From the National League of Cities: State revenues to cities were cut by approximately $2.3 billion, for fiscal year 2004, a 9.2 percent decrease from 2003, according to a new study by … The percentage decrease is the largest in at least a decade. This doesn’t have to be bad news. All that about necessity being the mother of invention is often true. For example, the Defense Department squawked during Clinton-era cuts, butââ?¬â??thanks to outsourcingââ?¬â??it found ways to cut the fat and perform better.