Tougher Times for City, County Budgets

April 22, 2025
David R. Kotok
Reading Time: < 1 minute

I spoke recently with Johannes Werner of WSLR+Fogartyville 96.5, a listener-supported nonprofit radio station serving Florida’s west coast, where I live.

In the interview, we discussed tariff impacts and, as stocks have fallen, how things are different this time in the world of bonds, which are usually regarded as a safe haven. We looked at how both tariffs and defunding efforts will impact city and county budgets and ultimately the local taxes and service fees that residents will have to pay.

Please listen in or read the transcript, as you prefer.

“David Kotok: Tough Times Ahead for City, County Budgets,”
https://wslr.org/david-kotok-tough-times-ahead-for-county-city-budgets/

In my WSLR interview I asserted that the state and local governments budgets will face a headwind. Pew recently published this paper that backs up my assertion:

“State Rainy Day Fund Growth Slowed in Fiscal 2024,”
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2025/03/27/state-rainy-day-fund-growth-slowed-in-fiscal-2024

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Learn more about David’s new book,
The Fed and the Flu: Parsing Pandemic Economic Shocks.

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