MRSC Focus - April 1999

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

Focus - April 1999

Coming Soon - New Home Page Design

Starting May 1st MRSC's home page will be sporting a new look! Yes, we have been tinkering again … in our never-ending quest for home page perfection. The new design will feature a three-column format to give you more convenient access to our main search and browse menus. We want your feedback … be sure to sign our guestbook when the new home page debuts and tell us what you think.

Sign Our Guestbook

If you haven't had a chance to sign our guestbook yet, please take a minute to say hello and tell us what you think of our Web site. We appreciate the feedback and rely on your opinions to guide us in making improvements to this site.

Inquiry of the Week

This week's "Inquiry of the Week":

May a city set a cap on accumulation of compensatory time and what limits do other cities put on comp time accumulation?

[Previous inquiries of the week]

New Shoreline Management Act Regulations Proposed

The Department of Ecology has proposed a comprehensive overhaul of its Shoreline Management Act regulations governing local shoreline master programs. The proposed regulations are designed to make it easier to integrate shoreline and growth management plans, to help make shoreline master programs more effective in managing shoreline and environmental resources, and to implement the shoreline management component of the Governor's Salmon Recovery Strategy addressing Endangered Species Act requirements. The public comment period on the proposed regulations is now open and will close June 21, 1999. The proposed regulations are viewable through the State Register or through the Department of Ecology's Web page

Year 2000 Compliance Database

Five cities have now submitted data for the Year 2000 Compliance Database. You can use this database to search for information about the Y2K compliance status of equipment with embedded microprocessor chips. Over the coming weeks, we plan to add information from other Washington local governments. To add Y2K compliance information from your jurisdiction, please read these instructions.

New Job Description File Libraries

We've added five new file libraries containing various city and county job descriptions to our Web site. The categories are Administration, Community Development, Miscellaneous, Public Safety, and Public Works/Utilities/Parks/Maintenance. To find a particular job description, do a keyword search or simply browse through the files.

Please help us to build this resource. If your city or county job descriptions are in electronic format, please E-mail them to Amanda Kemp, MRSC Library Clerk, with the file attached.

Paul Sullivan Joins MRSC's Legal Consultant Staff

MRSC is very pleased to announce that Paul Sullivan, City Attorney of Ellensburg, will be joining the consultant staff as a legal consultant on May 24, 1999. Paul has served the last six years as city attorney of Ellensburg and currently serves on the board of directors of the Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys. As many local officials may recall, Paul previously served as a consultant at MRSC from 1983 to 1992. Paul has over twenty years experience in the field of municipal law and will be a valuable addition to the consulting services provided by MRSC to cities and counties.

Juvenile Curfews

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a federal 4^th Circuit case involving a Virginia curfew ordinance. That means that the decision upholding the Virginia curfew ordinance is final. The case is Schleifer v. City of Charlottesville. The city ordinance is included, in full, at the end of the majority opinion. MRSC neither encourages nor discourages cities from adopting such ordinances.

Hot Off the Press

Check out our latest publications:

Local Government Policy-Making Process - The report describes the local government policy-making process, outlines effective roles for local officials, and provides practical tips to make the local policy-making process more satisfying and productive.
Mayor's Handbook - A joint AWC and MRSC effort, this handbook is intended to serve as a reference guide for mayors in Washington cities and towns. It offers a basic primer on the mayor's role and advice on handling common problems.

MRSC's Planning Page

MRSC's planning page includes information on a wide range of topics including growth management, development regulations, design, historic preservation, impact fees, and much more. Our comprehensive planning page includes links to many city and county plans. We also have links to zoning codes and other land use regulations. Stay tuned for coming attractions on rural lands and housing.

Regulation of Enhanced Card Room Gaming

Many local governments in Washington State are now addressing the effects of the 1996 and 1997 legislation that permits gambling establishments offering card room gambling to have up to 15 tables and to have "house-banked" card games. More …

Heads Up

Rich Yukubousky, MRSC's Executive Director, offers a brief overview of interesting new trends and developments affecting local governments (from Municipal Research News, March 1999):

Required Employment Posters

There are various state and federal employment related laws that require employers to post notices informing employees of their rights under those laws. Our new "Required Employment Posters" Web page provides links to several state and federal government sites where you can view and/or download posters.

Track State Legislation

The Washington State Legislature's home page includes links to bill information, legislative calendars, House and Senate member directories (with E-mail addresses), committees, and other useful information.

Web Sightings - ESA Salmon Issue

Now that the ESA salmon listings are official, we've selected several sites to help you stay current with new developments. All of these sites are linked on MRSC's ESA-Salmon Information pages.

State Information:

The Governors Salmon Recovery Office has had a recent face-lift and has been greatly enhanced. Here you will find the state's draft strategy plan, Extinction Is Not an Option A Statewide Strategy to Recover Salmon, and information on funding, legislation, and who is on the Salmon Team.
The Department of Ecology has several sites relating to the ESA issue: Shorelands & Wetlands, Watershed Planning and Water Resources.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife's Land and Habitat section contains the priority habitat documents as well as information on habitat restoration grants.
The Department of Transportation's TransAid's Environmental Sectionand Environmental Affairs Office are adding ESA information to their sites relating to affected public works and transportation projects.

Local Information:

See King County's Endangered Species Act: Salmon Conservation and Recovery and Snohomish County's Restoring Wild Salmon.
King County set up a Tri-County Salmon Information Center with the objective "to help everyone in the Puget Sound Region find answers to their questions, whether their concern is how the ESA listings could affect them, how they can help recover the salmon, or anything else about salmon."
Four local governments have posted copies of "early action plans" that were filed with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS): Pierce County's Endangered Species Response, Seattle's Early Action Proposal, Snohomish County's ESA Salmon Conservation Early Action program and Bellevue's Proposed Early Action Plan to Save Salmon. Whatcom County has published its Comprehensive Water Resources Plan that contains information about salmon restoration.

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.

More Capacity = Fewer "Server Busy" Messages

Previously, only ten people could search MRSC's online databases (WAC, RCW, municipal codes, Y2K, etc.) at the same time. We've purchased several additional licenses that will now allow up to 25 concurrent users. This should greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the "server busy" message which some have received when trying to open these databases.

Get MRSC Web Site Updates by E-mail

You can get a monthly e-mail notifying you of selected updates to MRSC's Web site by subscribing to the mrscweb mailing list (listserv). Simply type: subscribe mrscweb your name in the body of the message, and press "send" (leave the subject line blank). You may have your name removed from the list at any time by following the directions in the welcome message you will receive after subscribing.

Unlike most listservs, mrscweb 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. If you have questions about this listserv, please contact Terri Sanders, MRSC Information Services Technician, at tsanders@mrsc.org.