Government Finance Review articles from December 2004

Government Finance Review archives from December 2004

Getting it right.(from the editors)(information technology)(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... Technology has become an essential component of doing business in the public sector. In the past, most discussion of technology in public sector trade literature has focused on the features and functions offered by new technologies. This was...

Rating agencies give Nassau County an "A" for financial recovery.(News & Numbers)
December 1, 2004... In a remarkable financial turnaround, Nassau County, New York, recently achieved A-range ratings from all three credit rating agencies. Even though it is one of the nation's largest and wealthiest counties. Nassau County flirted with bankruptcy...

California performance review recommends sweeping changes to state government.(News & Numbers)
December 1, 2004... After five months of examining organizational structures, analyzing data, and meeting with stakeholders, the California Performance Review has released a 2,500-page document outlining more than 1,000 recommendations for reforming and...

New releases.(News & Numbers)(book review)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... When it was first published more than 16 years ago, John Bryson's Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations introduced a new and thoughtful strategic planning model. Since then it has become the standard reference in the field....

Fort Collins, Miami-Dade County top local government Web sites.(News & Numbers)
December 1, 2004... The Center for Digital Government has announced the winners of its 2004 Best of the Web contest, which recognizes the best Web sites hosted by state, county, and city governments. The center judges Web sites on their innovation, Web-based...

Survey: city finances still deteriorating.(News & Numbers)
December 1, 2004... America's cities were less able to meet their financial needs in 2004, and expectations for 2005 are equally grim, according to "City Fiscal Conditions 2004," a recently released report by the National League of Cities. Revenues are not keeping...

Portland to profit from online housing locator.(News & Numbers)(Bureau of Housing and Development partners with Bowman Systems)
December 1, 2004... The City of Portland Bureau of Housing and Development has entered into a new partnership with Bowman Systems to market and license Housing Connections (www.housingconnections.org), an innovative housing locator service connecting people with...

ERP market dynamics for midsize governments.(enterprise resource planning)
December 1, 2004... Most analysis of public sector enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems focuses on the most technologically advanced products--those offered by large, multinational corporations such as SAP, PeopleSoft, and Oracle. However, these "Tier...

The road to ERP optimization.(enterprise resource planning)
December 1, 2004... Imagine that you work for a forward-thinking public sector organization that has decided to invest in an enterprise resource planning system, or ERP as it is commonly known. (1) Given that your organization has historically operated using a...

Pay IT Forward: no harm funding alternatives for information technology.(information technology)
December 1, 2004... The severity and sustained impact of the ongoing fiscal crisis in American government has taken on mythic qualities. Indeed, some have called the situation a "perfect storm," referring to the unwelcome confluence of a sustained revenue...

Beyond ROI: a new framework for measuring the value of technology investments.(return on investment)
December 1, 2004... During the boom years of the 1990s, governments invested heavily in information technology to comply with Y2K requirements and in hopes of realizing the promises of improved efficiency and productivity. However, as the rush to IT began to lose...

Rightsizing your technology budget.
December 1, 2004... The news is replete with examples of the many innovative ways governments are using technology. Culver City, California, recently launched free wireless Internet access in its downtown business district, enabling those who work, shop, or...

Creating a win-win retirement program.(Best Practices)
December 1, 2004... In the old days, retirement was simple. You turned 62, got an engraved watch at a small party, and received a small monthly stipend as you prepared to enter the "sunset of your life." Retirement was mostly an individual responsibility; only a...

The finance officer and the press: developing a successful relationship.(Management & Careers)
December 1, 2004... Not long ago, I received a call from a newspaper reporter who covered my jurisdiction during the last budget process. The reporter asked if I would be interested in going to lunch to talk about a possible story. The reporter and I share a fair...

The big picture: evaluating financial practices and policies.(Solutions)
December 1, 2004... It makes sense to find and fix financial weaknesses before a "hunch" becomes a "headline." It is also a good idea to periodically put aside the focus on day-to-day problems to assess the "big picture" of how a finance operation is working and...

Congressional year in review.(Federal Focus)
December 1, 2004... Before its pre-election recess, Congress addressed a number of issues of interest to states and localities, including leasing, Internet access and telecommunications taxes, pension and retirement savings, homeland security funding, health care,...

Final guidance on other postemployment benefits.(The Accounting Angle)
December 1, 2004... The basic premise of the new GASB guidance on other post-employment benefits is that they are a form of employee compensation that should be recognized as expense as the benefits are earned by employees This year saw the completion of the...

Putting a face on economic development.(The Bookshelf)(book review)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... In ICMA's recently published book entitled Managing Local Economic Development. Cases in Decision Making, Editor James M. Banovitz attempts to and largely succeeds in laying out the complex multi-dimensional landscape that is modern economic...

Calendar.(conferences and conventions)(Calendar)
December 1, 2004... gfca events December Charleston, South Carolina 6 Evaluating Internal Controls 6 Effective Budget Presentation 7 GASB Pronouncements: A Comprehensive Survey 7 8 Budgeting for Budget Analysts 8-9...

Whole cities as Internet hotspots? The Wifi revolution spreads.(Commentary)
December 1, 2004... Philadelphia is debating making all 134 square miles of the city the world's largest wireless hotspot. Boston, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and other cities are considering parallel moves. In Europe, the firm HotSpot Amsterdam is set to go...