Taxes
Covering topics such as bonds, cryptocurrency, federal aid and pensions.
The state will need to reform its antiquated tax code, warily approach bond measures that tie the hands of policymakers, and get serious about spending oversight.
After a long wait, the federal infrastructure bill is headed toward President Joe Biden's desk. How can states and local areas take advantage of the $65 billion set aside for broadband? Here are some details.
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure package will give billions to the state in new spending over the next five years. Large swaths of the money will be used to upgrade Alaska’s outdated infrastructure.
Phone calls in the New Orleans jail cost 21 cents per minute. Sheriff Gusman says the calls are a much-needed revenue source but opponents argue the price can be a burden on low-income families.
The COVID recession and its fiscal aftermath should remind politicians, advocates and labor that budget reserves are not piggybanks for new discretionary spending. Economic cycles have not been repealed.
Minneapolis residents voted 56 percent to 44 percent against an amendment that would have transformed the city’s police. The reasons they did so are complicated, an expert writes.
The St. Louis County administration building in Clayton, Mo., requires a $50 million investment to meet current fire codes. It might be cheaper just to demolish the building and move to a new location.
The city spent hundreds of hours and $130,000 on contracting services with FLO Analytics before eventually abandoning it for a free, easy-to-use app to draft the redistricting maps. Many of the committee members are unhappy with the wasted time and money.
The Boring Company has proposed to build a pair of tunnels that would shuttle riders to the city’s beachfront in self-driving Teslas. But there are still cost and environmental concerns that need to be resolved before approval.
An audit found that between July 2020 and June 2021, 3.3 percent of unemployment payments went to scammers, an increase of 2 percent from previous years, and nonfraud overpayments rose by 20.9 percent.
Detroit has spent less than $80,000 of the more than $826 million in COVID-19 relief funds it received; the state had spent none of its $6.5 billion by the end of July. Many blame politics for the slow spending.
The quasi-government agency would be able to seek grants, issue bonds and even levy fees to carry out projects that would protect life and property from the increasing number of storms and heat waves across the state.
The city’s Finance Committee has rebuffed three budget amendments that would have redirected $750,000 of the police department’s budget to fund a newly established team of mental health first responders.
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.
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