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Focus Archive - December 2004

Please note that Focus section links were valid at the time of their original posting. However, since Web sites and addresses change frequently, we cannot guarantee that all links will remain operative.

Customer Service - Changing the Culture of "No" (December 21)
In the past decade, since the publication of books like Reinventing Government, many local governments have struggled to become more customer friendly. This is a story about one government agency, Clark County, Washington, that has succeeded in reinventing itself. More from Planning Magazine.

Washington Affordable Housing Plan Released (December 21)
The Washington Affordable Housing Advisory Board released its five-year housing policy plan (Adobe Acrobat Document313kb) on December 2, 2004.

Rethinking Local Affordable Housing Strategies (December 21)
Bruce Katz, Vice President and Director, of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, focuses on the housing challenges facing Washington State in this presentation at the Housing Washington 2004 conference. More from the Brookings Institution.

Restoring Trust in Government (December 21)
A recent report from the IBM Center for The Business of Government, Restoring Trust in Government: The Potential of Digital Citizen Participation (Adobe Acrobat Document3253kb), consists of case studies of how governments at the federal, state, and local levels are using technology to engage citizens.

The Mythology of Parking (December 21)
This article seeks to clarify some of the most common misconceptions about parking by presenting ten widely circulated parking myths. More from Line Magazine.

Oregon: A Smart Growth Slap-Down? (December 21)
When people around the country hear that Oregonians just voted to chuck it all with an anti-planning ballot measure, they have to wonder what that means for their own efforts to promote good planning. The short answer: not much. More from the Michigan Land Use Institute.

State, Local Leaders Meet with Communications Industry (December 21)
Representatives from local and state government met on December 15 with executives from the nation’s leading communications companies to begin a dialogue on telecommunications tax reform. More from Nation’s Cities Weekly.

High Court Set to Hear Eminent Domain Case (December 21)
Along the Thames River in New London, Conn., at least seven home-owners and a handful of city officials are waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider an eminent domain case. The ruling could have far-reaching economic effects. More from American City & County.

Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness Checklists (December 21)
The Center for Law & the Public’s Health at Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities has released three checklists to help local governments assess their legal preparedness for public health emergencies. More from the Public Entity Risk Institute.

Big-City Mayors Gang Up (December 15)
Increasingly pressed by vise-tight budgets, and frustrated by a lack of relief from the state Legislature, an informal group of 16 mayors from Washington's largest cities has been meeting regularly to address what they consider to be a variety of crises in the making. More from Puget Sound Business Journal.

2005 IRS Standard Mileage Rates Set (December 15)
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released the optional standard mileage rates to use for 2005 in computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving expense purposes. More from the IRS.

Smart City - The Formula for Successful Cities (December 15)
Here's a formula for successful cities: Keep it simple. Begin it now. Work with imperfection. The latest Smart City™ radio show focuses on formulas for successful cities.

2004 Priorities of Government Overview (December 15)
The Washington Office of Financial Management’s (OFM) 2004 Priorities of Government (Adobe Acrobat Document1180kb) report addresses the basic question—how can Washington State government best spend taxpayer dollars to achieve the results that matter most to citizens? More from OFM.

Roads Gone Wild (December 15)
No street signs. No crosswalks. No accidents. Surprise: Making driving seem more dangerous could make it safer. More from Wired Magazine.

Economic Development - Back in Business (December 15)
NWProperty.net, a multi-city economic development portal for the Puget Sound region, is one of the latest attempts to enhance the state's appeal to businesses. More from Government Technology.

Grants.gov Marks First Year Anniversary (December 15)
Grants.gov recently marked its first year of operations. Through Grants.gov, state and local governments can access, find, and apply for federal grants from more than 900 grant programs representing more than $360 billion in annual grant funds.

Stress Factors Unique to Rural Police Patrol (December 15)
Recent research focusing on rural patrol officers, suggest certain policy recommendations for addressing and reducing stress factors that are unique to small-town and rural line police officers. More from The Police Chief.

Should Local Governments be Providing Broadband Access? (December 15)
Local municipalities across the country are looking to community-owned broadband wireless access as a cost-effective way to bring affordable broadband into their areas, sparking a battle with cable and telephone providers. More from Democracy Now.

America’s Mean Streets are Getting Meaner in Most Places (December 07)
The Surface Transportation Policy Project Mean Streets 2004 study reveals that walking remains the most dangerous mode of transportation, and some areas of the country are becoming markedly more dangerous.

The Iowa "Citizen-Initiated Performance Assessment" Project (December 07)
The goal of the Iowa "Citizen-Initiated Performance Assessment" (CIPA) project is to institutionalize sustainable mechanisms of "citizen-initiated performance assessment" into the budgetary and managerial process of city governments. More from the Iowa CIPA project.

Annexation Study Reviews Obstacles and Recommends Solutions (December 07)
A study conducted by the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, "Annexations under the Growth Management Act: Barriers and Potential Solutions," (Adobe Acrobat Document1mb) looks at the obstacles to annexation in six counties and recommends potential solutions.

2004 Digital Cities Survey Released (December 07)
Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Redmond, Washington, bookend the 2004 Digital Cities Survey. More from Government Technology.

Bellingham Adopts Verified Alarm Response Policy (December 07)
Between 2001 - 2003, Bellingham's police department responded to 5,265 residential and commercial alarms. Ninety-eight percent of those alarms were falsely activated. To reduce that number, the city recently adopted a new verified alarm response policy (Adobe Acrobat Document211kb).

Customer Service - Back to Basics Is Better (December 07)
We seem to pay attention to customer service issues when budgets are flush, but working on customer service is actually more important in tough times. More from Public Management.

Parks & Recreation - Street Smarts (December 07)
The town of Kettering, Ohio, leads its skater population to a new kind of skatepark: the skate plaza. More from Parks & Recreation.

Public Safety - On the Spectrum (December 07)
Interference. Crowding. Delays. Will the feds ever fix the kinks in the band states and localities use for emergencies? More from Governing.

The National Incident Management System (December 07)
In February 2003, President George W. Bush signed Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5, an order mandating the development of the National Incident Management System. More from The Police Chief.

High-Tech Highs (December 07)
Recent awards programs recognize information technology initiatives that bring efficiencies to state and local government. More from Governing.

The Wi-Fi Pioneers (December 01)
Wireless is ready to go mainstream, with hundreds of cities and counties poised to move on it in a big way. More from Governing.

Community Telecom Toolkit (December 01)
The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) offers ten steps to building a more diverse, responsive, and participatory media system at the local level. More from CDD.

Smart City - Building Competitive Advantages in Communities (December 01)
How do you gain a competitive edge in developing your city? It's a question civic and political leaders ask every day. The latest Smart City™ radio show features a discussion about some new ways communities are building competitive advantage for economic gain.

Internet Tax Moratorium Ready for Bush Signature (December 01)
The U.S. House of Representatives — by voice vote — has passed a bill that would revive the expired moratorium on certain Internet taxes until 2007. More from NACo’s County News.

Military Leave: Supporting Employees (December 01)
Supporting employees called up for military duty is an important role for government employers. All agencies need to address the military leave issue. More from The Police Chief.

Renter Incomes Did Not Keep Pace with Housing Costs in 2003 (December 01)
The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) recently released study, Up Against A Wall: Housing Affordability for Renters (Adobe Acrobat Document450kb), finds that In 2003, nearly half of America’s renter households lived in unaffordable housing. More from NLIHC.

FCC - Final Rule on 800MHz Public Safety Interference Proceeding (December 01)
On Nov. 22, 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published the final rule implementing the 800MHz Public Safety Interference Proceeding (commonly known as the Consensus Plan). More from Government Technology.

Management - Skewed Results (December 01)
Performance measurement has become a powerful tool for some government agencies. For others, it’s been useless. More from Governing.

Valuing the Suburbs (December 01)
Why do suburban residents mostly resist changes that increase density in the suburbs? What are the implications of this resistance for developers using New Urbanist design? More from Opolis. (Adobe Acrobat Document400kb)

Cities in Recession (December 01)
While economists announced the end of the economic recession two years ago, a fiscal recession continues in America's cities. More from American City & County.

Web Sightings - Cottage Housing (December 01)
Cottage housing developments include small detached houses located around a common open space. Cottage housing has become popular in the Northwest and offers an affordable housing option for senior citizens. Here are a few selected sites on cottage housing:

Cities and Counties in the News (December)
Here are the latest news clippings from around the state highlighting current events, trends and other news affecting Washington city and county governments: