CivicPulse, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization dedicated to empowering local governments through shared insights, recently released a report titled Local Priorities for Infrastructure—What Do Local Governments Want? The report details what local government leaders want to see in a national infrastructure bill. The results are based on a May 2021 survey of 413 policymakers from counties, cities, and townships with populations of 1,000 or more. A copy of the full report is available HERE. Some key findings from the report include:
- Support was high for funding for roads and bridges, as well as water and wastewater (93% and 83% favored the inclusion of these areas, respectively, in any infrastructure bill)
- Policymakers from larger cities are more likely to support investments in ports (including airports, ports, and waterways) and mass transit than their counterparts in smaller jurisdictions
- Democrats and Republicans differ on their funding support for various infrastructure projects with more Democrats (94%) versus Republicans (85%) supporting funding for water and wastewater
- Population size also determined the level of support for water and wastewater infrastructure funding with 97% of towns serving 75,000 people or more supporting funding for water and wastewater, compared with only 85% of towns with populations less than 15,000 supporting this funding
- Funding for the electricity grid and broadband also had high levels of support, each with 73% of policymakers favoring their inclusion in an infrastructure bill