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Cities must be at the forefront of providing financial empowerment and tax equity strategies that include Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and credit building at tax time. Using information about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to educate low and moderate-income taxpayers on the benefits of filing their tax returns while maximizing tax time for credit

It’s the time of the year to start thinking about your resolutions for 2020! At City Summit, NLC’s Transportation and Infrastructure Services Committee came together to set six resolutions for 2020. Alongside our National Municipal Policy, these resolutions will guide us in the new year. “Cities And Towns Call For Corporation With Neighboring Railroads And

From negatively impacting zoning and tax laws, to making it impossible for local governments to raise the minimum wage or mandate sick leave, state interference — or preemption — can have dire consequences for our communities. The evolution of preemption—from a pragmatic tool to resolve conflicts in law to a weapon used to limit local

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law seeks to partner with cities to understand the legal challenges facing cities in crafting and adopting climate-friendly laws and policies. U.S. cities, towns, villages and counties are increasingly taking the lead on climate mitigation. Dozens of U.S. cities have set greenhouse gas mitigation targets, more than 400 U.S. mayors

At City Summit 2018, 50 cities committed to new initiatives to support their innovation economies. NLC’s City Innovation Ecosystems program collects and tracks these commitments in order to showcase successes, identify best practices and connect peer cities who can learn together. Here we share the story of one city’s work: In the beginning of the 20th

By Bill Eller, vice president, business development at HomeServe. Across the United States, cities, towns and villages are grappling with aging infrastructure and expensive repairs that their residents can’t afford. Reports indicate that most individuals can’t afford the cost to repair damage to their sewer or water lines to their homes – and most don’t even

On September 26, 2019, the President signed an Executive Order that puts into place new requirements for State and Local governments on issues pertaining to refugee resettlement. The EO states that refugees shall only be resettled in those jurisdictions in which both the State and Local government have consented to receive refugees under the Department of State’s Reception

Local officials can weigh in on national water policy that will affect their communities. In September,  the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of a draft National Water Reuse Action Plan (Draft Action Plan) that highlights key actions that support consideration and implementation of water reuse, which can be a valuable tool to

Nearly two months after a final order from the Federal Communications Commission upending the cable franchise system went into effect, cities remain uncertain about the future of their franchises. After the order was finalized, NLC joined more than forty municipalities and local government organizations in a legal alliance to challenge the order. NLC also joined

Solvent pensions are crucial to local governments and the employees who serve them because they reduce financial instability. And the first step in reducing that instability is becoming informed. But navigating pension plans for your municipal workforce is no easy task. As several states have reformed their retirement systems since the Great Recession, it is