WASHINGTON, CMC – Mayors from Latin America and the Caribbean will meet in the United States next week to discuss how local governments can diversify their financing sources.
The Mayors Forum in Denver on April 26 is being organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Cities Network. It will be held under the theme “Financing the Sustainable Development of Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
The IDB said the event coincides with the first Cities Summit of the Americas, organized by the United States government.
During this summit, the IDB said it would host a plenary session on subnational financing and that its President, Ilan Goldfajn, will attend both the Mayor’s Forum and the summit.
“Eight out of ten people in Latin America and the Caribbean live in cities, which are compelled to devote more and more funding to infrastructure and services for citizens,” the IDB said.
“In a region especially vulnerable to climate change, cities must also invest in adaptation and resilience. The region’s cities also depend heavily on transfers from central governments, which provide 56 percent of their revenue. In light of all these factors, cities urgently need to find alternative financing sources,” it added.
The IDB said that the 2023 Mayors Forum, to be attended by at least 40 Mayors, will feature stories of municipalities that have achieved financial sustainability through initiatives other than transfers from central governments, like using land in ways that bring in more tax revenue, accessing financial markets, and attracting private investment.
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