrated the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a $1.2 trillion investment in the future of local communities. With the historic funding, America’s communities are finally in the position to make the types of upgrades and repairs desperately needed for communities.
“For years, whether it’s water infrastructure or roads, we’ve been using band-aids to keep our cities running. With this historic level of funding, we’re finally in a position to make the types of upgrades and repairs our communities so desperately need.” – Vince Williams, Mayor, Union City, GA, and President, NLC
Attendees have the chance to connect in more than 40 workshops focused on the federal funding coming to communities through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), as well as sessions specifically designed to address public safety, broadband equity, transportation, economic development, and much more.
“A unique aspect of ARPA was that a big portion of the funds went directly to local governments. In the past, federal dollars have gone exclusively to the states or just a handful of large cities. This was inefficient, and it took a long time for local governments to get the money, if they ever did at all. ARPA dollars remain available to local governments through 2026, which is going to be especially critical given the effects of inflation.” – Victoria Woodards, Mayor, Tacoma, Washington and NLC First Vice President
A key issue for many local leaders is rebuilding the municipal workforce and promoting economic development in their communities.
“Public safety roles, especially policing roles, have been among the hardest local government jobs to fill. From 2020 to 2021, police hirings have declined by 5% while resignations (18%) and retirements (45%) have increased… As we all know firsthand, municipal workers are critically important for local government service delivery. Without municipal workers, services like trash pick-up and emergency response will be delayed” – David Sander, Ph.D., Councilmember, Rancho Cordova, California, and NLC Second Vice President
To find out more about City Summit, including a full list of speakers, visit citysummit.nlc.org. NLC offers free registration for credentialed press. To register, please email media@nlc.org.
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The National League of Cities (NLC) is the voice of America’s cities, towns and villages, representing more than 200 million people. NLC works to strengthen local leadership, influence federal policy and drive innovative solutions. Stay connected with NLC on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.