You know im a fan of yours. Work. P the great thank you. For our viewers, explain to us what the National League of city is and out it will be a devastating time for cities. Right now as well as after this pandemic. 88 of cities, especially those that are larger, will see a reduction in their revenue. Many will see a shortfall. This budget did not anticipate this tragedy. Some of these employees be essential. That could include some of our fire services, emts, as well as public nervous. 38 indicated that they take back to furlough or lay off employees. Cities like cincinnati are already laying off employees. New york will have to cut off essential services. They are looking at those kinds of things right now. Alreadynio has indicated that it will have to either borrow money or lay off employees. Our survey startled us. This pandemic was going to have an impact. Until you start looking at the into what ising nowening in america right in terms of stayathome and closing restaurants and other businesses, no one had planned for this. No one was prepared. Ardent municipal leaders are on the forefront every day trying to get your out how they are going to get through this pandemic. The cities are safe. I saw one thing in your survey that i want to point out. It says more than half of all cities of all sizes reported police will be affected. What type of effect do you see on Law Enforcement from this coronavirus pandemic . Guest there is no question that is an essential service. Public service is very important to every city in america. When you start looking at making cuts, you do look at everything. Sometimes we focus on Public Safety, which is essential, and i think as we look at our budgets in our nations and city i think that would be one of the last things they would look at. But, you know, Public Safety is highlighted. Other programs, small businessfunded programs, housing initiatives, homelessness, all of those will also have to go into the process as they look at providing the basic services initially, and then the other programs will also have to be looked at. Highlighted. Is as a former mayor in florida when we went through so many hurricanes, those were the kinds of decisions i had to make. They were not easy, and they will never be easy. Cities and towns and villages are not like the federal government. We dont print money. We have to balance the budget every year. In balancing the budget we have to look at all of the essential services and needs of the community, no matter the size, and make those tough decisions. New york has already decided they will have to close parks. They cant continue to do those types of services fulltime as well as manage their budget. I think right now they are looking at ways to save during this time. You can also expect that professional Development Programs around equity and excellence, all of those things, including furloughing and laying off employees. That is startling. That is why we are pushing so hard to get the federal government to recognize we are the implementers. They might be the funders, and the state may be mandated to manage, but when it comes down to what is happening in america, it is happening in neighborhoods, it is happening in communities, it is happening in the streets of our nation. It is not just happening statewide. This is the essential point that we hope your viewers and listeners will take away from this conversation we are having. This is not about numbers, policy, and politics. Host for our viewers, explain how this pandemic is affecting citys budgets. Tax revenue is getting lower . People are leaving . How does this pandemic affect a city or towns budget . Guest cities around america are structured differently, and villages, and towns. In certain states sales tax is a basic revenue. Tourism taxes for major cities like washington, d. C. Or the Virginia Area or maryland. Or you can look at ohio and california. Tourism tax in nevada is devastating that community, because they live, eat, and sleep on that. All of that has closed. There is nothing going on in las vegas right now. New york, the tourism. Even small cities have certain taxes that they live by and develop their budgets by. All of those revenues are baked into the budgeting process. Then you have to look at your expenses. We have to balance our budget. We cant just go in and create debt without money to fund that. The shortfall for many city leaders is about hard decisions. When you have to make those hard decisions, as a former mayor i can tell you, there is a lot of sleepless nights, tossing and turning, and the fact that you really have to look your citizens in the face every day if you cut elderly care or senior city centers. Or if you cut the youth programs, or the housing. And that is what we are fighting for in washington every day. To get our federal government, congress and the administration, to understand that cities are the place that this is being trump good afternoon. We continue to see a number of positive signs that the virus is past its peak. It has been devastating all over the world. Dr. Birx will walk through some of these trends in a moment. They are very positive. While we mourn the tragic lossoflife, and you cannot mourn it any stronger than we are morning it, the u. S. Has produced Better Health outcomes