California’s energy utilities and state agencies offer rebates, zero-interest loans, grants and other types of financing incentives to cities, residents and businesses.
Efforts to achieve greater energy efficiency in commercial and
industrial buildings are often hampered by substantial upfront
costs. To help local businesses overcome these cost barriers,…
Two new elements required for government financial statements may
seem complicated at first glance, but will improve the accuracy
of reporting by including future commitments.
Many cities are experiencing very painful financial difficulties. Elected city officials grapple with budget challenges nearly every day. But cities are using a number of innovative approaches to…
With numerous mandates coming from the state Capitol, ensuring
that your city is compliant can be a daunting task for even the
most seasoned city official.
Today multiple bills are pending to recreate tax-increment
financing. It requires vision, persistence and enough public
investment to attract private capital and development that
produce…
The Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 mandates
uniform, generally lower benefit formulas for all “new members”
of California public agency defined benefit retirement plans.
In tough economic times expectations remain high for cities to
provide quality public services and facilities, though resources
to fund desired projects are scarce. One strategy for
overcoming…
The state’s goals around reducing greenhouse gas emissions are based on a vision that concentrates growth in urban cores and utilizes transit. To meet these goals, cities must be able to make…
Cities are increasingly using civil actions rather than criminal
prosecution to curb illegal drug sales within their borders.
Often such actions are taken either under general nuisance laws
or the…
While the past few years have presented major challenges for
cities, the events of 2012 included some bright spots as well.
This article presents an overview of the year’s legislative…
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s release of new
defined benefit pension standards could not have come at a better
time or a worse time, depending on one’s point of view.
