Government Finance Review

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Building a sustainable future: 2008 Annual Conference Recap.(Government Finance Officers Association)(Conference notes)
The GFOA held its 102nd Annual Conference, "Building a Sustainable Future," in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. More than 7,000 people attended the conference at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Bro . . .

Access to retirement, medical benefits better for government workers then private sector.(Brief article)
State and local government workers have more access to retirement benefits and medical care than workers in the private sector, according to a study recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statisti . . .

Measuring for a purpose: trends in public-sector performance measurement and management practices.(Government Finance Officers A
Two clear trends emerged from a recently completed Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) research project on current practices in performance measurement and management (1) in North America . . .

What gets measured sometimes gets managed.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One of the commonly invoked adages among those who work with performance information and performance management is the classic "what gets measured gets managed." This aphori . . .

Sarasota County's GovMax application: aligning business need with technical value.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Much has been written about the importance of aligning our human, technical, and financial investments with known business challenges and needs. Examples of organizations th . . .

Beyond the basics: Miami-Dade County's results-oriented government framework.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Delivering services that meet and exceed the expectations of residents is an immense undertaking for any government, no matter the size. The planning, deployment, and cultur . . .

Using 311 data to measure performance and manage city finances.(constituent relationship management)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 311 and CRM Providing citizens with a single number for their non-emergency questions and concerns is valuable in itself, but pairing 311 with constituent relationship man . . .

Real information, real results: the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority uses a logic model to evaluate its ope
Many performance measurement programs help organizations discover how well a service is being provided, but they do not always inform the organization's stakeholders about what results are desired. . . .

Utah elevates its performance: performance elevated is a management tool for improving performance and efficiency in state agenc
According to a recent report on state government management, "Utah has been a clear leader in sound government based on smart planning and effective performance management that emphasizes long-term . . .

A golden opportunity: recruiting baby boomers into government: millions of baby boomers who are looking for new opportunities an
Robert Gomperts was a successful businessman for 40 years. When he reached age 59, though, he was done with the business world; no more mountains to climb, no desire to do more of the same. But trad . . .

Expanding the scope of performance management: while performance management is often assumed to take place on a departmental or
Many opportunities exist for taking advantage of a strategic approach that uses evidenced-based decision making. While performance management is often assumed to take place on a departmental or orga . . .

Washington focuses on muni market: much legislative, regulatory, and judicial attention has been focused on the problems municip
Congress, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), and other regulatory bodies, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court, have been actively addressing issues that are important to municipal bond issuers. . . .

GASB proposes to redefine its role in performance measurement: the GASB issued an exposure draft in April that proposes to clari
Perhaps no single initiative of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has generated more sustained controversy than the board's ongoing project on performance measurement, which the GAS . . .

Fighting fears about performance measurement.(Measuring Up 2.0 )(Book review)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Measuring Up 2.0 By Jonathan Walters Governing Books 2007, 94 pages, $24.95 As Jonathan Waiters notes in Measuring Up 2.0, the most powerful and pervasive enemy of p . . .

GFOA events.(Calendar)(Brief article)(Calendar)
September Internet Training 3 The Do's and Dont's of Performance Management 10 Closed Circuit Television Sacramento, California 15 Accounting for Pensions and Other Postem . . .

State association events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
September Illinois GFOA Sept. 6-9 Champaign, IL www.igfoa.org Michigan GFOA Sept. 14-17 Ypsilanti, MI www.migfoa.org Kentucky GFOA Sept. 15 Frankfort, KY www.kgfoa.org Wash . . .

Goal power: a well-framed goal unleashes people's instincts to do well and to contribute to something bigger than themselves.(Co
John F. Kennedy understood it in 1961 when he announced a goal of landing a man on the moon in a decade and returning him safely back to earth, a goal met in 1969. New York City Police Commissioner . . .

Managing growth and economic development.(Editorial)
Local governments pursue economic development to improve the quality of life in their communities, to assure economic sustainability, and to strengthen the tax base. Achieving these goals means esta . . .

Local governments face budgetary dilemmas, paper warns.(News & Numbers)(Report)
Looming budgetary pressures mean a "pessimistic" outlook for local governments, according to a recent working paper written by economics professor Richard F. Dye for the Federal Reserve Bank of Bost . . .

Chicago-area finance chiefs work together on common issues.(News & Numbers)
The CFO Roundtable, a group of finance executives from city, county, and state agencies based in Chicago, meets once a month to discuss matters of mutual concern. Many of the group's efforts have fo . . .

District of Columbia launches bike-sharing program.(News & Numbers)(Brief article)
The Washington, D.C. District Department of Transportation plans to introduce a bike-sharing program in late spring. SmartBike DC--the first self-service public bicycle rental program in the United . . .

Michigan GFOA uses interactive polling.(News & Numbers)(Michigan Government Finance Officers Association)(Survey)(Brief article)
At its March 28 Spring Seminar, the Michigan Government Finance Officers Association (MGFOA) conducted a poll using an interactive audience response system. The approximately 200 attendees used wire . . .

Green strategies.(News & Numbers)(Report)(Brief article)
Climate Protection Strategies and Best Practices Guide, a report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors for its Mayors Climate Protection Center, describes successful approaches taken by 52 cities to cons . . .

Amazon sues New York over new tax collection law.(News & Numbers)
New York state's recently adopted budget for fiscal year 2009 calls on remote sales retailers to collect sales and use taxes on all goods shipped to New York residents, and remit the sales tax to th . . .

Home foreclosures could decrease municipal tax base by $356 billion.(News & Numbers)(Report)
One in 33 homeowners is projected to be in foreclosure in the next few years because of subprime loans made in 2005 and 2006, according to a report released in mid-April by The Pew Charitable Trusts . . .

The finance officer's role in capital projects.(Cover story)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Finance officers' responsibilities for capital projects in most mid-size jurisdictions have traditionally focused on their base of strength: budgeting, fiscal management, de . . .

A financial analyst's toolkit: analyzing the fiscal impacts of economic development projects.(Report)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While no one would deny that the delivery of core services is the most important function of local governments, many would also admit to the politically seductive nature of . . .

Creating an economic development policy.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One of the most important tasks for the finance officer in economic development is to help create economic development policies. Much like the other types of financial polic . . .

Negotiating and bargaining in economic development.(Report)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Economic development projects are negotiations between companies or organizations looking for the best place to set up shop and the communities in which they are looking. A . . .

Smart growth and economic vitality.(economic development with environmental sustainability)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] New urbanism, smart growth, or sustainable economic development--whatever they're calling it, local governments across the country are starting to consider the environmental . . .

Beyond silos: cross-boundary Internet service portals.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Internet has the potential to transform municipal services and dramatically improve customer service--particularly if government agencies and departments are willing to . . .

TEAMS delivers a fiscally sound asset management foundation.(Best Practices)
Every transportation agency must accurately forecast and prioritize capital expenditures and manage assets effectively to properly maintain and improve its infrastructure. Private industry has been . . .

Columbus*Stat: identifying opportunities for improvement.([PM.sup.2] Connections: PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT & MANAGEMENT)
The City of Columbus, Ohio, created its Office of Performance Management to give city leaders access to information that would enable them to track performance, document successes, and identify oppo . . .

What do you hear when you listen? Principles and tips for developing critical listening skills: honing your listening skills can
There is a critical difference between hearing and listening, although we often exchange one for the other. To listen is to hear with thoughtful intention. When we listen, we pay attention to the sp . . .

ERP implementation: tips for managing risks.(Solutions)(enterprise resource planning)
Installing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software application is a difficult project. While ERP can create tremendous efficiencies, it is not something officials can typically publicize as a . . .

Congressional and regulatory activities in the pension and benefits arena.(Federal Focus)
Since the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA, PL. 109-280), the tide of federal legislation affecting pension and benefits in the public sector has slowed considerably To be sure, . . .

Final GASB standard on intangibles.(The Accounting Angle)(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
Last June, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued GASB Statement No. 51, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Intangible Assets. That guidance must be implemented no later than . . .

Lessons for tough economic times.(The Wealth of Cities: Revitalizing the Centers of American Life)(Book review)
The Wealth of Cities: Revitalizing the Centers of American Life By John O. Norquist Perseus Books 1998; 237 pages; $18.95 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Wealth of Cities is one of the classics . . .

Calendar.(Calendar)
[state association events] June Alberta Canada GFOA June 3-6 Canmore, Alberta www.gfoa.ab.ca Maryland GFOA June 5-6 Ocean City, MD www.mdgfoa.org Association of Idaho Cities Ju . . .

A roadmap to measuring performance.(Commentary)(Performance data)
There can be little dispute these days among state and local government officials about the importance of communicating accurate, fair, and comparable data about the quality and efficiency of servic . . .

Managing technology for government.(from the editor)(Editorial)
Local governments are increasingly recognizing the need to harness the wealth of facts and figures under their purview, turn it into useful information, and then take action that improves services f . . .

'Citizens' Guide' highlights financial report information in accessible format.(News & Numbers)(Department of the Treasury)(Offi
The Department of the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget issued a "Citizens' Guide" to highlight certain short- and long-term financial information in the 2007 Financial Report of the . . .

GAO study looks at No Child Left Behind.(News & Numbers)(Government Accountability Office)
A statutory requirement known as a hold-harmless provision has limited the ability of some states to target the full 4 percent of Title I funds they are required to set aside for improvement of low- . . .

States tackle RFID legislation.(News & Numbers)(radio-frequency identification)(Brief article)
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, which use radio waves to identify the item it is attached to, are frequently used for inventory management. These tags are increasingly being integrated i . . .

States' incarceration costs skyrocket.(News & Numbers)
For the first time, more than one in every 100 adults in the United States is confined in a jail or prison, according to a recent report from the Pew Center for the States, One in 100: Behind Bors i . . .

Local law enforcement works with online service to provide crime updates.(News & Numbers)(Brief article)
About 40 law enforcement districts, including Washington, D.C., and San Jose, California, are participating in a Web-based service that allows citizens to sign up for free e-mail alerts about crime . . .

Joint FCC, USDA project encourages rural broadband.(News & Numbers)(Federal Communications Commission)(Department of Agriculture
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have created an online resource to help bring the benefits of broadband services to communities in rural areas. . . .

The potholes of performance management technology: a new road and its obstacles.(Cover story)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Constituents, elected officials, and executive mangers have become accustomed to real-time data retrieval and analysis in their everyday lives. Podcasts, CNN, online search . . .

Business process management: a new way to conduct operations.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Success stories about business process management (BPM) abound. Kent County, Michigan, has used BPM to streamline its accounts-payable and invoice-management processes to th . . .

Public-sector knowledge management: putting the pieces together.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Most jurisdictions are facing at least one challenge that requires knowledge management--a group of systems and practices for identifying, capturing, storing, and disseminat . . .