Solutions for tough times.(from the editor)(Editorial)

There are few things everyone will agree on, except, perhaps, that local governments are facing tough economic circumstances At times like these, minor problems can threaten to quickly become a financial crisis, and unsustainable solutions can look like the only answer. This issue of Government Finance Review provides a wealth of techniques to help finance officers steer their organizations through the storm.

In Fiscal First Aid, Shayne Kavanagh and Melanie Purcell outline strategies and tactics for stabilizing the financial condition in preparation for more in-depth rehabilitation. Governments that are in a stable position can also use these concepts to head off a crisis before it occurs.

Consolidated municipal operations and shared-service arrangements are a time-tested and cost-effective service delivery alternative. In Consolidation and Shared Services, Christine Smith, Ed Henschel, and Rob Lefeber discuss who can benefit, the kinds of challenges consolidation efforts face, and ways to overcome them.

Tough fiscal times test all organizations, but at the same time, they present opportunities to make important changes. In Stability in a Time of Uncertainty, Lisa Calise Signori discusses what the City of Boston is doing to meet the challenges it faces.

In Making an Argument for Police Enforcement Costs: The St. Paul Fee Study Experience, Scott Cordes and Bob Winthrop present results from the City of St. Paul's 2007 fee study, which measured the costs resulting from increased police response to certain types of addresses. Based on these results, the city increased business license fees, taking pressure off its general fund.

Some projects solve multiple problems. In Enhancing Control and Lowering Costs through Payables Outsourcing, Michael Longhi and Diane Battle explain how outsourcing payment production increased control over disbursements as well as providing multiple emergency and disaster redundancies for the county and developing a continuity of operations plan--in addition to creating significant cost savings.

The GFOA offers many resources to help you provide the best possible financial leadership as your organization copes with the current economic climate, including training sessions and publications, and Web resources. In particular, the GFOA has posted tips and key resources for investment and debt management, including questions finance officers should be asking themselves, recommended practices, policy statements, sample policies, relevant publications and articles, and outside resources. These resources are available from the "GFOA Resources to Help You Navigate Today's Economy" section of the GFOA's Web site at www.gfoa.org.

Anne Spray Kinney

Editor in Chief

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