Anderson: Shutdown effects trickling down to municipalities

Editor’s note: The following was also sent to the individual members of Delaware’s federal delegation.

On behalf of my constituents in Dover, I’m urging you to support a clean continuing resolution to reopen the federal government and restore government functions.

An end to the shutdown would minimize economic losses and other harm to the nation’s cities, towns and villages. Potential losses associated with a prolonged shutdown include:

• Our communities’ most vulnerable residents losing access to critical programs, such as food and nutrition programs, community development and housing assistance, disaster preparedness and response, and more.
• Federal workers residing across the country, especially in our military communities, facing delayed compensation. This is something I and another member of Dover City Council deal with personally. Withheld paychecks for federal workers turn into broader losses for small businesses, utility operators, landlords, mortgage holders and local economies.
• The erosion of trust in our federal institutions and the certainty necessary for productive intergovernmental partnership.
• Additional risk for local budgets that include federal grant revenues and expenditures. Breakdowns in communication between local government grantees and their administering federal agency can — and have — resulted in unavoidable delays or missteps that increase local governments’ risk of having federal funds recaptured.

The effects of a shutdown multiply quickly, including funding lapses, project delays, business cancellations, furloughs and layoffs. As local elected officials, we will take action, such as food distribution, to minimize burdens associated with the federal government shutdown on our community, but these efforts are limited by our municipal budget and obligations to keep them in balance.

What we need from our federal partners right now is certainty: a clear path forward to restoring federal functions that support local households, businesses and economies.

We rely on your partnership; please reopen the federal government and work to minimize economic disruptions to our businesses, our residents and your constituents.

If you need additional examples of immediate impact to the residents of my community, I’m happy to provide those over a call.

Dover City Councilman David L. Anderson

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.