Click here to skip to main content.
scenic picture from Washington state
MRSC FOCUS › Focus - May 2001
 

Note: Some of the information on this archival Web page may no longer be current.

Focus - May 2001

Major Federal Decision on Telecommunications Franchising

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued its decision in the Auburn v. Qwest litigation (Adobe Acrobat Document59 Kb), ruling that cities can require Qwest to pay certain relocation costs, but also ruling that the cities' regulatory franchising ordinances were preempted by federal law. This is a major decision that should be read carefully by all city and county attorneys dealing with telecommunications issues. There will be considerable discussion in the coming weeks concerning the impact of this decision. The Web site for Cole, Raywid & Braverman, a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in communications and Internet law, has a good case summary.

Download Vancouver Case Management System

The Vancouver, WA City Attorney's Office has created a civil case management system that they are making available to local government attorneys at no cost. The case management system (1,681 Kb), user manual (Microsoft Word Document292 Kb) and complete installation instructions (6 Kb) can all be downloaded.

Seattle Impound Ordinance Suffers Legal Setback

A King County Superior Court judge has ruled (Adobe Acrobat Document900 Kb) the state constitution requires that, before officers may impound a vehicle under Seattle’s ordinance authorizing impoundment of a vehicle driven by a person with a suspended license, they must first consider “reasonable alternatives,” such as having a friend or relative drive it away. Seattle adopted its impound ordinance under the authority of RCW 46.55.113. According to newspaper accounts, Seattle will likely appeal the decision.

Model B&O Tax Ordinance

In order to achieve more uniformity and to insure against multiple taxation, Washington cities that use a gross receipts business and occupation tax, in conjunction with the Association of Washington Cities (AWC), agreed to create a task force to address these issues and others presented by local business taxes. After two years of discussion and deliberation a "model B&O tax ordinance" was created, which the cities intend to be adopted by all Washington cities that assess a “gross receipts” B&O tax. More...

We Need Your Input!

We are in the process of updating two MRSC publications - the Washington State Small Works Roster Manual for Local Governments, Report No. 51, June 2000, and the Washington State Local Improvement District Manual, Report No. 36, October 1996. We invite you to submit comments, corrections, suggested updates and/or sample documents to our Public Works Consultant, John Carpita. More ...

Bid Law Changes - 2001 Legislative Session

Senate Bill 5063, authorizing a limited public works process for certain contracts estimated to cost less than $35,000, and Senate Bill 5060 revising alternative public works contracting procedures, have been forwarded to the Governor. More ...

Sixth Annual Information Technology Survey Results

Seventy-three percent of Washington's 279 cities and towns and 38% of the 39 counties responded to our 2001 information technology survey. Fifty-three percent of the jurisdictions now have Web sites. We found a high level of interest in implementing E-government services. In particular, about 60% of jurisdictions have an interest in online RFPs and RFQs, and 68% have an interest in small works and consultant rosters. See the complete survey results.

Drought Conditions and Fire Prevention

To help counties and cities plan for the drought emergency situation this summer, take a look at MRSC's new Drought Issues Web page, which includes information on wildfire prevention, fireworks regulation, open burning, fire season weed abatement, and more.

Initiative 722 Case to be heard by State Supreme Court on June 12

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy concluded on Friday, February 23 in an Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment on the Class Claims (Adobe Acrobat Document7,506 kb) that Initiative 722 is unconstitutional. As part of the judge's order, the state and all its political subdivisions (including counties, cities, and towns) are permanently enjoined from enforcing and implementing Initiative 722. As with I-695, the initiative's final fate will be decided by the state supreme court, and oral arguments before the supreme court are scheduled for June 12.

Inquiry of the Week

This week's "Inquiry of the Week":

May a city waive a building permit fee for city fire department and wastewater treatment projects?

[Previous inquiries of the week]

Pacific Northwest Digital Government Summit

On July 18-19, Government Technology will hold its sEcond annual digital government summit at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle. For elected officials and policymakers. Register via the Web or call 800-917-7732 x393.

What is Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE)?

As our infrastructure grows, we need to accommodate more underground facilities within the public rights-of-way, and the potential for conflict increases. SUE provides a way to address the coordination of underground utilities. Find out the answer to "What is SUE?" and other questions at the TIB's Subsurface Utility Engineering site.

RideshareOnline.com

Now Puget Sound commuters can find rideshare partners online by visiting RideshareOnline.com, a regional self-service site that matches riders and drivers. The database includes commuters from King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap, Thurston, Island, Mason, Skagit and Whatcom counties. King County Metro provides this service in cooperation with other carpool/vanpool service providers in the region.

Federal Ergonomics Rules Repealed; State Requirements still in Effect

In March, Congress repealed the federal ergonomics rules, and President Bush signed the bill into law as Public Law No. 107-5. Although the federal requirements are gone, in Washington, employers must still deal with the state ergonomics regulations. But see S.B. 5882 which, if passed by the Washington Legislature, would delay the implementation schedule for the sate's ergonomics rules for two years.

Walla Walla Wins Main Street Award

In April, the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Center announced that Walla Walla is one of five communities chosen for the annual Great American Main Street Awards.

Vancouver is a Livable City

A city of Vancouver community survey found that 73% of respondents think the city's livability is "very good" or "excellent."

Government's Greatest Endeavors

Government's 50 Greatest Endeavors of the Past Half Century is a project of the Brookings Institution, on what the federal government tried to do and what it has achieved since World War II. It involved a national survey of historians and political scientists, and the research suggests that government deserves more credit than it receives.

Communities Conducting Census Counts

Snoqualmie is one of 30 communities across the state that is recounting residents following the receipt of results from the federal 2000 Census. See the Sightings column for more census information.

Web Sightings - Census 2000 Update

In March, the U.S. Census Bureau released the redistricting data from Census 2000, and additional demographic and housing information will be available soon. Here are some of our favorite sites for tracking census data:

Washington City/County History Quiz

This county, organized in 1888, is named for an Indian tribe. The name is derived from an Indian word that means "rendezvous" or "meeting place of water." This name was applied to a river and to the tribe that lived along the river. The cavalcade of history that swept across this county has encompassed many elements important to the Old West -- native Indians, fur trading, exploring parties, cattle drives, a mining rush, homesteading, railroad building, irrigation, and the construction of great hydroelectric dams. This county covers 5,281 square miles, making it the third largest county in the continental United States. What county is it? And the answer is ~drum roll~ ...

Selected New MRSC Library Materials

Browse through a selected list of new MRSC Library materials (listed by subject). The list includes new library books, videos, articles, government publications, and more.

Get MRSC Web Site Updates and Quarterly Newsletter by E-mail

You can get a monthly e-mail notifying you of selected updates to MRSC's Web site along with an electronic copy of our quarterly newsletter, by subscribing to the mrscnews mailing list. Send a message to mrscnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of your message, type: subscribe [your name]. If you have any questions about subscribing, please contact listadmin@mrsc.org.

Unlike most listservs, mrscnews is not a discussion list to which all subscribers may post messages, but a free subscription to a monthly notice updating you on major changes and additions to the MRSC Web site, and an electronic copy of our quarterly newsletter.