Government Finance Review articles from June 2002

Government Finance Review archives from June 2002

Public pension plans well-funded. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Overall, the funding ratio of public pension plans increased to more than 103 percent as of the end of 2000, according to the latest survey from the Public Pension Coordinating Council. This represents a continued increase in funding ratios...

Orange County upgraded by Standard & Poor. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Seven years after the largest municipal bankruptcy in history, Orange County, California's financial progress was underscored in April by an upgrade from Standard & Poor's. The agency upgraded the county's issuer credit rating from A to A-plus...

Tobacco revenues falling short of expectations. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... State governments may soon have to rethink their plans to fund health, education, and other programs with the money from the $240 billion national tobacco settlement. According to a recent study by the Council of State Governments, revenues...

Low electricity prices could mean higher rates for Seattle. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Raise rates or assume additional debt? This is the question Seattle City Light must answer to close a projected $160 million budget deficit. Last year, City Light raised rates nearly 60 percent after being forced to buy power from the wholesale...

Scottsdale group seeking to de-privatize fire department. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... An outraged citizens group in Scottsdale, Arizona, is looking to replace the private Rural/Metro Fire Department with a municipal fire department. The Committee to Protect Scottsdale and Our Firefighters claims Rural/Metro's staffing and...

HMO premiums to rise 25 percent for CalPERS members. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... After receiving bids that proposed increases ranging from 15.1 to 41.1 percent, the board of the California Public Employee Retirement System said HMO premiums would rise an average of 25.1 percent for 2003. CalPERS also is dropping two of its...

West Virginia latest state to endorse Sales Tax Simplification Project. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... In March, West Virginia Governor Bob Wise signed into law a bill authorizing the state's participation in negotiations to make it easier for states to tax out-of-state sales. West Virginia is the 24th state to pass legislation in support of the...

Oversight panel approves Nassau County's budget plan. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The Nassau Interim Finance Authority in April unanimously approved a four-year plan to close Nassau County's $428 million budget gap, avoiding a state takeover of county finances for the time being. Proposed by new County Executive Thomas...

Nebraska Legislators restore spending cuts, raise taxes. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... The unicameral Nebraska Legislature in April restored $44 million of spending vetoed by the governor and increased taxes to raise an additional $140 million to balance the state's fiscal 2002-2003 budget. Nebraska is facing an estimated...

Texas court upholds school financing system. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... A Texas appeals court upheld a challenge to the state's 1993 education finance law, rejecting the complaints of four property-wealthy school districts. The districts argued unsuccessfully that the maximum property tax rate of $1.50 per $100 of...

North Caroling facing $2 million penalty for e-procurement system. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... A much heralded e-procurement project that was supposed to save North Carolina $52 million may end up costing the state more than $2 million by the end of June. The original idea was to establish a common database that would link the state and...

Fairfax County Retirement Administrator charged with embezzling $1.2 million. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The former administrator of Fairfax County's Retirement Administration Agency has been charged with embezzling more than $1.2 million in retirement funds by laundering the money in a relative's trust fund for six years. The scheme was unraveled...

Using your Web site to enhance bond market disclosure: the proliferation of government Web sites offers a powerful tool for communicating disclosure information to the municipal bond market.(government uses the Internet)
June 1, 2002... The Internet has fundamentally changed the way information is communicated and the way business is conducted. Governments have embraced technology in the quest to operate more efficiently and effectively and to better serve their constituents....

State revenue forecasting: An institutional framework.(Minnesota)
June 1, 2002... The revenue forecasting environment can be as important as the projections themselves, since credibility ultimately influences utility. The independence and transparency that characterize Minnesota's forecasting framework help keep the state's...

Improving revenue projections: 10 questions--and answers; a systematic approach to revenue forecasting increases the likelihood of reliable projections and eliminates some of the mystery for government stakeholders.(budget forecasts)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The recent budget woes of state and local governments are a testament to both the difficulty and the importance of accurately projecting revenues. Multi-year revenue forecasts play a critical role in public finance by minimizing uncertainty...

Financing economic development: a survey of techniques.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Economic development has evolved into an important activity for state and local governments. Understanding the various methods of financing these efforts can help governments maximize private investment in their communities. Economic...

Technology for small governments: Ohio's uniform accounting network.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Responding to financial crises and accounting deficiencies caused by manual bookkeeping procedures in small governments, the Ohio Auditor of State has made automated financial systems an affordable reality for the state's 2,012 village and...

Paperless document recording: saving time and money in Broward County; Broward County's use of electronic document recording demonstrates how governments can use technology to improve operational efficiency and better serve their customers.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Editor's note: Each year GFOA bestows its prestigious Awards for Excellence to recognize outstanding contributions to the practice of government finance. This article describes the 2001 winning entry in the Technology category. Ensuring...

E-government evolution: the Richardson, Texas, experience; after successfully managing the transition to e-government, the City of Richardson, Texas, continues to add to its electronic service portfolio.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Editor's note: Each year GFOA bestows its prestigious Awards for Excellence to recognize outstanding contributions to the practice of government finance. This article describes the 2001 winning entry in the Management and Service Delivery...

Managing your investment program in today's market. (Money Management Matters).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Interest earnings from investments often are an important revenue source for governments. In today's markets, historically low interest rates make this especially difficult. Investors of public funds may be tempted to chase yield by extending...

Enterprise risk management: from mitigation to optimization. (Forum).(government)
June 1, 2002... Having worked for a combined 35 years in and around the finance offices of major Midwest state and local governments both as clients and advisors, we can appreciate the skepticism with which finance officers must approach enterprise risk...

ServiceArizona: overcoming the obstacles to e-government. (Digital Government on the Internet).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The advent of the Internet and its explosive growth over the last decade has created demand for this electronic channel as a service medium for government transactions. As Web users have become increasingly comfortable doing business online,...

The making of the federal budget. (Federal Focus).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... In some years, the congressional budget resolution can be among the most important pieces of legislation Congress considers. In other years--this may be one--the budget resolution may not matter much at all. In fact, the common wisdom is that...

State and provincial representatives. (Profiling GFOA).(Directory)
June 1, 2002... One of many ways Government Finance Officers Association members can participate in the association is by serving as a state provincial representative. The representatives are appointed to two-year terms by the GFOA president on the...

Maryland GFOA joins opposition to the GASB's performance initiative. (Letter to the Editor).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The Maryland Government Finance Officers Association and its 773 members join the Government Finance Officers Association and the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers in supporting performance measurement as part of the budget...

Using Competition for Performance Improvement: A Resource for Practitioners Advising Governments and Not-for-Profits. (Book Reviews).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Michael A. Crawford, CPA New York: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Inc. (260 pp.) Reviewed by Greg Condell, senior manager, GFOA Research and Consulting Center, Chicago, Illinois. As a public finance...

The Politics of Public Budgeting. (Book Reviews).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Irene S. Rubin New York, NY: Chatham House Publishers, 2000. (310 pp) Reviewed by Jeff McElravy, policy analyst, GFOA Research and Consulting Center, Chicago, Illinois. The fourth edition of Irene Rubin's best-known text updates...

Accounting, auditing, and financial reporting. (From the Library).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... "The New Governmental Accounting Model: What It Means for Analyzing Government Financial Condition" Barbara A. Chaney, Dean Michael Mead, and Kenneth R. Schermann Journal of Government Financial Management, Spring 2002, pp. 26-30. ...

Budgeting. (From the Library).
June 1, 2002... "Implementing Performance-Based Program Budgeting: A System-Dynamics Perspective" Gloria A. Grizzle and Carole D. Pettijohn Public Administration Review, January/February 2002, pp. 51-62. This article discusses the factors that...

Cash management. (From the Library).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... "Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment: Is it Just a Click Away?" Alexandria Andreeff, Lisa C. Binmoeller, Eve M. Boboch, Oscar Cerda, Sujit Chakravorti, Thomas Ciesielski, and Edward Green Economic Perspectives, Fourth Quarter 2001,...

Debt management. (From the Library).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Bond Insurance as a Form of Credit Enhancement in California's Municipal Debt Market Frank Moore California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, January 2002. Credit enhancement is becoming increasingly common in the municipal...

Economic development. (From the Library).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... "Public Subsidies for Headquarters Hotel Development: Are They Necessary?" Charles Johnson and Charles Hunden Economic Development Journal, Winter 2002, pp. 13-18. A recent development in public finance is the use of tax-exempt...

Pensions and benefits. (From the Library).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... "Are Expert Assumptions Faulty? Nevin Adams and Fred Schneyer Plan Sponsor, April 2002, pp. 78-83 This article examines the assumptions individuals use to chart their course for retirement. There are three key assumptions that may...

Performance measurement. (From the Library).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... "Gaining Strategic Alignment: Scorecards That Work" William Fonvielle and Lawrence P. Carr Accounting Management Quarterly, Fall 2001, pp. 4-14. Organizational alignment occurs when employees share a clear sense of purpose,...

Calendar.
June 1, 2002... JUNE June 2-5: Federation of Tax Administrators Annual Meeting. Nashville, TN. For more information, visit www.taxadmin.org. June 6-7: The Bond Buyer's 2nd Financial Innovations and Derivatives Conference. New York, NY. For more...

Slippery corporations: how to capture their wealth. (Commentary).(double taxation of corporate profits)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Big shifts in corporate taxation--federal and state--suggest the time is ripe for the radical cure some business circles have long asked for: elimination of double taxation on corporate earnings. Tax the money just once: when it reaches...