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Help us, please. We're about to give a couple of speeches focusing on the question of whether today's tough fiscal times have led to better management in the states, counties and localities. What do you think? And do you have any concrete examples to make your point? KEEP READING
States and the federal government might be able to save a fair amount of money if they paid attention to some developments in Oregon, according to the Government Accountability Office. Only two states, California and Oregon, have requirements that paid tax preparers have some kind of formal accreditation in order to fill out tax forms. Oregon has the more stringent of the two: a two-tiered licensing system that includes education requirements, state-administered examinations and work-experience prerequisites. KEEP READING
When cities, counties and states talk about "wellness programs," they're often sold on faith that thinner, happier, smoke-free employees will be less costly. Now, along comes Columbus, Ohio, with a little solid evidence. "Medical costs for employees and their families rose only 3 percent in 2007," according to the Columbus Dispatch, "compared with the 6.7 percent nationwide jump estimated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services." KEEP READING
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In these perilous economic times, there have been a bunch of articles in business magazines and newspapers suggesting that municipal bonds that are relatively close to maturing are a good way for folks to get good, comparitively safe returns on their money. Maybe this is true. But the number of articles pushing this advice present a good reason to be concerned about the fact that "more than half of the municipal bonds sold between 1996 and 2005 have been delinquent in filing financial disclosures, showing the secondary market disclosure system for the municipal market is flawed," according to a recent piece in the Bond Buyer. KEEP READING
Earmarking is a hot topic right now, both in the presidential race and among state and local officials. Every few days we hear a politician complaining about some kind of ridiculous-sounding project that's gotten government funding. This covers a lot of territory. Most of them seem to pertain either to infrastructure or to some kind of research project that sounds silly to the general public. KEEP READING
Some 21 states offer localities the option of joining their state health benefit systems. This sure sounds like a sensible idea. In theory, it should provide significant economies of scale. But here's an alarming fact, revealed by the Office of Legislative Research in Connecticut. Of those 21 states, only one — California — has studied the results. This absence of follow-through is, in our view, one of the single most serious shortcomings in state management. As for California, the state believes that "local government participation has reduced the state plan's annual premium costs by about $40 million a year." KEEP READING
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