Conservatives backed criminal justice reforms in hopes of driving down corrections costs and state budgets. A lot of violent and repeat offenders would have to be released to achieve real savings.
City commissioners voted to welcome state auditors to look for fraud and wasteful spending on their books.
With federal cuts coming, states, cities and counties need to step up their understanding of the programs they run and the priorities they hope to preserve.
Legislators have agreed to a plan to lift the cap and want to spend $870 million more on special education programs.
Trade wars, federal aid cutbacks and IRS layoffs will all have an impact on revenues, though the shocks may not be as bad as some fear. Still, for most jurisdictions budget and staffing freezes or cuts lie ahead. But for now leaders should resist the temptation to raid rainy day funds.
The program has grown far beyond its original target populations. Congress needs to pare it back.
Proposals to cut Medicaid will not only end coverage for millions but undermine the health-care system as a whole.
The median balance increased by 7 percent last year, a big comedown from 31 percent growth in 2023. Still, half the states could operate solely on rainy-day accounts for longer periods of time.
Making tips tax-free would not only lower revenues but distort the tax code.
With the state facing a shortfall, the move is expected to save $20 million.
Much has been said about the health consequences of severe Medicaid cuts. A new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund considers the jobs and revenue that states could lose.
The state faces a severe shortfall, but a proposed package would raise or shift $1 billion in taxes to secure funding for various projects.
If Congress reduces matching funds for the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, many states would suddenly face $2 billion shortfalls apiece.
A new forecast anticipates the state seeing nearly $1 billion less in revenue than projected as recently as November, bringing the expected four-year shortfall to $15 billion.
Trust in local government has declined in recent years. Liberty Lake, Wash., has found ways to assure residents their voices will be heard.
The city had to reshuffle more than $50 million to address the unexpected shortfall, driven by overtime costs due to staffing shortages. The Fire Department alone needed an injection of $33 million to pay for unexpected overtime.
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