Cities and counties are putting together their preliminary 2004 budgets this summer, and the Chamber hopes taxpayers will urge their local officials not to make up for budget shortfalls by raising property taxes.
"City budgets are not in as bad a shape as local officials may be claiming," Blazer states, but he adds that local governments should consider eliminating some programs that are "too expensive for the times." Other solutions may be "competitive sourcing" or putting government services out for bids, providing services cooperatively with other local governments and scrutinizing public employee compensation, according to Blazer.
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