Government Finance Review articles from June 1998

Government Finance Review archives from June 1998

Yield burning: federal agencies should pursue violators instead of victims. (artificially depressing yields on Treasury securities sold to state and local governments)(Editorial)
June 1, 1998... Since the summer of 1996, state and local government issuers have faced the prospect of being compelled to enter into closing agreements with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to protect the tax-exempt status of advance refundings because of...

NACSLB recommended budget practices: what they are and how to use them. (National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting)(includes related article on the Government Finance Officers Assn's recommended budget practices)
June 1, 1998... The work of the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting provides a broad-based "seal of approval" for a good budget process and offers a rationale and structure for change for those governments that choose to pursue its recommended...

Principles for designing the finance organization: a guide for reform efforts and leadership transitions. (includes related articles on characteristics of an effective finance structure and roles of proposed City of Los Angeles budget and finance offices)
June 1, 1998... The authors outline seven design principles for effective finance organizations and illustrate their application in a large city government. Since the turn of the century, many state and local governments have reformed their organizational...

Site-based management for Savannah-Chatham public schools: designing the financial support system. (Savannah-Chatham County Public School District)
June 1, 1998... Emphasizing accountability and using tools developed to support site-based management, the school district now tracks financial inputs to the performance of a specific school. Each year the Government Finance Officers Association bestows its...

Net available assets as a proxy for financial condition: a model for measuring and reporting resources available to a local government.
June 1, 1998... A framework that blends an economic resources measurement focus with a current financial resources measurement focus provides a systematic approach to reporting financial condition. A standardized and useful tool is needed to enable public...

A strategic alliance for promoting improvements in financial reporting by Canadian municipalities.
June 1, 1998... The alignment of the GFOA's Canadian Award for Financial Reporting Program with the PSAAB recommendations on accounting and financial reporting enhances the information and tools available to municipalities throughout Canada for improving...

Information systems outsourcing: a study of Florida cities. (results of survey on Florida cities' budget for information systems outsourcing)
June 1, 1998... Approximately 10 percent of total information systems expenditures are outsourced by Florida cities responding to this survey. While differing trends are evident between large and small cities, all show a proclivity for contracting out...

Twenty myths about privatization.
June 1, 1998... Few issues are as polarizing as privatization. The disagreement is made worse by the many myths and stereotypes about privatization. Some myths exaggerate the promises of privatization (for example, privatization is a panacea for the water...

Outsourcing support services.
June 1, 1998... Elected officials and citizens alike are continuing to "raise the bar" for performance expectations of their local governments. These governments are pressured to improve customer service and provide quick, efficient service delivery without an...

Outsourcing: the easy way out?
June 1, 1998... This article first appeared in the March 1998 issue of civic.com and is reprinted here with permission. Civic.com is a publication of FCW Government Technology Group, an IDG company. The only activity of consequence in a public-sector chief...

We chose to be more competitive. (Fort Wayne, IN's management of its water filtration plant)
June 1, 1998... This commentary was published in the April 1998 issue of Actionlines, the magazine of the Indiana Association of Cities & Towns, and is reprinted here with permission. There is a perception among many that anything government runs is...

A small city approach. (Rye, NY's computer steering committee's solution to the year 2000 computer compliance problem)
June 1, 1998... The City of Rye, New York, has a computer steering committee consisting of the city comptroller, the Management and Information Systems (MIS) coordinator, and a number of key department personnel. In 1997, the committee was assigned with...

Proactive game plan for city utilities. (Kansas City, KS' Board of Public Utilities' preparation for the year 2000 transition problem)
June 1, 1998... The Board of Public Utilities (BPU) produces and supplies the City of Kansas City and several surrounding jurisdictions with water and electric energy for domestic and industrial purposes and for public use in the city, with authority to sell and...

New systems and system upgrades. (Broward County, FL's preparation for the year 2000 computer transition problem)
June 1, 1998... Broward County is home to more than 1.4 million citizens and 29 municipalities. With 10,900 employees and a fiscal operating budget of $1.7 billion, this county relies extensively on a variety of computer systems to function and deliver vital...

Outsourcing IT management. (Riverside, CA's contract with a private firm to manage its information technology department)
June 1, 1998... Like many agencies both public and private, the City of Riverside (population 227,000) faces a multitude of issues regarding the year 2000 problem. Riverside's year 2000 problem is a double-edged sword: In addition to date-sensitive software...

Protect your city from Y2K lawsuits. (year 2000 computer transition problem)
June 1, 1998... This article is reprinted with permission from the March 1998 issue of Minnesota Cities magazine, a monthly publication of the League of Minnesota Cities. For more information, please call 612/281-1200. Are you aware of the possible liability...

South Africa: land policy and taxation in transition. (includes related articles on international attendees at the Government Finance Officers Assn's 1998 Annual Conference and the Institute of Municipal Treasurers and Accountants of South Africa)
June 1, 1998... The following article was published by the Lincoln Land Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the November 1997 issue of Land Lines and is reprinted with permission. The shift to a multi-racial government in South Africa is as pronounced...

Simpler school financing with qualified zone academy bonds.
June 1, 1998... Local governments have a new and less expensive financing technique at their disposal to deal with the need for school repairs, new equipment, and teacher training. Regulations published on January 7, 1998, by the Department of Treasury provide...

Investor alert: repo agreements. (repurchase agreements)
June 1, 1998... GFOA's Subcommittee on Investments, made up of members from GFOA's Standing Committee on Cash Management, is preparing an update to Considerations for Governments in Developing a Master Repurchase Agreement, Second Edition (GFOA 1988) to address...

Pension liabilities as a credit factor.
June 1, 1998... The following article is reprinted, with permission, from Standard & Poor's CreditWeek Municipal, April 6, 1998. Pension liabilities continue to represent a significant credit factor for state and local governments, despite very real progress...

Flexible work schedules: a rapidly growing trend.
June 1, 1998... In May 1997, more than 27 percent of all full-time wage and salary workers in the United States - about 25 million - had flexible work schedules that allowed them to vary the time they began or ended work. The proportion of workers with such...

Fiscal Policy: Lessons from Economic Research.
June 1, 1998... Auerbach, Alan J., ed. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1997. (475 pp) Reviewed by Woods Bowman, Assistant Professor of Public Service at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, and an advisor to the GFOA Committee on Governmental Budgeting and...

Growth and Variability in State Tax Revenue: An Anatomy of State Fiscal Crises.
June 1, 1998... Holcombe, Randall and Sobel, Russell Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. (224 pp) Reviewed by Allen J. Proctor, Executive Director, Ohio Police and Firemen's Disability and Pension Fund. This excellent book fills an important empirical...

Investment Decision Making in the Private and Public Sectors.
June 1, 1998... Beenhakker, Henri L. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1996. (264 pp) Reviewed by Bob Dantini, County Treasurer for Snohomish County, Washington, and a GFOA member. Investment Decision Making in the Private and Public Sectors reveals a subject...