2011 Public Officials of the Year

Mike Beebe Matthew Goldstein Ron Haddad Lee E. Haworth

Nigel Jacob and Chris Osgood Dan Liljenquist Joanie Mahoney Kasim Reed

 

FEATURES

• Who’s Winning the Amazon Tax Battles?
• By: Kirk Victor
• State legislative fights over Internet sales tax collection have been fierce, with the big Internet retailer playing the heavyweight.

• Can Redistricting Ever Be Fair?
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Several states are setting up independent commissions in the hope of removing bias from the line-drawing process.

• New Jersey Comes to Atlantic City’s Rescue
• By: David Raskin
• With revenues in freefall, the state has stepped in to save a city in decline.

POLITICS + POLICY

• States Cut Welfare Benefits -- Again
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• At a time when people need it the most, states are tightening work requirements, lowering payments and setting time limits for welfare recipients.

• New Headaches for ‘No Child Left Behind’
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• New NCLB waivers may impact the classroom more than the old law they’re trying to escape did.

• South Carolina Says It's a 'Great Day'
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• A new etiquette directive from Gov. Nikki Haley has state employees sounding more chipper.

• What Can Cities Learn from Wasps?
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• An evolutionary biologist adapts his theories to help local officials plan parks and improve schools.

• Full-Service Government Comes to an End
• By: Paul W. Taylor
• Whether we like it or not, it’s time to expect less -- lots less -- from government.

• Austin Goes 100 Percent Renewable
• By: Zach Patton
• Austin, Texas, is the nation’s first local government to run its operations with 100 percent renewable energy.

• Housing Policy Deserves a Demotion
• By: Peter Harkness
• GOVERNING Publisher Emeritus Peter Harkness says it may be time for government to get out of the business of promoting homeownership.

• More States Employ Wellness Insurance Programs
• By: David Levine
• Can incentives help state workers shed their unhealthy habits and cut health-care costs?

• Ohio EPA Will Leave National Group, State Director Says
• By: Dylan Scott
• Ohio EPA Will Leave National Group, State Director Says

• Should Government Spend or Invest Money?
• By: William Fulton
• In order to ensure long-term economic prosperity, states and localities should focus on investment.

• Pensions Threaten to Sink Cities
• By: Tod Newcombe
• Pension problems at the state level have been grabbing headlines for some time, but many experts believe the real trouble is at the local level.

PROBLEM SOLVER

• Ohio County Demolishes Homes to Remove Blight
• By: Jessica Mulholland
• A land bank knocks down foreclosed homes to stabilize Cleveland-area neighborhoods -- all at the lender’s expense.

• Performance Auditors Lose Influence in Tight Times
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• Groups that assess the value of government programs inevitably make some enemies. That’s one reason the programs are always first on the chopping block.

• Governments Testing Use of Personal Devices for Work
• By: Steve Towns
• New technologies are making it safer for government employees to access sensitive data on their personal computers and smartphones.

• State, Local Finances in a Global Economy
• By: John E. Petersen
• State and local fiscal fortunes are now linked to the ups and downs of markets on every continent.

• The Man Behind U.S. Transportation’s Future
• By: Dylan Scott
• Ron Thaniel guides the transportation conversation for the nation’s cities, and he wants to talk about infrastructure.

Training Opportunities

• Accelerating Economic Growth and Vitality
• This white paper describes how developing competencies in five key area can help public safety agencies more effectively do their jobs in the face of extremely important and difficult sets of issues.
• Crime Prediction and Prevention


• FutureStructure: A New Framework