Government Finance Review articles from February 2004

Government Finance Review archives from February 2004

By the members, for the members.([from the editor])(Editorial)
February 1, 2004... At GFOA, we take great pride in fulfilling our mandate to provide high-quality products and services to our members. Of all the activities GFOA is engaged in, perhaps none is as dependent on the membership as this publication, Government...

Commission recommends overhaul of Philadelphia Tax system.
February 1, 2004... The Philadelphia Tax Reform Commission has proposed a comprehensive over haul of the city's tax structure with the aim of improving Philadelphia's competitiveness in attracting and retaining residents, businesses, and jobs. The Commission,...

Survey indicates CPFO designation a career enhancer.(News & Numbers)
February 1, 2004... GFOA's Certified Public Finance Officer program continues to grow and generate interest from the membership. Since the first examination in 1997, 260 individuals have passed all five examinations required to achieve the CPFO designation. An...

State declares Pittsburgh 'distressed'.(Pittsburgh)
February 1, 2004... Citing the findings of a state-commissioned review of Pittsburgh's finances and the testimony of several city officials, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development announced December 29 that it would grant Pittsburgh's...

State budgets still struggling despite recovering economy.(News & Numbers)
February 1, 2004... Faced with stagnant revenues and persistent spending pressures, states have struggled with budget shortfalls over the past three years. According to the most recent edition of The Fiscal Survey of States by the National Association of State...

Local Tax Policy: a Federalist Perspective.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Local governments across the United States are struggling to raise revenue to pay for public services. Increased demands by citizens for more and better services; the ever-rising costs of providing services; and a plethora of legal and...

GASB issues technical bulletin on tobacco settlement proceeds.(News & Numbers)(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The Governmental Accounting Standards Board recently published a new technical bulletin (available online at www.gasb.org), Tobacco Settlement Recognition and Financial Reporting Entity Issues, which addresses accounting by state and local...

Public finance professionals predict good year for municipal market.(News & Numbers)
February 1, 2004... MBIA Inc. and The Bond Buyer recently released the results of their 2004 Municipal Market Outlook Survey, indicating widespread optimism about the performance of public finance markets this year. More than 300 professionals--including...

The citizen's guide to the Nashville budget: providing better information in better ways.
February 1, 2004... Congratulations, you finally have the budget completed! It is balanced, meets the needs of your citizens, addresses the priorities of your elected officials, keeps taxes low, pays for those rising health insurance costs, and maybe even provides...

IIA and GAO work to clarify standards differences.(Institute of Internal Auditors)(General Accounting Office)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... According to a recent article appearing in the August 2003 Internal Auditor, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) are working together to clarify any perceived discrepancy between the two...

Bringing Rigor to cutback management: Eugene's constrained prioritization process.
February 1, 2004... Ashrinking revenue base and increased demand for public services has made the need to prioritize government services critical the last few years. The federal budget has gone from a $127 billion surplus in fiscal 2001 to an estimated $480...

A new model for fiscal regionalism: greater Racines plan for overcoming fiscal disparity.
February 1, 2004... In recent years, observers of urban management have paid increasingly close attention to the governance of metropolitan regions. In a 2002 book on this topic, scholar and former municipal manager David Miller suggests that "there is a movement,...

Financing the future of Government--Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (GFOA Conference At-A-Glance.(Government Finance Officers Association)(Illustration)(Calendar)
February 1, 2004... GFOA CONFERENCE AT-A-GLANCE FINANCING THE FUTURE OF GOVERNMENT--MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting SUNDAY -...

GFOA preconference seminars June 11-12, 2004: make the most of your travel to GFOA's 2004 annual conference!(Government Finance Officers Association)(Calendar)
February 1, 2004... Win-Win? Labor and Management Cooperation Strategies Half-day Seminar: Friday, June 11, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. 4 CPE credits As governments continue to face fiscal pressures, they are undertaking whole-scale operational reviews of public...

Budgeting for excellence: how the university of Missouri-Kansas City transformed its budget process using the NACSLB standards.
February 1, 2004... There comes a time in the life of any organization--be it a corporation, non-profit, university, or government--when culture change becomes the highest priority. Without it, the organization seems destined to become a hollow shell, far removed...

The GFOA and professionalism local government.
February 1, 2004... Increasing the level of professionalism in local government was a significant component of the study and practice of public administration during the 20th century. (1) It partially stemmed from the desire to formalize local government...

Pension investment policies: why, how, and to what effect? Pension investment policies that thoughtfully address all of the elements in GFOA's recommended practice can go a long way toward helping public pension systems grow assets and deliver retirement benefits.(Best Practices)
February 1, 2004... The recent turbulence in the economy and the financial markets underscores the importance of having and adhering to a well-reasoned investment policy and strategy. In the years since the dot-com bubble burst, state and local government...

The CPFO program, state training, and local career development: strategically linking national certification to state training programs and government career development programs recognizes employee accomplishments, enhances recruitment and retention, and professionalizes the practice of public finance.(Management & Careers)(Certified Public Finance Officer)
February 1, 2004... GFOA created the Certified Public Finance Officer program (CPFO) in 1995 to provide objective verification of an individual's knowledge of the core competencies of public finance. Although other national certifications recognized technical...

Is your tax assessment and collection system taxing you? Modern assessment and taxation systems offer functional improvements and system openness that were unthinkable when many legacy systems were written.(Solutions)
February 1, 2004... For nearly seven years, GFOA's Research and Consulting Center has provided technology consulting services to state and local governments. Although our technology consulting practice has focused on financial management systems, sometimes termed...

Busy legislative agenda includes key state, local issues: GFOA will continue to monitor key issues of importance to state and local finance during a busy legislative agenda complicated by election-year politics.(Federal Focus)
February 1, 2004... The second session of the 108th Congress promises to be a hectic and eventful one. Lawmakers achieved several noteworthy accomplishments during the first session, including the first-ever spending bill for the new Homeland Security Department,...

GASB proposes change to forthcoming OPEB guidance: the GASB recently issued a revised exposure draft on other postemployment benefits that would alter the treatment of implicit rate subsidies in favor of even greater accrual.(The Accounting Angle)(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
February 1, 2004... In February 2003, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board issued an exposure draft proposing that employers be required to accrue the cost of other postemployment benefits, or OPEB, as those benefits are earned by employees. (1) In January,...

Adapting fiscal systems to a changing environment.(The Bookshelf)(State and Local Finances under Pressure)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Over the next 25 years, state and local governments will be forced to confront the fiscal impact of changing demographics, economic conditions, technology, and political attitudes. In the past, state and local governments restructured their...

Calendar.(Government Finance Officers Association events)(Calendar)
February 1, 2004... [gfloa events] February Baltimore, MD 9 Pension Accounting 9 Capital Asset Accounting and Reporting 9-10 Designing Performance Measurement Systems (Introductory) 10 Evaluating Internal Controls 10 GASB Pronouncements: A Comprehensive...

State budget quandaries: any heroes out there?(Commentary)
February 1, 2004... The pedals have hit the metal. The states have performed virtually all the budget patchwork they can--accounting gimmicks, higher fees, reduced services, trimmed payrolls, tapping tobacco settlement money, resorting to bonds to maintain roads....