Government Finance Review articles from October 2001

Government Finance Review archives from October 2001

The GASB's Mission and Performance Measurement.
October 1, 2001... The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is proud of the leadership role it played in helping to establish the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). As an organization we remain firmly committed to the GASB's role as the...

States Struggling with Revenue Shortfalls.
October 1, 2001... During the 1990s, many state governments used their budget surpluses to fund new programs. The real cumulative growth from 1990 to 1998 in state spending was 30 percent, or $630 more per person. Now the stagnant economy has caught up with the...

Pension Fund Manager Bilks Clients, Arrested Again.
October 1, 2001... Prominent pension fund manager Alan Bond has been charged with bilking three clients--two pension funds and an investment advisory group--out of $56 million. Over a 16-month period, Bond allegedly made $6.3 million by reallocating profitable...

Rating Agencies Downgrade State of Tennessee's Bond Rating.(Moody's Investors Service, Fitch IBCA)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... Both Moody's Investors Service and Fitch IBCA downgraded Tennessee's bond rating after the state legislature voted August 8 to override the governor's veto and adopt a budget that fails to address annual revenue shortfalls. Moody's downgraded...

Tobacco Settlement Balancing Budgets, not Preventing Smoking.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... According to a recent report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, only 5 percent of the nation's landmark tobacco settlement money is being spent on smoking prevention. The settlement was meant to compensate states for health...

Municipalities Entering Telecommunications Business.
October 1, 2001... The beleaguered telecommunications industry is now facing competition from an unlikely source: city hall. Municipal governments across the country have built their own fiber-optic networks in response to the demand for improved cable...

Future of Minnesota Tax Increment Financing in Doubt.
October 1, 2001... New state legislation aimed at reforming Minnesota's property tax system shouldn't affect repayment of outstanding TIF bonds. However, the new legislation could seriously limit the future use of TIF bonds and reduce funds for other projects....

London Mayor Promoting Tax to Fight Traffic Congestion.(Ken Livingstone)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... London Mayor Ken Livingstone plans to continue with a radical proposal to reduce traffic congestion in central London that could become a model for crowded cities in other countries. Starting in January 2003, Livingstone plans to impose a daily...

Property Tax Relief for Accommodating Seniors and Disabled.(Ontario, Canada)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The province of Ontario has expanded a tax-relief program designed to help the elderly and disabled live at home. Originally, only homes that were renovated or improved to accommodate a disabled person or senior citizen were eligible, but now...

Illinois Garnishing Wages of Non-filing State Employees.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... The State of Illinois has begun garnishing the wages of more than 1,100 state employees who did not file 1998 state income tax returns. All of these individuals received two letters before the garnishments began, warning them that they could...

IRS to Examine Advance Refundings for Arbitrage Compliance.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Troubled by reports that issuers are earning excessive arbitrage by not converting advance refunding escrows into zero-interest securities, the Internal Revenue Service is preparing to launch a random examination to determine the extent of the...

City Seeks Millions in Police, Fire Trims.(Philadelphia, PA)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... Philadelphia's mayor has asked both the police and fire departments to identify ways to save money in their operations. The mayor's request is the result of a slumping economy that has contributed to a marked decline in local wage-tax...

Kentucky to Offer Prepaid Tuition Program.(Affordable Prepaid Tuition plan)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Kentucky is preparing to become the 20th state to offer a prepaid tuition program that will help families afford college by guaranteeing the cost of tomorrow's tuition at today's lower prices. Under Kentucky's Affordable Prepaid Tuition (KAPT)...

Rethinking the Fiscal Role of the States in Public Education.(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... This article offers an empirical examination of the variation in state funding responsibility for K-12 education, considering its impact on equity and innovation in the public school system. With federal funds accounting for only 7 percent...

Charter Schools and Private Profits.
October 1, 2001... The emergence of educational management organizations to run charters raises questions about the pursuit of profits and the quality of education. Editor's note: This article is reprinted with permission from the May 2000 issue of The...

The Impact of Property Tax Limitations on School Funding and Performance.(in Nebraska)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... Because school districts derive a large proportion of their revenue from property taxes, tax limitations are an important education finance issue. The author explores the effect of tax limitation legislation on school districts in Nebraska. ...

Alleviating Teacher Shortages through Pension Plan Redesign.
October 1, 2001... Shifting demographic patterns have resulted in a teacher shortage that is threatening the quality of classroom instruction in America's public schools. This article examines how many states are redesigning pension plans to alleviate this...

Closing the Budget Gap through Tax Base Appreciation.(in Hollywood, Florida)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... This article describes how the City of Hollywood, Florida, is closing its annual budget gap through an innovative program designed to create tax base appreciation through public capital investment. Every year, local governments throughout...

Linking School Performance to Resource Allocation.
October 1, 2001... Public school districts, like most government entities, are attracting increasing scrutiny from stakeholders seeking to hold them accountable for their use of tax dollars. Prior to the 1990s, however, evaluation of school districts was mostly...

Capital Planning for Public School Systems.(in Fauquier County, Virginia)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... Fauquier County is located approximately 40 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., in Virginia's "Hunt Country." Despite policies to manage and control growth, the county grew 13 percent during the last decade to a population of more than 55,000....

2000 Census Yields Unexpected Results.(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... The 2000 Census ushered in the third century of census-taking in the United States, yielding results both expected and surprising. On April 1, 2000, the U.S. population stood at 281,421,906 (Exhibit 1). This figure includes the addition of 32.7...

Two New GASB Standards.
October 1, 2001... In June, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) released two new authoritative pronouncements. One of these new standards amends and clarifies various aspects of the new governmental financial reporting model. The other promulgates...

Information Technology in Local Government: A Practical Guide for Managers.(Review)
October 1, 2001... Schulz, Jerome A. Washington, D.C.: International City/County Management Association (214 pp) Reviewed by Alan Augustsan, Policy Analyst and Consultant, GFOA Research and Consulting Center, Chicago, Illinois. Improving the...

Making Results-Based State Government Work.(Review)
October 1, 2001... Liner, Blame; Hatry, Harry P.; Vinson, Elisa; Allen, Ryan; Dusenbury, Pat; Bryan, Scott; and Snell, Ron. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, April 2001 (150 pp) Reviewed by W. Anderson Williams, Policy Analyst, GFOA Research and...

ACCOUNTING, AUDITING, AND FINANCIAL REPORTING.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The Readability of Government's Letter of Transmittal Relative to Public Company Management's Discussion and Analysis Kinnersley, Randall L. and Fleischman, Gary M. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting, & Financial Management,...

CAPITAL FINANCE.
October 1, 2001... The Effect of Tax Increment Finance on Local Government Financial Condition Kriz, Kenneth A. Municipal Finance Journal, Spring 2001, pp. 41-64. By employing a probability-based analysis technique called Monte Carlo simulation,...

CASH MANAGEMENT.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... Fee or Free? Swope, Christopher Governing, July 2001, pp. 46-47. An increasing number of governments are now offering online tax payment in an effort to make the process of tax collection more convenient and cost effective for all...

DEBT MANAGEMENT.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Do Debt Policies Make a Difference in Finance Officers' Perceptions of the Importance of Debt Management Factors? Simonsen, Bill; Robbins, Mark D.; and Kittredge, Bill Public Budgeting and Finance, Spring 2001, pp. 87-102. Despite...

Burnout: When Bad Things Happen to Good Managers.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Delio Michelle Knowledge Management, March 2001, pp. 33-40. Knowledge management is a systematic process through which organizations gain insight and understanding from their own experiences. Knowledge management is a complex field...

Competitive Cities: A Report Card on Efficiency in Service Delivery in America's Largest Cities.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Moore, Adrian T.; Nolan, James; and Segal, Geoffrey A. with Taylor, Matthew Reason Public Policy Institute, Policy Study No. 282, April 2001. 80 pp. Consumers can turn to a variety of sources for objective information on just about...

PRIVATIZATION.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... A Strategic Framework for Devolving Responsibility and Functions from Government to the Private Sector Cohen, Steven Public Administration Review, July/August 2001, pp. 432-440. Once elected officials have determined that a...