By

Celeste Bishop

Your city is probably a member of the National League of Cities.  This League shapes your city policy.  These policies range from homelessness to health-care to biological warfare to surveillance. For the most part the League is heavy-handed toward federal mandates in these days of fiscal disaster.  The League recognizes federal mandates that impose costs directly on cities and those that do not impose costs directly on cities but intrude on the autonomy of local government. The League supposedly opposes federal mandates but allows huge loopholes if the mandate is specifically identified in their National Municipality Policy as an exception to the their principles.

The League believes that any federal mandate imposed by the federal government should be accompanied with adequate federal funding.  The problem comes in that in order to receive federal funds the city must sign various commitments including SF 424 A & B which nullify their autonomy as an independent city.

Cities are asked to participate in regulations to implement federal regulations per Executive Order 12866.  While taking part in the rule-making process sounds like a good idea all it really accomplishes is to get your city to buy-in to federal rules because in the rule-making process the fed’s just do what they want despite any testimony or opposition given.

Issues today facing American cities are portrayed as complicated and interrelated requiring “balanced and holistic” approaches.  In the early days this would be called the one-size-fits-all panty hose policy, get everybody under that federal umbrella.

If you are interested in seeing what your city is up to these days or if you are having difficult on a local issue that you can’t find local resolution the National League of Cities just may be your barrier.  Out of curiosity sake and awareness take a gander at the Table of Contents.  Personally, I was horrified at the stances taken by the League.

10 Minute Citizen

 Take a few minutes and write your City Council and let them know you oppose their National Municipality Policy Manual loopholes allowing the federal government to supersede local government.

By recognizing and utilizing chains of reinforcement and interrelatedness, public cities and towns and the people who live in them.

NLC strongly supports this holistic approach and supports efforts that take this approach in the development of policies to address these problems.