Cities pay steep price after the good times turn sour SacBee

sacbee.com — City governments throughout the Sacramento region spent money at a rate that outpaced population growth during the boom years of this decade – and they're now living with a sobering morning after. From 2001 to 2007, the area's population jumped 25 %. But local government expenditures – adjusted for inflation – grew about 50 % to roughly $2 billion