Government Finance Review articles from August 2001

Government Finance Review archives from August 2001

Boomburbs' Lead Nation's Growth.(suburban cities)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Rapidly growing suburban cities are overtaking many urban centers in size and influence. According to an analysis of 2000 U.S. Census data by the Fannie Mae Foundation, there are 53 "boomburbs" in the nation, which it defines as places with...

New York City Passes $500 Million Tax Cut.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2001... In early June, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and the City Council agreed to a $39.6 billion budget that would decrease the income and sales taxes while restoring funds to cultural institutions, libraries, and services for the elderly. Disagreements...

Budget Establishes Plan for Tobacco Settlement.(Pennsylvania's 2001-2002 budget)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2001... As part of its recently enacted 2001-2002 Budget, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is funding a variety of ongoing and one-time health programs. The Commonwealth joined the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with the five major tobacco...

Global Recession Threatens World Economy.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... For the first time in years, a global recession looms as a real possibility. The United States may or may not already be in a recession, depending on how it is measured. Europe still is growing but the steam has gone out of its recent mini-boom...

Colorado Undergoes Energy Tax Revenue Boom.(2001 tax collection figures and usage)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Natural-resource tax collections in Colorado nearly doubled during fiscal year 2000-2001 due to high energy costs and demand. The state collected $55.6 million in taxes on energy and mineral production companies in the first 10 months of fiscal...

Judge Says Miami Misled Investors.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... A federal administrative judge has ruled that the City of Miami misled investors about its poor financial health so that it could sell $116 million in bonds for a sewer project, a land deal, and employee pensions. The judge chastised city...

Florida County Okays Desalination Plant.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Despite concerns from environmental groups, Tampa Bay moved a step closer to having its first desalination plant when Hillsborough County commissioners agreed to drop a challenge to the permit that will enable its construction. In return,...

Iowa to Eliminate 900 State Jobs.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... More than 900 state government jobs in Iowa are being eliminated through layoffs, retirements, and unfilled vacancies. The layoffs are the result of a $300 million shortfall in state revenues. About 160 state workers will be laid off, 350...

Energy Crisis Wreaking Havoc on California Economy.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... California's output of goods and services could shrink by as much as 1.1 percent next year, and unemployment could rise more than 1 percentage point more than it otherwise would, due to higher electricity costs and blackouts. The study was...

Non-Profit Program Assists Local Government Web Sites.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The National League of Cities has begun testing a Web page development tool, called the Total eGovernment Program, that would assist municipalities to develop and maintain sophisticated Web sites. The program promises to make Web page...

Virginia to Overhaul Tax System.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Virginia's governor wants to repair a tax system defined by an amalgam of state and local levies. He has named a commission to examine state and local taxation, setting a deadline of Dec. 31--two weeks before he leaves office--for it to make...

County Defaults on Health Facility Bonds.(Washington County, Mississippi)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2001... A tax-exempt revenue bond issued by Washington County, Mississippi, has gone into default due to a developer's poor planning and possible misrepresentation of the project's risk. In 1997, the county issued $18.5 million in bonds to finance an...

State Budgets "May Already Be A Winner.".(case against Publishers Clearing House)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Publishers Clearing House will pay 26 states a total of $34 million for stuffing mailboxes with letters that told millions of people they were winners. The settlement ends a lawsuit initiated by Wisconsin last year. Perhaps more significant...

e-Government Across the Globe: How Will "e" Change Government.
August 1, 2001... This article outlines what e-Government is, how it is changing government, how it can be delivered, and what kind of progress governments are making in this area. Described simply, e-Government is the application of the tools and...

Application Service Providers (ASPs]: Can ASPs Bring ERP to the Masses?(Enterprise Resource Planning)
August 1, 2001... Application service providers represent an exciting opportunity for small- and mid-sized governments to take advantage of powerful enterprise software, but there are a number of special challenges associated with this approach. Application...

Tackling Unclaimed Properly in Kentucky State Government.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... This article describes one state treasurers approach to developing a new statewide abandoned property program. Located beneath the state capitol grounds in Frankfort, Kentucky is a vault containing a Kentucky treasure. That treasure is...

Are All Public Spending Programs Equal? Priority Setting Approaches for Government Budgeting.(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2001... Governments are using formal priority-setting systems in lieu of ad hoc methods to make better operating and capital budgeting decisions. This article presents highlights from the new GFOA publication Priority-Setting Models for Public...

What To Do When the IRS Audits Your Bonds.
August 1, 2001... Under the IRS's expanded enforcement program, it is much more likely today that a city, county, or special purpose district's bond issues will receive a notice or audit than in the past. As a result, issuers must be prepared to respond to an...

Asset Allocation Practices in the Public Sector: A Primer for Finance Officers.
August 1, 2001... This article focuses on the key decision affecting the investment performance of public-sector pensions--asset allocation. It reviews some fundamental concepts, examines how pension plans arrive at their allocation decisions, and then examines...

FEDERAL FOCUS.(pension reform)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2001... Pension Reform Piggybacks on Far-Reaching Tax-Cut Law When President Bush signed a $1.35 trillion dollar tax-cut bill into law on June 7, 2001, he also enacted comprehensive pension reform legislation that significantly alters the...

ISSUES IN DEBT MANAGEMENT.(financial advisors)
August 1, 2001... What Governments Should Know About Their Financial Advisors A significant topic in the municipal securities market in recent years surrounds the concept of fiduciary relationships. One particular focus concerns how certain municipal finance...

MONEY MANAGEMENT MATTERS.
August 1, 2001... Governments Prefer Passive Management Strategy To explore trends in the management of short-term government portfolios, GFOA conducted two surveys examining active versus passive and internal versus external management strategies. The...

PROFILING GFOA.
August 1, 2001... Meet the New President-elect and Executive Board Members At the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) annual business meeting in Philadelphia in June, members voted for a slate of nominees for president-elect and five new...

Government Finance Officers Association.
August 1, 2001... Publications reviewed in this section are new acquisitions of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Government Finance Review publishes with each citation the name and address of the publisher/distributor. Requests for copies...

BUDGETING.(Review)
August 1, 2001... "Beyond Budgeting" Hope, Jeremy and Fraser, Robin CAM-I Beyond Budgeting Round Table, May 2001 The Beyond Budgeting Round Table (BBRT) is a private-sector movement that questions the need for budgets in the private sector. The...

THE ECONOMY.(Review)
August 1, 2001... "The Stock Market: Too High? Too Low? Just Right" Clement, Douglas The Region, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, June 2001, pp. 8-10 In this article, the author summarizes research concluding that "corporate equity is not...

EDUCATION FINANCE.(government funding of school telecommunication equipment)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... "Schools and Libraries Program: Update on E-Rate Funding" Washington, DC: U.S. General Accounting Office, May 2001 Among primary schools and libraries nationwide, demand for telecommunications subsidies has surpassed available federal...

PUBLIC PENSIONSAND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.("Employee Benefits Cost Control Strategies")(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... "Employee Benefits Cost Control Strategies" Roberts, Gary E. Public Performance & Management Review, June 2001, pp.389-402. Continuing escalation of benefits costs and a push for more flexible benefits programs have led many local...

TAXES AND OTHER REVENUES.("Do Normative Appeals Affect Tax Compliance? Evidence from a Controlled Experiment in Minnesota")(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... "Do Normative Appeals Affect Tax Compliance? Evidence from a Controlled Experiment in Minnesota" Blumenthal, Marsha; Christian, Charles; and Slemrod, Joel National Tax Journal, March 2001, pp. 125-133. A fundamental problem for...

"A Dynamic Simulation of TIF Impacts on Multiple Jurisdictions".(Review)
August 1, 2001... Cox Anna M.; Mundell, Morgan M.; and Johnson, Thomas G. Municipal Finance Journal, Spring 2001, Pp. 11-36. Multiple jurisdictions often are affected when a tax increment finance (TIF) district is implemented. TIF provides one government...