Cities complain a lot about unfunded mandates, and many city employees are there because the Feds require them. Well, the Feds can't legally require them but they make having them a requirement to get Federal funds for anything.
This is another shell game that will have to end. Money goes from the local taxpayer to the Feds. The Feds use a lot of it, then allocate back based on compliance. They've set up a system where locals pay to the Feds, the Feds then don't return funds unless the local gov. sets up high dollar programs. The money goes out no matter what, and if you want to get any of it back, you have to pay the piper.
That’s called ‘extortion’ if you and I tried to do that............