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.
The state has paid out more than $500 million to settle lawsuits during this fiscal year, mostly in foster care cases – a sixfold increase since 2018.
Pending municipal finance provisions in the big spending bills before Congress could benefit issuers, investors and taxpayers. To get the best deal, state and local leaders must press their case immediately.
California school districts have two choices: Bite the bullet and make budget cuts now, or delay them and face even more painful decisions.
While some funding will go to update Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport’s existing infrastructure, the majority of financial investments will build new office and research spaces. Construction will begin in July 2022.
Whether you pay tax on your Halloween treat supply depends on which state you live in and how it defines candy.
Going into next year, the Fed is likely to throttle back policies that have kept rates near zero. That presents opportunities — and risks. Nobody wants to repeat the local government fiscal disasters of not so long ago.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was created to provide relief to public employees who worked a service job for 10 years. The Biden administration announced a program overhaul to help it finally meet its intent.
The pandemic sent municipal revenues into a tailspin. They still haven't fully recovered, but $65 billion from Uncle Sam is easing a lot of pain.
Less than 60 percent of the state’s 1,781 townships have requested their share of the American Rescue Plan Act funds. Treasury Department officials are urging local governments to apply for funds before the Oct. 4 deadline.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued a notice to lawmakers that they cannot use the state budget to restrict the funds of local health departments that institute local mask mandates; doing so would violate the state constitution.
The increase is the first in a series that will eventually raise the state’s wage to $15 an hour. The wage raise is the first in the country to be approved by ballot measure, which was passed by 61 percent of voters.
As state and local debt continues to rise, governments may be forced to raise taxes or cut spending to control their budgets. New York has the most per capita government debt, largely due to school district debts.
The state has already spent $200 million over its emergency fund budget for the entire fiscal year that started in July. While some of the bill will be paid by state agencies, taxpayer dollars will also be used.
With billions in grants about to start flowing from Washington, they will need comprehensive, timely information on what’s available. They shouldn’t have to wait for the feds to supply it.
State, local, territorial and tribal entities have used $150 billion from the Coronavirus Relief Fund — part of the CARES Act — for many things. But with the Dec. 31 deadline approaching, some still have a lot left.
Leaders of several state agencies are seeing large pay increases compared to their predecessors, some getting boosts in the tens of thousands. Officials say they’re trying to achieve parity as compared to other states.
The city will visit 20,000 households that experienced backups and flooding in June to provide temporary fixes while the water department develops a plan to rebuild aged infrastructure.
CalPERS has yet to recover the approximately $42 million in pension payments to 22,000 dead people, according to an internal audit. About 1,800 CalPERS recipients die each month, and the agency isn’t immediately notified.
The City Council has voted to redistribute funds from approximately 200 police officer departures and reinvest it in technology projects and other department needs. $3 million will be used for community-based public safety programs.
Despite predictions that COVID-19 would crush state tax revenues, most of them didn’t need megabillions in pandemic aid to balance their budgets. But for the most part they seem to be spending the money wisely.
Government chief information officers know that building an IT agency that can withstand any challenge means learning how to both do more with less and also exercise restraint when there’s a windfall.
The heavy rains and flash flooding caused by Hurricane Ida inflicted an estimated $8 million in damages to 28 buses, about 12 percent of all buses housed, at Staten Island’s Castleton Bus Depot.
The $95 billion pension has pushed back against an independent review that it has not been transparent when it comes to earnings and fees associated with alternative investments like hedge funds and equity firms.
With a 6-2 vote, the Texas city has overridden the mayor’s veto of issuing $96 million in nonvoter approved debt. As of August 2020, El Paso was Texas’ top-ranked city for outstanding certificates of obligation debt.
The state had hoped to announce COVID-related grants for broadband expansion, water and sewer projects and resident and business support by mid-October, but the timeline has been pushed back to early 2022.
Local governments lack the tax base for meaningful income redistribution programs, and they risk losing residents to lower-tax jurisdictions. The economics suggest that it’s a job for higher levels of government.
Holly Kim, the Lake County treasurer who is running for re-election next year, received a $3 Litecoin donation toward her political campaign, making her the first Illinois political candidate to accept digital currencies.
The $1 trillion infrastructure package makes no explicit mention of the state’s efforts to build a high-speed rail, but lawmakers are continuing to analyze if pockets of funding are available from other areas.
Labor market shortages and private-sector competition compel states and localities to get creative. Removing a major impediment to filling vacant jobs seems worth a look.
The lasting problems of infrastructure aren’t of need or construction, but of overbuilding, delayed costs and the challenges of thinking ahead.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families was created in 1996 and was meant to create a system that no longer fostered dependency. While some believe that the overhaul did exactly that, others claim it may have made things worse.
