Bloomberg’s investment in cities could help Tampa Bay

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is putting his money and experience to work on behalf of America’s cities. The billionaire media mogul announced last week that Bloomberg Philanthropies would spend more than $200 million over the next three years to help the nation’s mayors solve the most vexing problems facing their communities.

Bloomberg is acting in response to the hostility and indifference in Washington and to the challenges mayors face, from violent crime and opioid abuse to the need for affordable housing. This initiative could provide a much-needed jolt for the economic and social backbone of the country.

Bloomberg unveiled the plan Monday in a speech to the United States Conference of Mayors, meeting in Miami Beach. In his typical blunt style, Bloomberg said the federal government and many state legislatures (including Florida’s) had all but abandoned the cities, leaving mayors to solve a range of issues on their own, from crime and the impact of climate change to the need for better schools and health care services.

“As we all know, being a mayor is the toughest job in politics,” he said. “People hold you accountable for what happens. … They expect you to deliver results, and they aren’t shy about telling you what you should do, or where you can go.”

Bloomberg’s program, called the American Cities Initiative, would support cities that take an innovative approach to solving an array of problems. That could mean tackling a lack of affordable health care, climate-related flooding or even problems unique to one community.

Bloomberg said he is looking for mayors interested in moving the needle on social issues for the benefit of their own areas and the nation at large.

In the first phase of the plan, his organization will send experts to 300 cities with populations of at least 30,000 to generate ideas on how to tackle pressing problems.

Five cities will be awarded grants of $1 million or more, and nearly $18 million in total in grants and technical assistance will be given to dozens of selected cities.

Bloomberg hopes to sharpen the focus on big issues he has championed, from gun violence and climate change to obesity. But he is also looking to build new capacity within city halls and community groups to solve local problems.

That opens the door for creative solutions on a range of issues, from housing and substance abuse services to the promotion of cleaner energy.

Bloomberg is looking for projects that could resonate on a national scale. They could be strategies for making buildings more efficient or government more responsive. His foundation has sponsored similar projects in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The $200 million in funding would be distributed over three years. In addition to awarding grants, the program will offer technical advice and training to increase the professional expertise of local governments to manage their communities.

Bloomberg wants to bring the same career development opportunities to public sector administrators that their counterparts in the private sector enjoy. The organization also will spend money to expand the profile of mayors and urban concerns in the national media.

Bloomberg is putting his voice, resources and credibility into an important effort at a critical time. President Donald Trump has proposed eliminating urban development and transit grants that cities across America have used to rebuild their downtowns, housing and economic bases.

Tens of millions of federal dollars have passed through the Tampa Bay area alone for housing, transit, drainage, job training and other projects that have reinvigorated the urban cores in the metro area.

As cities increasingly are left on their own, it will be up to America’s mayors to be creative and find nonpartisan solutions to everyday problems.

Cities are the nation’s economic engines, and this program will help the mayors rise to the challenge.

This story was originally published July 1, 2017 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Bloomberg’s investment in cities could help Tampa Bay."