Official Publication of the National League of Cities OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES
NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY
Volume 34, Number 46 | December 19, 2011

IN THIS ISSUE
www.nlc.org
PAGE 2

PAGE 3
HEAL Cities Campaign Supports
Healthy Communities in California
PAGE 4
Emerging Issues Column: Doing Less
with Less, and Beyond
PAGE 5
Military Communities Network Focuses
on Supporting Veterans, Families

NLC Testifies on Integrated Planning, Water
Infrastructure Financing

by Carolyn Berndt
Joe Reardon, mayor and CEO
of the Unified Government
of Kansas City, Kan., and
Wyandotte County, testified
last week on behalf of NLC
before the House Committee
on Transportation and
Infrastructure, Subcommittee
on Water Resources and
Environment about the need
for a modern policy framework
and resources to invest in the
nation’s water infrastructure
systems.

Joe Reardon, right, mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Kansas
City, Kan., and Wyandotte County, testifies before the House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and
Environment. The panel also included Omaha, Neb., Mayor Jim Suttle, left.
represent can’t afford,” said
Reardon.
The hearing focused on a
recent EPA memorandum,
“Achieving Water Quality
Through Integrated Municipal
Stormwater and Wastewater
Plans,” which recognizes that
many local governments face
difficult financial conditions
and commits EPA to develop-
ing a planning framework that
will allow communities to eval-
uate all of their Clean Water
Act stormwater and wastewater
obligations and prioritize their
investments in a manner that
maximizes water quality gains.

see page 8, column 1
New England Mayors Help Each Other
Address Early Education Goals

by Michael Karpman

Newspaper Handling

Hartford, Conn., Mayor Pedro E.
Segarra and Providence, R.I., Mayor
Angel Taveras brought teams of senior
municipal and school district staff
to Boston last week for a regional
convening of the Mayors’ Institute
on Children and Families, the fourth
session of a permanent series spon-
sored by NLC’s Institute for Youth,
Education and Families. The mayors
presented in-depth descriptions of a
common challenge they are addressing
in their communities: how to improve
educational outcomes for children
see page 8, column 1
From left: Providence, R.I., Mayor Angel Taveras; Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Hartford,
Conn., Mayor Pedro Segarra shared ideas for improving education and ensuring that children read
at grade level by the end of third grade at the New England Region Mayors’ Institute on Children
and Families held last week in Boston.