Government Finance Review

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Back to school: GFOA helps college procure ERP system.(Solutions)(Government Finance Officers Association, Enterprise Resource P
Although GFOA has provided technology procurement consulting services to public agencies for a number of years, we just recently took on our first higher education client. Higher education is one se . . .

Will real leadership please step forward?(Management & Careers)
Whether the topic of water cooler conversation is the local school district, city government, corporate management, or national politics, someone is certain to say, "What's needed here is some real . . .

Performance measurement: an essential management tool.(Best Practices)
In 2001, GFOA's Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Fiscal Policy formed the Subcommittee on Performance Management to articulate a performance management initiative for the association. Drawing . . .

Greasing the skids: how federal lending programs can move your transportation projects forward.
Surface transportation plays a critical role in community and regional economic development. It enables the safe and efficient delivery of goods and services, and provides citizens with the ability . . .

Managing major capital projects: lessons learned from Milwaukee's 3rd district police station and data communications center.
Major capital improvement projects are usually accompanied by great anticipation, from the moment the project concept is first revealed until the ribbon is cut and the project is completed. As archi . . .

Managing the capital planning cycle: best practice examples of effective capital program management.
Just like an operating budget, and in harmony with operating budget development, planning and management of the capital improvement plan should occur in a regular, annual cycle. Because the CIP mana . . .

Risk and reality in public headquarters hotel development.(publicly financed convention center hotels)(Editorial)
Editor's note: In February 2002, Government Finance Review published an article entitled "Tax-Exempt Hotel Financing: A Primer for Finance Officers. This article presents a different perspective on . . .

Project evaluation for public-private partnerships: aligning development with strategic goals in Virginia Beach.
GFOA's newly formed Committee on Economic Development and Capital Planning is working to identify policies and guidelines for local governments to use in evaluating when and how to invest in economi . . .

The Professional Edge: Competencies in Public Service.(Brief Article)
The Professional Edge: Competencies in Public Service By James S. Bowman, Jonathan P. West, Evan M. Berman, and Montgomery Van Wart M.E. Sharpe, March 2004 The new context and character of publi . . .

Standard & Poor's: state budgets to remain tight for another year.(News & Numbers)(Brief Article)
State economic recovery is under way, but it has been uneven and below average in many areas of the country, according to a report released in April by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. A review . . .

Illinois comptroller raises red flag on borrowing.(News & Numbers)
The State of Illinois' total outstanding debt grew by more than a third in fiscal year 2003 to $51.7 billion, dramatically outstripping debt growth rates in the previous four years, according to an . . .

Labor, transportation departments top annual performance reporting rankings.(News & Numbers)
The Department of Labor and the Department of Transportation tied for first place in the 5th Annual Performance Report Scorecard produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The ranki . . .

Moody's gives D.C. first 'A' in 14 years.(News & Numbers)
District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams and CFO Natwar Gandhi announced in April that Moody's Investors Service upgraded the district's general obligation bond rating by two notches, from Baal t . . .

Bipartisan committee announces reforms to New York State budget process.(News & Numbers)(Joint Legislative Conference Committee)
The Joint Legislative Conference Committee on Budget Reform has announced an agreement that would fundamentally change the budget process in the State of New York to help achieve an on-time budget a . . .

NCSL: Washington still shifting costs to states.(News & Numbers)
The cost of implementing federally mandated programs to state governments will reach more than $29 billion in fiscal year 2004, according to a new report from the National Conference of State Legisl . . .

A place at the table: finance officers and economic development.(Perspectives)
For better or worse, the role of finance officers in government organizations continues to expand. One area in which finance officers are assuming a higher profile is economic development. This make . . .

State and local finance: still perilous seas.(Commentary)
The fiscal outlook for America's states and cities, already bleak enough, will turn dramatically worse if Congress passes the budget President Bush submitted in February. With all eyes glued on th . . .

Calendar.(Calendar)
[gfoa events] April Cincinnati, OH 26 Evaluating Internal Controls 26 Health Care Cost Containment 26-27 Implementing Performance Measurement Systems (Advanced) 27 Capital Asset Accounti . . .

The best tax--and the worst.(Local Tax Policy: A Federalist Perspective)(Book Review)
Local Tax Policy: A Federalist Perspective Published by The Urban Institute Press (877) 847-7377 www.uipress.org 2003; 162 pages; $26.50 Last year marked the 25th anniversary of Proposition 13, . . .

New guidance on the letter of transmittal.(The Accounting Angle)(Government Finance Officers Association's Governmental Accounti
Traditionally, the focal point of the introductory section of a comprehensive annual financial report has been the letter of transmittal. While the National Council on Governmental Accounting establ . . .

Breaking down the president's budget: a local government perspective.(Federal Focus)
President Bush unveiled his fiscal 2005 budget in early February, outlining the administration's priorities, namely, homeland security and the war on terror, economic growth, job creation, and educa . . .

Who's looking out for you? quality assurance for public sector ERP implementations.(enterprise resource planning)
Implementing enterprise resource planning systems can be a lonely and intimidating path, particularly for government project managers responsible for overseeing the installation of multimillion doll . . .

Taming the red-eyed monster.(Management & Careers)
Stress! Almost everyone is concerned about it. And there are good reasons for being concerned. Researchers have found that 75 to 90 percent of the illnesses we experience are stress-related. That me . . .

To capitalize, or not to capitalize--that is the question.(Best Practices)
In the world of capital assets, there is a vast difference between controlling and accounting for them. When determining what is more important in your jurisdiction, you must first look at the reali . . .

A public alternative to commercial lockbox services: Clark County's joint remittance processing center.
For local governments, saving money has become much more than a platitude the last few years. Still reeling from the 2001 recession, local governments are pinching pennies wherever they can in order . . .

Local government finance and budgeting 101: encouraging meaningful citizen participation through education.
Most citizens have little knowledge about local government budgeting and its impact on their communities. This may be driven by the fact that over the last few decades, the American public has grown . . .

GASB 34 and government financial condition: an analytical toolbox.(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
Most governments have now implemented the new reporting requirements mandated by Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 34, and are now faced with the task of explaining the results t . . .

Off the shelf ... and into business practices: developing financial policies that work.
Financial policies are guidelines for operational and strategic decision making related to financial matters. Financial policies identify acceptable and unacceptable courses of action, establish par . . .

Be prepared: long-term financial planning in San Clemente, California.
"About the time we can make the ends meet, somebody moves the ends."--Herbert Hoover The National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting recommends that "a government ... have a financial p . . .

Upgrades underscore Miami's financial turnaround.(News & Numbers)(Brief Article)
Citing a strong level of financial reserves, ongoing financial management improvements, and strong economic growth, Standard and Poor's in February upgraded its rating on Miami's outstanding general . . .

The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis.(Book Review)
The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis. By David Osborne and Peter Hutchinson Basic Books, lay 2004 American government is deep in its worst fi . . .

NLC: fiscal, economic conditions getting worse, not better.(News & Numbers)(national league of cities)
A recent national survey of 345 cities and towns by the National League of Cities indicates that fiscal and economic conditions remain depressed in America's cities. However, cities reported improve . . .

Winter Meeting recap.(News & Numbers)
Members of six of GFOA's standing committees convened in the nation's capital January 22-23 for the annual Winter Meeting. The committees met to discuss topical issues of interest to local and state . . .

New York City: recycling more costly than garbage.(News & Numbers)
According to a study by the New York City Independent Budget Office, it costs more for the city to collect and dispose of each ton of recycling than each ton of garbage. IBO estimates that the cost . . .

GFOA welcomes new director of research and consulting.(News & Numbers)(government finance officer association)(Brief Article)
GFOA Executive Director Jeffrey Esser has appointed Anne Spray Kinney as director of the Research and Consulting Center, succeeding Rowan Miranda. A past president of GFOA, Kinney has extensive expe . . .

Tucson citizen committee recommends regional approach to fiscal challenges.(News & Numbers)
The City of Tucson and Pima County must develop cooperative strategies for dealing with regional problems, including the consolidation of duplicative services, if Tucson is to achieve financial stab . . .

The virtue of planning.(from the editor)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
GFOA's 98th annual conference in Milwaukee this June bears an appropriate theme: "Financing the Future of Government." With governments at all levels still confronting significant fiscal pressure, t . . .

State budget quandaries: any heroes out there?(Commentary)
The pedals have hit the metal. The states have performed virtually all the budget patchwork they can--accounting gimmicks, higher fees, reduced services, trimmed payrolls, tapping tobacco settlement . . .

Calendar.(Government Finance Officers Association events)(Calendar)
[gfloa events] February Baltimore, MD 9 Pension Accounting 9 Capital Asset Accounting and Reporting 9-10 Designing Performance Measurement Systems (Introductory) 10 Evaluating Internal Controls . . .

Adapting fiscal systems to a changing environment.(The Bookshelf)(State and Local Finances under Pressure)(Book Review)
Over the next 25 years, state and local governments will be forced to confront the fiscal impact of changing demographics, economic conditions, technology, and political attitudes. In the past, stat . . .

GASB proposes change to forthcoming OPEB guidance: the GASB recently issued a revised exposure draft on other postemployment ben
In February 2003, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board issued an exposure draft proposing that employers be required to accrue the cost of other postemployment benefits, or OPEB, as those ben . . .

Busy legislative agenda includes key state, local issues: GFOA will continue to monitor key issues of importance to state and lo
The second session of the 108th Congress promises to be a hectic and eventful one. Lawmakers achieved several noteworthy accomplishments during the first session, including the first-ever spending b . . .

Is your tax assessment and collection system taxing you? Modern assessment and taxation systems offer functional improvements an
For nearly seven years, GFOA's Research and Consulting Center has provided technology consulting services to state and local governments. Although our technology consulting practice has focused on f . . .

The CPFO program, state training, and local career development: strategically linking national certification to state training p
GFOA created the Certified Public Finance Officer program (CPFO) in 1995 to provide objective verification of an individual's knowledge of the core competencies of public finance. Although other nat . . .

Pension investment policies: why, how, and to what effect? Pension investment policies that thoughtfully address all of the elem
The recent turbulence in the economy and the financial markets underscores the importance of having and adhering to a well-reasoned investment policy and strategy. In the years since the dot-com bub . . .

The GFOA and professionalism local government.
Increasing the level of professionalism in local government was a significant component of the study and practice of public administration during the 20th century. (1) It partially stemmed from the . . .

Budgeting for excellence: how the university of Missouri-Kansas City transformed its budget process using the NACSLB standards.
There comes a time in the life of any organization--be it a corporation, non-profit, university, or government--when culture change becomes the highest priority. Without it, the organization seems d . . .

GFOA preconference seminars June 11-12, 2004: make the most of your travel to GFOA's 2004 annual conference!(Government Finance
Win-Win? Labor and Management Cooperation Strategies Half-day Seminar: Friday, June 11, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. 4 CPE credits As governments continue to face fiscal pressures, they are undertaking whole-s . . .

Financing the future of Government--Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (GFOA Conference At-A-Glance.(Government Finance Officers Association)
GFOA CONFERENCE AT-A-GLANCE FINANCING THE FUTURE OF GOVERNMENT--MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN Accounting, Auditing and . . .

A new model for fiscal regionalism: greater Racines plan for overcoming fiscal disparity.
In recent years, observers of urban management have paid increasingly close attention to the governance of metropolitan regions. In a 2002 book on this topic, scholar and former municipal manager Da . . .