Finance
Managing public finance has become a demanding aspect of state and local government, especially as economic health fluctuates and outside forces create revenue instability. Articles on taxes, budgets, pensions and bonds help to bring insight to finance management at the state and local level.
Work requirements remain on the table but Congress will not cut the matching rate for the Affordable Care Act expansion or impose per capita limits on states.
Private credit has gained a growing share of pension portfolios over the past decade. It’s time to take a second look under the hood.
A budget document shows that Montgomery County’s Democratic Central Committee hasn’t paid the federal government thousands of dollars in fines and fees for unpaid taxes in 2017 and 2018.
Volunteer Florida reported that $32.5 million of the money was awarded in grants to groups such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Another $4 million was set aside for a small-business recovery program.
Current government budgeting processes are not up to the demands of a world where the future looks less and less like the past.
It’s the only city in the U.S. to own an interstate railway. Now Cincinnati wants to sell to Norfolk Southern and create an infrastructure trust fund. But first, voters need to give the plan their OK.
The Legislature killed a school funding bill after it was tied to a contentious school voucher plan that would use public funds for private schools, forcing districts to lay off staff and new buses to afford teacher raises.
It is irresponsible and dangerous for politicians to dictate which investments public asset managers must favor. States, municipalities and public pensions are paying higher interest rates on bonds and getting poorer returns on investments.
Inflation rates are coming down, but state and local labor costs will be sticky, as will public-employee health-care expenses. Overall, though, it’s a better outlook for pension funding and astute government cash managers.
State Republican lawmakers, the powerful petroleum lobby and the public pension funds targeted by the bill oppose the measure that would divest the state’s retirement funds and sell nearly $15 billion in assets.
More than a dozen states have debated or passed legislation to better define charity care, to increase transparency about the benefits that nonprofit hospitals provide or to set minimum financial thresholds for charitable care.
The city spends roughly $1 of every $5 on pensions while more than 80 percent of property tax dollars go towards retirement payouts. In November, the city had no junk ratings for the first time since 2015.
County administrators realized too late that they needed to renew the local gas tax for another 30 years. Once the current law expires on Aug. 31 the tax won’t be renewed until Jan. 1, costing the county about $18 million.
Attractive investment returns could accompany economic development if local public pension systems join forces with angel investors to capitalize on a marketplace void.
After years of consideration, the city council has voted to fund a feasibility study to create a public bank that would offer opportunities for affordable housing, green energy and wealth creation that private banks overlook.
State lawmakers must develop a plan for dealing with a potential multibillion-dollar budget hole that stems from misuse of COVID-era funds for unemployment benefits. But some still believe there could be room for tax cuts.
Most American households don’t save enough for retirement, so some states are pushing private employers to make it easier through state-sponsored payroll withholding plans. Getting the structure and strategy right is crucial.
A new book by Yale law professor David Schleicher explores the benefits and drawbacks of various responses to state and local debt crises. It’s a trilemma that leaders will face again and again, Schleicher says.
A shortage of accountants and auditors has left dozens of municipalities without credit ratings, and new financial reporting requirements are likely to make things worse. There are ways to tackle this skill set supply chain problem.
A former executive at the disgraced cryptocurrency exchange FTX donated $500,000 to the state’s Democratic Party under a false name. Here are the events that led up to the misreported donation and Oregon’s response.
As legislators contemplate the two-year, $50 billion budget, nonprofit leaders are advocating for a 9 percent increase in funding, claiming their increases have been far below inflation over the last 10 years.
The Democrat-controlled Senate approved the budget with a 34-22 vote on Thursday evening, which will allocate an additional $100 million to higher ed, $85 million for homelessness and $200 million toward pension plans.
While some have predicted economic returns of $150 million or more, economists predict that those numbers are inflated. Last time the Democratic National Convention came to Chicago, the city spent $60 million to prep for the event.
A debt-ceiling breach would cost states in terms of revenue, pension investment losses and increased borrowing costs. Even a fix at this point will likely lead to cuts in federal grants.
State lawmakers are considering legislation that would reallocate hundreds of millions of dollars from K-12 and higher education into a new savings account and would cap future education budget increases to no more than 5 percent.
Revenues are slowing but lawmakers, at least in red states, have continued to enact major tax cuts this year.
Income tax and sales tax revenue projections are slipping. State and local policymakers need to avoid fiscal giveaways and gimmicks, and they need to beware of potential federal aid clawbacks.
State and local financiers now face interest rate markets that anticipate decelerating inflation and a weaker economy. Public treasurers and debt managers need fresh ideas, agility and prudent strategies.
The program that provides state-funded health insurance to adult undocumented immigrants was first estimated to cost $220 million. But three months later, that price tag has ballooned, complicating the state’s budget debates.
The state’s attorney general is pressing lawmakers to pass legislation that reduces potential conflicts of interest, requires more public reporting and improves protections for investors within the cryptocurrency industry.
The state's public transit systems want $5.15 billion to avoid budget deficits and service cuts over the next half-decade. They’re expecting a tough fight.
