Taxes
Covering topics such as bonds, cryptocurrency, federal aid and pensions.
Hospitals stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars under the new tax and spending law, with rural facilities at particular risk. Some states are likely to reconvene their legislatures to deal with funding shortfalls.
The state will receive millions in federal aid over the next five years to invest in its bridges, 21.2 percent of which have been deemed structurally deficient, more than 14 percent higher than the national average.
While the state tracks data on job loss, inflation and rising housing costs, it does not include eviction numbers, leading many officials to underestimate the number of renters who need financial aid.
Many years ago, public financiers woke up to the problem of funding “other post-retirement benefits,” but then some of them went back to sleep. Younger public employees should demand an actuarial wake-up call.
Much attention has been given to the billions the bill will put toward bridges, cybersecurity and more. But behind the big-ticket items are many small projects. Here are some that will impact state and local government.
The nation’s four largest cities are among those requesting more leeway to challenge undercounts.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested using the extra money on pension debt, budget reserves and, possibly, another round of stimulus checks. The Legislature has until June 15 to pass the final budget.
While states and localities still have a long way to go toward getting everyone access to high-speed Internet, efforts at all levels of government, and especially federal funding, promise positive progress.
Barring unknowable virus mutation scenarios, state and local fiscal managers have the opportunity to navigate trends and crosscurrents already underway to make better decisions. One factor figures into almost everything: inflation.
Three Republican state legislators used taxpayer dollars to fund their trips to Sioux Falls, S.D., for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s three-day “Cyber Symposium” which perpetuated 2020 election fraud conspiracy theories.
The county Legislature recently approved plans to create a county-controlled organization to oversee and manage a $20 million, county-sponsored fiber-optic network called ErieNet.
The state has two community coalitions as finalists in the “Build Back Better Regional Challenge,” which would spur economic growth and job creation in the Middle Rio Grande Corridor.
This year taught us to humbly expect the unexpected, from hundreds of billions in federal “helicopter money” to $35,000 bonuses to lure back retired transit workers. And how is your public pension fund doing on something called ESG?
A report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that the city had 28 issues, including insufficient oversight, conflicts of interest and inaccurate documentation, in its administration of federal grants.
Millions in Washington state still do not have reliable access to high-speed Internet, making online life nearly inaccessible. Local and tribal governments will soon be able to apply for federal grants to expand broadband services.
Armed with three years of grocery shopping data, researchers found that total sugar sales are down by almost 20 percent, driven largely by falling soda purchases.
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