Government Finance Review

Public administration techniques The City of Concord, NC, entered into an agreement with the University of North Carolina-Charlotte for access to its geographic information system (GIS) technology. City officials wanted to generate n ruban development plan without spending on software, hardware and personnel training. The collaboration involved the integration of the university's GIS into city operations. The project involved the creation of a database as well as software which could be used...

America has to deal with its cities.

Henry Cisneros' speech, April 19, 1993 - Transcript Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Sec Henry G. Cisneros believes that the Federal government has contributed to the decline of urban areas because of their neglect for public housing and lack of commitment to the implementation of fair housing laws. Cisneros feels that urban communities have deteriorated in the absence of appropriate role models which should have been ensured by the right economic mix for housing developments. In this lig...

Back to business after the bombing.

World Trade Center The bombing of the World Trade Center disrupted the activities of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's treasury department. However, the implementation of a business resumption plan which allowed the staff to identify an alternative office space, retrieve computer software and files and allocate enough hardware allowed the department to prioritize resumption of critical activities. These activities included the scheduled debt service payments and other cash and ...

Breaking Through Bureaucracy: A New Vision for Managing Government.

Collateralization of public deposits.

The Financial Institutions Reform, recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) defines the requirements for ensuring that deposits of public institutions are adequately collateralized. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has provided the guidelines as to its treatment of security interests of bankrupt depository institutions in its capcity as conservator. For its part, the Government Finance Officers Assn has collaborated with the FDIC to assist members' compliance with FIRREEA...

Enforcement of revenue collections.

Local governments must ensure the effective enforcement of revenue collection procedures to ensure that the government can function with adequate finances. Hence, revenue collection enhancement programs must center on controlling tax delinquency, identifying the non-payers and auditing all taxpayers. The government can apply a variety of methods to improve tax collections. These methods will include imposing penalties and interests and tax liens, filing a tax warrant, property seizure, withol...

Enterprise zones as an instrument of urban policy: a review of the zones in South Central Los Angeles.

Enterprise zones were created in the depressed areas of South Central Los Angeles, CA, in 1989 to encourage the influx of investments in the area. The state designates the enterprise zone areas and provides tax incentives and reduced regulations to boost redevelopment of the area. In the case of South Central Los Angeles, tax credits were offered to companies to hire unemployed persons and machinery purchases. In addition, income tax deductions were also offered for real property purchases an...

From Redlining to Reinvestment: Community Responses to Urban Reinvestment.

On-site daycare: the competitive advantage.

South Florida Water Management District's social program The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) established a partnership with a developer and a daycare operator in the 1980s in order to provide daycare facilities for its employees. The company recognized that access to daycare services would attract as well as retain high-quality personnel, especially those in the first half of their working careers. The SFWMD pursued an innovative approach to develop the center, while at the s...

Sharing Environmental Risks: How to Control Governments' Losses in Natural Disasters.

The North American Free Trade Agreement: implications for transportation.

Includes related article The conclusion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the US, Canada and Mexico is expected to eliminate trade barriers, subsequently liberalizing freight transport across the borders of these countries. NAFTA provides that freight service to all points within the three nations would be allowed in the sixth year of its implementation. NAFTA provisions have also covered improvement of border infrastructures including Customs facilities, roads and b...

The systems selection process.

Management information systems The process of selecting the most appropriate management information systems has become more critical with the advent of cost-effective technologies and various options. hence, companies should review the process diligently beginning with the appointment of a Selection Committee to oversee the project. The committee should conduct a needs assessment survey to evaluate the existing system against future requirements. The committee should be able to identify hard...

Using activity-based costing for efficiency and quality.

The City of Indianapolis determined the cost of providing a particular social service to its constituents by hiring a consultant to apply activity-based costing (ABC) to evaluate these programs. The process enabled city officials to prioritize services according to the departments which could most efficiently deliver them. The ABC method was able to pinpoint specific costs for specific activities. The application of the ABC method allowed the city of Indianapolis to evaluate the actual value ...

Who owns public pension fund assets? New York Supreme Court ruling.

The legislature of the State of New York tried to mandate a reduction in employer contributions to the state pension system known as Common Retirement Fund. The Supreme Court ruled against the legislature, invoking the difference between financial reporting standards and equitable funding obligations as defined by the Government Accounting Standards Board.The attempt of New York's legislature to apply a new actuarial method to lower employer contributions in time of a budgetary crisis clearly...