Government Finance Review articles from August 2008

Government Finance Review archives from August 2008

GFOA, now more than ever.(president's message)(Viewpoint essay)
August 1, 2008... It is a great honor and professional privilege to serve as your president and to follow in the footsteps of those leaders who have addressed this organization over the past century:. We can all think of those who have offered us guidance...

Metropolitan areas taking leadership role in reducing carbon emissions.(News & Numbers)
August 1, 2008... The U.S. carbon footprint is expanding as Americans drive more, build more, consume more energy, and emit more carbon. At the same time, rising energy prices, growing dependence on imported fuels, and accelerating global climate change make the...

Update provides emergency management strategies.(News & Numbers)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The International City/County Management Association released a second edition of Emergency Management: Principles and Practice for Local Government, updating a 1991 release. The new edition provides ideas and strategies for organizing and...

Finances deteriorating for most states, but not all.(News & Numbers)(National Conference of State Legislatures)
August 1, 2008... Weaker-than-expected revenue growth is making it difficult for many states to balance their budgets for fiscal year 2008 and to enact balanced budgets for fiscal 2009, according to a study by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The...

GFOA's new president-elect and executive board.(Government Finance Officers Association)(Paul A. Macklem,Catherine R. O'Connor,Christopher P. Morrill)
August 1, 2008... The Government Finance Officers Association is governed by an 18-member executive board, which consists of 15 members-at-large serving staggered three-year terms, the current president, the previous year's president, and the president-elect. At...

Building a sustainable future: 2008 Annual Conference Recap.(Government Finance Officers Association)(Conference notes)
August 1, 2008... The GFOA held its 102nd Annual Conference, "Building a Sustainable Future," in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. More than 7,000 people attended the conference at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center on June...

Access to retirement, medical benefits better for government workers then private sector.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... State and local government workers have more access to retirement benefits and medical care than workers in the private sector, according to a study recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Department of Labor. The...

Measuring for a purpose: trends in public-sector performance measurement and management practices.(Government Finance Officers Association research on performance management)
August 1, 2008... Two clear trends emerged from a recently completed Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) research project on current practices in performance measurement and management (1) in North American local governments. First, more governments...

What gets measured sometimes gets managed.
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One of the commonly invoked adages among those who work with performance information and performance management is the classic "what gets measured gets managed." This aphorism, coined by management guru Peter...

Sarasota County's GovMax application: aligning business need with technical value.
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Much has been written about the importance of aligning our human, technical, and financial investments with known business challenges and needs. Examples of organizations that have done so are in short supply,...

Beyond the basics: Miami-Dade County's results-oriented government framework.
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Delivering services that meet and exceed the expectations of residents is an immense undertaking for any government, no matter the size. The planning, deployment, and cultural transformation required to establish a...

Using 311 data to measure performance and manage city finances.(constituent relationship management)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 311 and CRM Providing citizens with a single number for their non-emergency questions and concerns is valuable in itself, but pairing 311 with constituent relationship management (CRM) gives it the power to...

Real information, real results: the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority uses a logic model to evaluate its operations and service delivery levels, determining if its performance measures are leading to the correct results.(Best Practices)
August 1, 2008... Many performance measurement programs help organizations discover how well a service is being provided, but they do not always inform the organization's stakeholders about what results are desired. Organizations also face difficulties in...

Utah elevates its performance: performance elevated is a management tool for improving performance and efficiency in state agencies.([PM.sup.2] Connections: PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT & MANAGEMENT)
August 1, 2008... According to a recent report on state government management, "Utah has been a clear leader in sound government based on smart planning and effective performance management that emphasizes long-term results... Utah manages all facets of state...

A golden opportunity: recruiting baby boomers into government: millions of baby boomers who are looking for new opportunities and challenges are considering "encore careers" in government.(Management & Careers)
August 1, 2008... Robert Gomperts was a successful businessman for 40 years. When he reached age 59, though, he was done with the business world; no more mountains to climb, no desire to do more of the same. But traditional retirement didn't suit him--he had too...

Expanding the scope of performance management: while performance management is often assumed to take place on a departmental or organizational level, it can also occur on a much smaller scale.(Solutions)
August 1, 2008... Many opportunities exist for taking advantage of a strategic approach that uses evidenced-based decision making. While performance management is often assumed to take place on a departmental or organizational level, it can also occur on a much...

Washington focuses on muni market: much legislative, regulatory, and judicial attention has been focused on the problems municipal bond issuers are facing as a result of disruption in the capital markets.(Federal Focus)
August 1, 2008... Congress, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), and other regulatory bodies, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court, have been actively addressing issues that are important to municipal bond issuers. While most of the activity has been in...

GASB proposes to redefine its role in performance measurement: the GASB issued an exposure draft in April that proposes to clarify the board's vision of its current and future roles in regard to service efforts and accomplishments reporting.(The Accounting Angle)(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
August 1, 2008... Perhaps no single initiative of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has generated more sustained controversy than the board's ongoing project on performance measurement, which the GASB prefers to describe as service efforts and...

Fighting fears about performance measurement.(Measuring Up 2.0 )(Book review)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Measuring Up 2.0 By Jonathan Walters Governing Books 2007, 94 pages, $24.95 As Jonathan Waiters notes in Measuring Up 2.0, the most powerful and pervasive enemy of performance measurement is fear....

GFOA events.(Calendar)(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2008... September Internet Training 3 The Do's and Dont's of Performance Management 10 Closed Circuit Television Sacramento, California 15 Accounting for Pensions and Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB)...

State association events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2008... September Illinois GFOA Sept. 6-9 Champaign, IL www.igfoa.org Michigan GFOA Sept. 14-17 Ypsilanti, MI www.migfoa.org Kentucky GFOA Sept. 15 Frankfort, KY www.kgfoa.org Washington...

Goal power: a well-framed goal unleashes people's instincts to do well and to contribute to something bigger than themselves.(Commentary)
August 1, 2008... John F. Kennedy understood it in 1961 when he announced a goal of landing a man on the moon in a decade and returning him safely back to earth, a goal met in 1969. New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton understood it in 1994 when...