The Four Horsemen of the 'Fiscal' Apocalypse

Rick Cole identifies the Four Horsemen of the 'Fiscal' Apocalypse: Cratering Revenue, Neglected Infrastructure, Pension Debt, and Community Need, as heralds ushering the reinvention of city services to meet the needs of today’s urban realities.

1 minute read

May 5, 2020, 11:00 AM PDT

By Clare Letmon


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Philip Pilosian / Shutterstock

As April ends another month under COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders, cities everywhere now turn to face the festering fiscal reality of an economy frozen by pandemic.

Former Santa Monica City Manager and TPR contributing editor Rick Cole identifies the Four Horsemen of the 'Fiscal' Apocalypse: Cratering Revenue, Neglected Infrastructure, Pension Debt, and Community Need, as heralds ushering the reinvention of city services to meet the needs of today’s urban realities.

"The Four Horsemen cannot be wished away. They must be vanquished...It is our turn to forge the reforms and innovations that will overcome the Four Horsemen of the Fiscal Apocalypse." —Rick Cole

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Wednesday, April 29, 2020 in The Planning Report

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