Weedoo clearing the way: Why more municipalities are turning to mechanical harvesting for waterway health
Public works departments are under growing pressure to meet environmental regulations, manage costs and maintain community trust. Nowhere is that balancing act more visible than in aquatic maintenance. From stormwater canals to retention ponds, municipalities face persistent challenges: invasive weeds, … More from our cover sponsor →
CDBG funding to fight blight
It can be a nightmare for any neighborhood: A house or apartment complex in disrepair is ruining the block, and the landlord defies cleanup/renovation orders. Eventually, local government is tasked with taking matters into its own hands. Programs like the … Continue reading →
Are happier days here again? Improvements indicate the beginning of a turnaround
Although no one’s goıng on a spendıng spree anytime soon, for the first time since the economic turndown, local, state and federal governments are loosening the purse strings a little. Vacancies have been filled in some departments, and a few … Continue reading →
Property tax revenue: Awaiting the trickle-down
The good news ıs ın. Accordıng to a recent Moody’s report, property values are on the rise, albeit slowly. While this trend is favorable, local governments are finding their hands tied when it comes to capturing additional revenue from property … Continue reading →
Bond financing for small and mid-size cities
The National League of Cities recently noted how intergovernmental grants to municipalities are shrinking and becoming more competitive. As a result of this and other factors, local governments have been searching for other ways of obtaining funding, often with mixed … Continue reading →
Civic crowdfunding
As budgets get stretched tighter and tighter, everyone is looking for innovative ways to complete civic projects. Civic crowdfunding is an avenue that has met with some success. Crowdfunding is defined as the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas or … Continue reading →
Will your municipality be ready for its building safety experts to retire?
For more than a century, building codes have been implemented nationwide to protect the health, safety and welfare of their communities. To be effective, codes must have a robust development process and enforcement infrastructure. America’s code administration and enforcement professionals … Continue reading →
Following the money
Accordıng to the evenıng news, the recession has been declared officially over. While Scott Pelley may be technically correct on that count, we know that it has come at the cost of a paradigm shift: one that we are far … Continue reading →
June 2015 Classifieds
Click below to download the classified listings from the June 2015 edition of The Municipal. Download June’s Classifieds here.
Continue reading →Should your community establish a BEMOC or BEOC?
When it comes to preparing for, responding to and recovering from an emergency situation, proper communication between the public and private sector is the key to keeping infrastructure up and running. Across the nation, big cities and smaller municipalities have … Continue reading →
Gibsonton, Fla.: A real ‘freak’ town
Gibsonton, Fla., an unincorporated town in Hillsborough County, became famous as a circus sideshow wintering town. Twenty miles south of Tampa, it looks like any other small town: It has a library, a post office and a truck stop. But … Continue reading →
Fortifying the future of fire service
Choosing a career is never easy, and many young people do not get the chance to experience a certain field until college. But in some states youth who are interested in firefighting don’t have to wait until they are older … Continue reading →
Where ‘respect is a two-way street’
Carl Cannon wants to stop kids from getting into trouble before it’s too late. He has a plan that, so far, is working. Cannon is assistant general manager of recreation, with responsibility as supervisor, for Youth Outreach and Intervention with … Continue reading →
Name calling
Are people talking about your town or city — is it getting a reputation for being weird or different? The things that make a community unique — avante-garde, artsy communities, Bohemian neighborhoods, infamous histories — are precisely the things that can attract more … Continue reading →
Community enhancement with Smart Growth America
When it comes to contemplating the ideal avenues for progress, advancements can be overwhelming to smaller enclaves that are perhaps unprepared for radical changes beyond a certain way of living. But the opposite perspective also exists, in which forward movement … Continue reading →
Shared strengths: millennials and boomers
Millennials and baby boomers are increasingly seeking to settle in urban areas. This requires municipal leaders to look at what is important for these groups in terms of amenities, culture and opportunities: in other words, what makes a community age-friendly. Millennials = Teens … Continue reading →
Municipal leadership: encouraging women to take the helm
It’s an issue presumed to have been relegated to past generations: the underrepresentation of women in local, state and federal government leadership. But in February, “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd made an observation. In the company of female officials … Continue reading →
Focus on: City & Town Management
85% In an overwhelming majority of U.S. cities with populations greater than 2,500, in addition to an elected mayor, there is also a professional manager in place who is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the community. Source: www.icma.org … Continue reading →
