Policy Blog

2011: The Bad Year That Wasn't (1-31-12)

"As 2012 dawns, state and local governments have many fiscal worries. Even so, they can celebrate something: 2011 failed to live up to the dire predictions of widespread defaults and bankruptcies.

Investors in the bond market may have been worried that a flood of defaults were, indeed, on the way -- especially after Meredith Whitney, a noted stock market picker, announced her forecast for mass defaults in 2011. They fled municipal bond funds, driving prices down and interest rates up, and threatening the muni market's viability. But in the summer, investors sobered up, took a look at history and considered the facts at hand."

Top Stories of 2011 (1-5-12)

American City & County Magazine presents the five most popular stories featured in 2011. "The most-read feature of the year was the October cover story, 'Driving them to drink,' which covered the effects of water conservation on many communities' already-stretched budgets. The other most-read stories revealed public works directors' salaries, described New York's efforts to save money by reforming procurement practices, showed how communities are generating electricity with small-scale hydropower projects, and examined the battles between employee unions and legislators."

1. Driving them to drink - Declining water demand causes new headaches for water managers. Read More

2. Salary survey: Public works director - Top public works officials see rise in salaries and decline in benefits as many head to retirement. Read More

3. Hunting for savings - New York reforms its procurement practices to maintain services while lowering local government costs. Read More

4. Hydropower surge - Communities can generate power through their public water systems. Read More

5. Title fight - Battles rage between public sector unions and elected officials with no end in sight. Read More

2011 Quality of Life Report (12-14-11)

The City Council has released the 2011 Quality of Life Report, an objective review of our community and its place among similarly situated American cities. It is a snapshot of local conditions and trends, in the context of other cities and our own recent past. It is intended to provide a framework for a meaningful discussion of local policies and funding decisions, and a basis for evaluating our continual efforts to improve our quality of life.

Read the Report

SeeClickFix Has National 311 Potential (11-4-11)

"In fall 2007, New Haven, Conn., resident Ben Berkowitz wasn't satisfied. Berkowitz saw problems in his neighborhood, but he was frustrated with the customer service experience when he contacted the city. 'There was graffiti on my neighbor's building,' he said. 'I tried calling City Hall and left a bunch of voicemails, and I realized there was no centralized customer service system.'

As a result of this experience, Berkowitz launched SeeClickFix, a Web-based tool citizens use to report complaints. It became the solution to his problems - and could ultimately become a platform for a national 311 system."

Cities Face New Pension Accounting Rules (10-17-11)

"They're cut, dried and dense. Accounting rules are something only a bean counter could love. But they can also repaint the landscape of municipal finance. That's likely to be the case with new pension accounting rules spelled out by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) in an exposure draft released this summer. The rules are expected to become final next year.

Under them, pension liabilities will have to be displayed on the balance sheet and the 'true cost' of pension benefits must be reported in the operating statement -- even if the employer fails to make the necessary annual contributions. That true cost will be higher than most employers now pay."