Dozens of protesters from South Florida and six other states, withstanding an unrelenting afternoon downpour with lightning and wind in downtown Miami, led a New Orleans-style funeral processional from Overtown to the base of the InterContinental Miami hotel, site of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

While city leaders plan wish lists to take to the federal government, protest organizers said officials have not heard what residents really want.

''The problem is the mayors are making plans without input from the people,'' said Shannon Reaze of Miami, a member of the Power U activist group.

The protest is part of a counter-conference that runs concurrently with the mayors' meeting.

Miami police estimated about 250 people were in the processional, which started just as the morning's blazing heat was replaced with driving rain. By the time the group reached Bayfront Park -- adjacent to where the mayors were meeting -- the downpour was near full strength. The crowd never wavered.

''You're not afraid of a little rain, are you?'' Reaze, armed with a bullhorn, shouted from atop flatbed truck that led the processional.

During the first full day of the mayors conference, nature was on the agenda: speeches on tree canopies, discussions of drinking water and a brutal noon news conference under the sizzling Miami sun.

''Can we get the air conditioning turned on?'' asked Dan Malloy, mayor of Stamford, Conn., on the hotel's little-shaded terrace overlooking Biscayne Bay.

Replied Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis: ``In Miami, we say this is caliente.''

The tree discussion was particularly relevant to Florida and other states at risk of bough-snapping hurricanes, droughts, or, for northern states, blizzards.

In many communities that means planting native trees that have adapted to survive through nasty weather.

''For us, it means we're planting wind-resistant trees like live oaks, gumbo-limbos and seagrapes,'' said Robert Ruano, director of Miami's Office of Sustainable Initiatives.

But the day was not without politics, and the federal government was a favorite target of mayors from across the country.

''We've had to figure out at the local level how to deal with the complete lack of leadership in Washington,'' said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.

By pushing aggressive environmental protections, green buildings and other policies to address climate change, he said, local leaders were ''going to provide political cover for our national leaders'' to catch up.

Numerous mayors talked about the importance of a unified front to win more federal energy and environment grant money, as well as funding for police, infrastructure and mass transit.

''Why don't people in Washington come work with us to make sure our prosperity continues?'' asked Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, about to inherit the conference's presidency.

He convened his own annual Hemispheric Forum -- which includes mayors from Canada, the Caribbean, and South America -- to coincide with this year's U.S. mayors meeting.

The weekend includes sessions on homelessness, education and helping inmates return to society after their prison terms end. Prominent speakers include Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton.

Yet the protesters who withstood mother nature said their voice should be heard, too.

Agnes Rivera, of East Harlem, N.Y., said she and about 70 people traveled to Miami to deliver a message to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg: Don't shortchange that city's housing authority.

She said repairs are left undone at public housing units, and maintenance workers are being laid off.

Activist Ursula Price, of New Orleans, said many of the cities faced challenges in similar areas, particularly gentrification and other housing issues.

Their newly formed alliance called Right to the City, will present its platform later this summer.

''We all share the same problem,'' Price said, ``the loss of local control.''

The protest was one of several demonstrations to coincide with the mayoral meeting.

Miami Herald staff writers Evan S. Benn, Matthew I. Pinzur and Michael Vasquez contributed to this report.