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Abstract

Fiscal stress has confronted many American cities during the past six years, as global economic restructuring and reduced inter-governmental transfers undermined traditional revenue sources. Consequently, city governments have scrambled to implement fiscal policies that support core services within the constraints of available resources. The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan is examined as a case study of a Midwestern core city that is in the process of shifting from unsustainable to sustainable fiscal policies. Ultimately, the author concludes, the City should be able to achieve sustainability without relying upon outside resources (i.e., inter-governmental transfers, joint service provision, or large-scale privatization), although obtaining such resources obviously would be beneficial. From a fiscal standpoint, this conclusion challenges the notion that core cities lack the internal capacity to meet their most critical challenges.

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