2011-09-28nytimes.com

``Nearly a third of the nation's cities are laying off workers this year. More than half have canceled or delayed infrastructure projects. And two out of five have raised their fees... One of the main culprits is the property tax, which many cities and local governments rely on heavily. Property tax collections, which are usually quite resilient, are projected to fall by 3.7 percent this year -- their second year in a row of declines -- as tax assessments belatedly catch up with the lower property values left behind by the battered real estate market... Cities have been unable to look for help in some of the traditional places. Half of the cities reported that their state aid has been cut since 2009, as states struggled to balance their own budgets. So many cities have resorted to service cuts. Two in five report cutting things like libraries and parks and recreation programs. Nearly a fifth are making cuts to public safety. Nearly three-quarters are cutting their personnel costs through hiring freezes, wage freezes or reductions, layoffs or reduced health benefits for their workers. ''



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