The U.S. Conference of Mayors has been meeting in Washington D.C. this week to meet with each other and hear from federal officials. In addition to comparing options for economic growth with each other, they heard from the Secretaries of State, Agriculture and Energy as well as the EPA Administrator.
"Oh, Lord, it's been everything from the infrastructure bill to hate speech," says Arlington Mayor Jim Ross. "I spoke on the Veterans Affairs Task Force. I'm the co-chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Veterans Affairs Task Force."
Ross served in the Marines. Arlington has also formed its own task force to help government agencies, Veterans Affairs and non-profits work together to provide services for veterans returning to civilian life.
"Veterans are trained to carry out a mission and not ask many questions," he says. "When they transition from military life to civilian life, they're not accustomed to asking a bunch of questions."
Ross says helping veterans connect with medical, educational or employment services can show gratitude for their service while also providing a skilled workforce for companies looking for employees who can solve problems and work under pressure.
"I'll be candid: It speaks for who the community is if you're able to take care of those who have taken care of you on a regular basis," he says. "Our veterans have certainly taken care of this country on a regular basis.
Ross chairs the Veterans Affairs Task Force with John Tecklenburg, mayor of Charleston, South Carolina. Ross says the U.S. Conference of mayors gives leaders of different cities across the country a chance to work together on issues that affect their residents.
"You become friends with them. You sit down and have dinner with them. You listen to what they're doing in their communities that is working. I can't tell you the number of ideas I've stolen from other mayors, but stolen with their blessing," he says, laughing.
In addition to veterans issues, the conference has included panels on mental health, use of ARPA money, public safety, immigration, economic development and transportation.
Arlington launched its Via service in 2017. The on-demand transit system went city-wide in 2021.
Ross says the neighboring Cities of Grand Prairie and Mansfield are now talking about using the service there. He says expanding Via to a tri-city program would draw more users and work in a more modern fashion than bus networks.
"Those types of steps don't take a ton of money, and they don't take years and years to happen," he says. "It allows us to do things without jumping into a situation that costs the community $38, $40 million a year to have a bunch of empty buses running through our community. I don't want to do that."
Among topics at the U.S. Conference of Mayors is the Infrastructure Law. Ross says other metropolitan areas have shown the effectiveness of rail systems to help people move around, saying cities and states cannot address traffic problems simply by adding additional lanes to highways.
An environmental study is now underway for a proposed high speed rail line that would link Dallas and Fort Worth including a stop in Arlington.
"We're still years and years away from trying to get something like that implemented," Ross says. "We really need to be going to these types of rail systems. We need to be environmentally friendly. We need to be more efficient on how we move people in and out of different communities."
At the U.S. Conference of Mayors, other topics have included implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act and SAFER Communities Act. The organization represents 1,400 cities across the country with at least 30,000 residents.
Ross says the meeting gives mayors from different parts of the country and from different sized cities a chance to collaborate on issues without focusing on a political debate.
"Citizens don't care if it's a Republican or a Democrat who's filling the potholes. I appreciate that. They just want to get things done," he says. "We used to be able to do that."
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