The Nation - News from July 1, 1986

With less federal aid and more demand for services, more than half of U.S. cities and towns may end their fiscal years in the red, the National League of Cities said. A league survey of 660 municipalities found that 56% of them expect spending to exceed revenue by the end of the budgetary year, 15% expect revenue to exceed expenditures, and the remaining 29% expect to break even. Alan Beals, executive director of the organization, said it was unknown how many cities would exhaust their cash reserves, “but it appears many are right down to the bottom line.”