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MRSC FOCUS › Focus - May 2003
 

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Focus - May 2003

New Legislation Applies Industrial Welfare Act to Local Governments (May 27)
SSB 6054 (Adobe Acrobat Document27 KB), effective May 20, applies the Industrial Welfare Act, chapter 49.12 RCW, in its entirety to local governments, although it does allow for certain exceptions. Previously, only selected provisions of the Act, such as parental leave and sick leave to care for family members, applied. Now, regulations such as requiring specified employee rest and meal periods and minor work permits apply to local government employers. More.
Washington Receives Top Ranking for Regulation of Lobbyists (May 20)
The Center for Public Integrity named Washington State tops in regulating public disclosure of lobbyists' activities. More from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Bellingham Police Licensed to Provide Limited Foster Care (May 20)
Bellingham polices officers and the state Department of Social and Health Services have created a unique new program that provides immediate, temporary foster care for children removed from abusive or neglectful homes. More from Access Washington.
Smart City - Developers Who Make a Difference (May 20)
A recent Smart City™ radio show, "Developers Who Make a Difference," features interviews with Daryl Davis, founder of Seaside, Florida, and Chris Leinberger, a land use strategist and developer, who have distinguished themselves by building award-winning places people love to claim as their own.
Risk Management - Summer Hazards for Outdoor Workers (May 20)
Local governments whose employees work outdoors during summer months can reduce outdoor work hazards by taking some simple and low cost precautionary measures. More from the Public Entity Risk Institute.
How Road Improvements Affect Regional Growth (May 20)
Highway critics have focused on the way new roads increase congestion when they should be looking at how road improvements redistribute regional growth, contends Robert Cervero, author of a groundbreaking study just published in the Journal of the American Planning Association. More from APA's Web site.

Web Sightings - Bicycle Links (May 20)
Spring is a great time for bicycling. Here are some of our favorite sites that include state and local information on bicycling, including bicycle commuting:
Outstanding Washington Wastewater-Treatment Plants Recognized (May 20)
Thirty-one of Washington's approximately 300 wastewater-treatment plants will receive awards this month for perfect compliance with their wastewater-discharge permits during 2002. More from the Washington State Department of Ecology's Web site.
FCC Opens More Spectrum for Public Safety Communications (May 20)
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to open 50 megahertz of spectrum in the 4940-4990 MHz band for use by public safety agencies, making it easier for emergency workers from different jurisdictions to communicate with each other. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.
EPA Grants for Mobile Source Public Education and Outreach (May 20)
The U.S. EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality has released a Request for Applications (Adobe Acrobat Document144 KB) for funds to support public education and outreach projects related to mobile sources of pollution. State, local and tribal air pollution control agencies are eligible to submit proposals for projects.
Governor Signs Petition Method Annexation Bill (May 19)
On May 16, the Governor signed SSB 5409, which adopts a new petition method of annexation designed to overcome what the state supreme court decided in Grant County Fire Protection Dist. v. Moses Lake were constitutional defects in the "old" petition method. This law is effective immediately. More.
King County Launches Partnership Initiative to Enhance Park Facilities (May 14)
As a way to meet the public need for enhanced park facilities in a time of budget cuts, King County recently announced the establishment of the Association Development and Operation Partnerships (ADOP) Program to create new and enhanced facilities through public/private partnerships.
Police Officer Domestic Violence Model Policy (May 14)
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has a Police Officer Domestic Violence Model Policy (Adobe Acrobat Document44 KB) on their Web site. A Police Officer Violence Concepts and Issues Paper (Adobe Acrobat Document60 KB, 1999) is also available.
U.S. DOL Proposes Changes to FLSA "White Collar" Exemption (May 14)
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed changes to its regulations defining exemptions from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for "white-collar" employees.
More.
Clark County Reviews Firearms Storage Policy (May 14)
The Clark County Sheriff's Office is currently conducting a comprehensive review of how department employees secure their firearms while off-duty. More from the Clark County Sheriff's Web site.
Risk Management Primer for Small Town Leaders (May 14)
The National Center for Small Communities recently published "Limiting Small Town Liability: A Risk Management Primer for Small Town Leaders" (Adobe Acrobat Document349 KB). The primer describes the risk management process and how it can be easily incorporated into current local government activities and provides planning and organizational tools to help small community leaders create a basic risk management plan.
National Survey on Attitudes toward Walking (May 14)
A new national survey on attitudes toward walking by the Surface Transportation Policy Project finds that the American public wants to walk more places more often, and is willing to invest in making it possible.
Accessory Dwelling Units Expand Affordable Housing (May 14)
In 1994, Washington State passed legislation mandating that cities of 20,000 or more accommodate accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in single-family neighborhoods. The Seattle metropolitan area has added 300 ADUs in the eight years since the law went into effect. More from HUD's Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse.
DOT Grants to Improve Air Service to Small Communities (May 14)
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has invited smaller U.S. communities to apply for grants under the Small Community Air Service Development Program to help these communities enhance their airline service. A total of $20 million is available for grants to help communities address their local air service problems. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.
Public Safety Communications Interoperability - Can We Talk? (May 6)
The ability for various emergency agencies to talk to each other at a time of crisis has become the top "homeland security" priority for many local governments. Too many emergency workers use outdated and incompatible systems that hinder their ability to share critical information in the midst of a crisis. More from Governing.
Neighborhood Watch via the Web (May 6)
TPolice and sheriffs departments from Florida to Washington are discovering that ordinary citizens by the thousands are eager to team with police in fighting crime via Web-based communications. More from the Christian Science Monitor.
GFOA's Digital Finance Library (May 6)
The Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) new Digital Finance Library provides finance professionals with current resources including GFOA research, best practices, links to finance-related data, and links to related organizations.
Free Risk Management Training Course for County Officials (May 6)
The National Association of Counties in conjunction with the Public Risk Management Association offer a free online training course, County Risk Management: Policy and Practice, that covers the basics of risk management, risk identification and assessment, and establishing a risk management program.
Police Officer Universal Hiring Program Grants (May 6)
The Department of Justice has announced the availability of Universal Hiring Program Grants to pay up to 75 percent of the entry-level salary and benefits for newly hired officers for 36 months. The grants offer up to $75,000 per officer to initiate or enhance community-oriented policing. Deadline: June 6, 2003.
Guidelines for Implementing Homeland Security Advisory System (May 6)
Do you know what it means, and what to do, when the federal government announces a "Condition Orange" terrorist threat? The Emergency Management Division of the State Military Department has issued guidelines to help local officials plan and execute appropriate responses to the color-coded threat levels. More from the Courthouse Journal.