In this public works edition of The Municipal, we have several pieces of good news to share. Foremost among them is that the APWA annual conference is nearly here again: that chance to get a handle on what’s coming down … Continue reading →
Tax incremental financing is sometimes hailed as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Other times it’s denounced as a poison pill for local government budgets. TIF, a taxing method to entice urban redevelopment, was invented by the California legislature in … Continue reading →
States are relying on user fees more than ever: In fiscal year 2011, user fees provided an average of 17.1 percent of revenues raised directly by states. In 1992, that figure was only 5 percent, according to the National Conference … Continue reading →
Starting with our June 2014 edition, we want to welcome you to the revised and improved version of The Municipal magazine. After conducting market research, we found that our readers and advertisers preferred a combined North and South edition. We … Continue reading →
Memorial Day, which falls this year on May 26, will witness special celebrations in a variety of patriotic ways. In fact, some cities observe the holiday all month long. In Myrtle Beach, S.C., Military Appreciation Days are May 1–31. For … Continue reading →
Meet Stephen Shelley, Homestead, Fla.’s municipal equivalent of the backup quarterback. Shelley was elected last year to a two-year term as the city’s vice mayor, on the same ballot by which he was also reelected for another four years as … Continue reading →
By TROY KIDDER | Kidder and Co. Inc. If there wasn’t enough to do already as a municipal manager, the list just got longer. There is one issue quickly jumping to the top: improving communications and public relations with the … Continue reading →
You build pavilions, groom beaches and employ lifeguards only to watch fowl intruders chase residents out of their own lakeside park? It was 2012 when employees of Howell Area Parks and Recreation Authority, north of Detroit, Mich., decided to put … Continue reading →
Surveyed in 1871 and platted in 1872, Worthington, Minn., has a long history. It was first tied to the railroads and the women’s temperance movement before evolving into a melting pot of diversity, both in business and community, over the … Continue reading →
With the largest firefighting show in the world coming up this month, The Municipal has public safety — particularly firefighting — on the brain. We’ve been particularly concerned lately by the invasion of wildland urban interface into practically every community … Continue reading →
Nothing brings the South to a standstill like snow and ice. This winter, multiple, merciless rounds of both took Georgia, the Carolinas and their neighbors from a scene out of “Sweet Home Alabama” to something more akin to “The Day … Continue reading →
