Government Finance Review articles from April 2008

Government Finance Review archives from April 2008

Managing technology for government.(from the editor)(Editorial)
April 1, 2008... Local governments are increasingly recognizing the need to harness the wealth of facts and figures under their purview, turn it into useful information, and then take action that improves services for all constituents. Choosing the right...

'Citizens' Guide' highlights financial report information in accessible format.(News & Numbers)(Department of the Treasury)(Office of Management and Budget)
April 1, 2008... The Department of the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget issued a "Citizens' Guide" to highlight certain short- and long-term financial information in the 2007 Financial Report of the United States Government. The U.S. Government...

GAO study looks at No Child Left Behind.(News & Numbers)(Government Accountability Office)
April 1, 2008... A statutory requirement known as a hold-harmless provision has limited the ability of some states to target the full 4 percent of Title I funds they are required to set aside for improvement of low-performing schools under the No Child Left...

States tackle RFID legislation.(News & Numbers)(radio-frequency identification)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, which use radio waves to identify the item it is attached to, are frequently used for inventory management. These tags are increasingly being integrated into items from passports and credit cards to...

States' incarceration costs skyrocket.(News & Numbers)
April 1, 2008... For the first time, more than one in every 100 adults in the United States is confined in a jail or prison, according to a recent report from the Pew Center for the States, One in 100: Behind Bors in America 2008. The number has grown steadily...

Local law enforcement works with online service to provide crime updates.(News & Numbers)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... About 40 law enforcement districts, including Washington, D.C., and San Jose, California, are participating in a Web-based service that allows citizens to sign up for free e-mail alerts about crime in their neighborhoods. The service, available...

Joint FCC, USDA project encourages rural broadband.(News & Numbers)(Federal Communications Commission)(Department of Agriculture)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have created an online resource to help bring the benefits of broadband services to communities in rural areas. The joint project includes a Broadband...

The potholes of performance management technology: a new road and its obstacles.(Cover story)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Constituents, elected officials, and executive mangers have become accustomed to real-time data retrieval and analysis in their everyday lives. Podcasts, CNN, online search engines, and instant messaging have created...

Business process management: a new way to conduct operations.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Success stories about business process management (BPM) abound. Kent County, Michigan, has used BPM to streamline its accounts-payable and invoice-management processes to the point that invoices now get through the...

Public-sector knowledge management: putting the pieces together.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Most jurisdictions are facing at least one challenge that requires knowledge management--a group of systems and practices for identifying, capturing, storing, and disseminating information. Knowledge management...

OakVideo: efficiency and cost savings through cooperation.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Consider the logistics behind arresting, arraigning, bailing, and remanding offenders. Transportation is traditionally at the center of the process, with police officers having to travel to other jurisdictions to get...

Popular reporting: North Vancouver's efforts to re-engage the public.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As financial reporting requirements become increasingly complex, many local governments are using popular reporting formats to present their financial and performance data in a manner that will be accessible and...

Measuring what matters: the City of Westminster, Colorado, takes a comprehensive approach to performance measurement.(Best Practices)
April 1, 2008... What makes for a good performance measurement program? It takes a willingness to look unflinchingly at your current internal situation and report on it accurately. It takes flexibility and an openness to change. It takes motivation and effort...

Making a commitment to performance measurement: Salisbury city officials chose to include performance measurement as an established component of operations, allowing staff to be more accountable for effectiveness and efficiency.([PM.sup.2] Connections: PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT & MANAGEMENT)
April 1, 2008... The City of Salisbury, North Carolina, with a population of 28,480, is committed to performance measurement--but that wasn't always the case. The cornerstone of the city's program is the University of North Carolina School of Government's North...

Confronting performance problems with clarity: how can you confront performance problems without alienating the people whose behavior you want to change?(Management & Careers)
April 1, 2008... Managing employee performance involves a special set of challenges. One of a manager's most difficult tasks is confronting employees whose performance does not measure up to expectations. There are any number of issues to deal with. In the...

Looking backward to move forward: the best way to avoid future problems is to review the results of past projects and put the lessons learned into practice.(Solutions)
April 1, 2008... Looking to the past can be difficult because it forces us to reassess accomplishments and, often, start second-guessing ourselves. Nonetheless, many successes are achieved by reviewing past results, which is why post-project assessment is often...

President's budget proposal and other news from the nation's capitol.(Federal Focus)
April 1, 2008... The president delivered his $3.1 trillion budget proposal to Congress in early February. The budget calls for an increase of less than 1 percent over fiscal year 2008 for domestic, non-security discretionary spending, resulting in significant...

GASB exposure draft on fund balance.(The Accounting Angle)(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
April 1, 2008... At the end of February, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) released an exposure draft (ED) that proposes to substantially change how fund balance is categorized. It also proposes guidance that would modify how some of the...

Myth busting: seeking improvement through a new perspective.(We Don't Make Widgets: Overcoming the Myths That Keep Government from Radically Improving)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... We Don't Make Widgets: Overcoming the Myths That Keep Government from Radically Improving By Ken Miller Governing Books 2007; 124 pages; $24,95 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We Don't Make Widgets is geared toward middle and...

Calendar.(Calendar)
April 1, 2008... [state association events] May New Hampshire GFOA May 1-2 North Conway, NH www.nhgfoa.org Pennsylvania GFOA May 4-7 State College, PA vvvvw.gfoa-pa.org Montana Municipal Clerks, Treasurers, and...

Innovation: beyond the 'big bang'.(Commentary)
April 1, 2008... To the average person on the street, "innovative government" is an oxymoron. The private sector innovates while government--bureaucracy's lair--imposes rules and regulations. (In the words of presidential hopeful Barack Obama, Washington is "a...