Privatizing State Highways (July 26)
In Virginia a consortium of road builders and operators has offered the state $1 billion in return for revenue generated by a toll road, and the consortium will pay for maintenance costs. Could a similar approach be used in our state? More from the Washington Post.

New AGO on Responsibility for Medical Costs of Arrestees (July 20)
The Attorney General has issued an opinion (AGO 2005 No. 8) that addresses the financial responsibility of cities and counties for the costs of medical care provided to arrestees after their detainment but before they are booked into jail.

Coming Soon - New Finance Advisor Column (July)
MRSC has joined with Toni Nelson, Small Cities Specialist, State Auditor's Office, Gayla Gjertsen, Finance Director, City of Tumwater, and Mike Bailey, Finance Director, City of Lynnwood, to bring you a new monthly "Finance Advisor" column. MRSC's first Finance Advisor column is coming soon.

Do More Police = Less Crime? (July 19)
This may sound like a dumb question, but if your city could put more police officers on the street would it mean less crime? Thanks to a pair of enterprising academics, now we know. More from Civic Strategies.

Emergency Preparedness Guide for Citizens (July 19)
Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness is the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) most comprehensive source on individual, family, and community preparedness. More from FEMA.

Inventing Civic Solutions (July 19)
"Inventing Civic Solutions," from the Pew Partnership, is a how-to guide on launching and sustaining successful community programs. More from the Pew Partnership.

Smart City - New Uses for Old Railroads (July 19)
Imagining new uses for outdated railroads is creating exciting new opportunities for central cities. This week's guests on Smart City™ talk about the High Line in New York and the Belt Line in Atlanta.

Stepping up to the Challenges of Wastewater Technology (July 19)
In 1995, the city of Olympia eagerly embraced a new technology for the treatment and disposal of wastewater in order to increase its density. This spring, only a decade after adopting the new technology, the city temporarily banned it. More from Planning Magazine.

Court Decision Tosses San Diego County's Wireless Telecom Ordinance (July 19)
The California District Court's decision in Sprint v. San Diego County (1143kb) should serve as a heads up to local governments. Telecom ordinances that impose unduly restrictive conditions on wireless facilities can be challenged. This is deja-vu for those that remember the City of Auburn v. Qwest (2001) (165kb) 9th Circuit decision.

HUD's Affordable Housing Design Advisor (July 19)
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Affordable Housing Design Advisor Web site brings together experience and ideas from successful affordable housing projects all over the country.

Market Potential: How Public Markets Breathe Life into Urban Decline (July 19)
Well-managed public markets can be the beating heart of any city—if city leaders have the foresight and good sense to embrace their potential. More from Maisoneuve.

Now Available - Budget Suggestions for 2006 (July 18)
MRSC's Budget Suggestions for 2006 (393kb) is now available on our Web site.

Official Population Figures Released by OFM (July 13)
The April 1, 2005 population figures (34kb), used for distribution of state-shared revenues, have been released by the Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM).

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

• State Supreme Court rules U.S. Constitution limits searches (Seattle Times, July 28, 2005)
• Redmond mayor proposes major tax boost (Seattle Times, July 28, 2005)
• State's child poverty rate falls (Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 27, 2005)
• Bellevue Council sets strict rules on homeless camps (Seattle Times, July 26, 2005)
• Seattle police will be allowed to work part time - Pilot program designed to stem departure of trained officers (Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 26, 2005)
• Booting cars now illegal on private property (Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 26, 2005)
• Fluoridation makes ballot (Bellingham Herald, July 19, 2005)
• Public wary of density plans - City council hears growth concerns (Bellingham Herald, July 19, 2005)
• Shelton wins grant to help staff learn Spanish (The Olympian, July 19, 2005)
• 'Zero waste' is Seattle's new garbage mantra (Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 18, 2005)
• King County OKs deposit to keep rights on Eastside rail corridor (Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 18, 2005)
• Woodland seeks home fees to build schools (The Columbian, July 17, 2005)
• City Council votes unanimously to put dome bond on ballot (Tacoma News Tribune, July 15, 2005)
• Meth is drug of choice for suburbs, rural areas, data shows (King County Journal, July 15, 2005)
• Cities caught in fiscal 'vise' (The Olympian, July 15, 2005)
• New downtown sirens will warn Seattleites of pending disasters (Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 14, 2005)
• S-W oks new city hall plan (Skagit Valley Herald, July 14, 2005)
• County moves to mail vote (Walla Walla Union Bulletin, July 13, 2005)
• County working on a railroad corridor (Federal Way Mirror, July 13, 2005)
• Gas tax issue clouds bond sales (Tacoma News Tribune, July 13, 2005)
• More roundabouts proposed (Bellingham Herald, July 13, 2005)
• City discusss new ways to fund fireworks (Anacortes American, July 13, 2005)
• Council to consider creating arts commission (Anacortes American, July 13, 2005)
• Money talks: Bainbridge No. 2 most liveable (Bainbridge Island Review, July 13, 2005)
• King County maintains rights to negotiations on rail corridor (Seattle Times, July 12, 2005)
• City of Poulsbo plugs into new technology (North Kitsap Herald, July 9, 2005)
• Sammamish considers lifting ban, ushering in new growth (Seattle Times, July 7, 2005)
• Federal Way Oks off-leash dog park (Tacoma News Tribune, July 7, 2005)
• Tiny motorcycles illegal on streets, sidewalks, police remind residents (Tacoma News Tribune, July 7, 2005)
• Lynden to ask voters for new city hall (Bellingham Herald, July 7, 2005)
• Cities pursuing alliance to lobby on shared issues (Seattle Times, July 6, 2005)
• Benton County court prepares overhaul (Tri-City Herald, July 5, 2005)
• A towering new identity in Bellevue (Seattle Times, July 3, 2005)
• Kitsap acronym policy spreads across the nation (Port Orchard Independent, July 2, 2005)
• Free speech – as long as it’s nice - Pierce County invokes limits on what you can say to council members (Tacoma News Tribune, July 1, 2005)
• Marymoor park offers Wi-Fi (King County Journal, July 1, 2005)

Finance - Bubble Trouble (July 13)
A puncturing of today’s inflated real estate values would have negative and broadscale effects on local governments. More from Governing.

Smart City - Imagining New Futures for Cities (July 13)
How do you cut through the status quo and imagine a different future? This week's guests on Smart City™ have successfully answered that question, one as mayor and one as civic entrepreneur.

Web Sightings - Parking (July 13)
Parking issues, including supply and demand, pricing, and off-street parking standards, are challenging local governments, which must balance the reality of parking needs with the goal of reducing dependence on the automobile. This month we’ve selected a few sites addressing parking, including some new pages developed by MRSC:

• MRSC’s Parking Management page includes links to many specific parking topics such as Downtown Parking
• "Parking Management - Strategies to Encourage Efficient Use of Parking, TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI). (VTPI is an incredibly rich site for transportation, parking, and smart growth issues.)
• UCLA Professor Donald Shoup has been causing quite a stir with his new book, The High Cost of Free Parking (Request a loan copy from the MRSC Library)
• Parking Network – The Parking Community for Professionals - International site with information on parking literature awards, forum, links to associations and more.
• Parking Today - Monthly magazine for parking professionals

Parking Issues from Cities

• Parking in Seattle (See Parking Planning Tool)
• "City Considers New Parking Strategy," Bellingham, Nov. 2004
• Parking Policies and Actions, Central City Transportation Management and Plan, Portland, OR

Seattle Offers Business District Improvement Guide (July 13)
The Seattle Office of Economic Development's "Guide to City and Neighborhood Business District Resources" presents lessons learned and strategies to consider for successful business district improvements.

Privatized Neighborhoods: The Future We Want? (July 13)
Don’t let the recent Supreme Court decision on the New London, Conn., eminent domain case fool you — the powers of local governments aren’t expanding, they’re actually receding. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Terrorism, Transit and Public Safety (July 13)
A new paper from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, "Terrorism, Transit and Public Safety Evaluating the Risks," (100kb) argues that transit terrorism would cause more total casualties and harm to society if individuals respond to attacks by shifting from public transit to less safe modes.

Protecting America's Roads and Transit Against Terrorism (July 13)
A recent Brookings Institution report, "On the Ground: Protecting America's Roads and Transit Against Terrorism," examines surface transportation security needs, making policy recommendations while counseling decisionmakers to weigh carefully the trade-offs between accessibility and security.

WSDOT Grants for Local Transportation Projects (July 13)
Communities across the state have an opportunity to enhance their transportation system and improve safety through several grant programs being offered by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). More from WSDOT.

New Legislation Affects Permitting for Multi-Family Buildings (July 06)
House Bill 1848, which goes into effect on August 1, 2005, should be carefully reviewed by any city or county that has multi-family buildings under construction or being planned. More from MRSC.

A New Movement for Civic Renewal (July 06)
Robert Putnam outlines a multi-pronged approach to reverse civic declines and to begin a new journey toward civic renewal. More from Public Management.

Small Lot Development - When Every Foot Counts (July 06)
Imagine designing a house to fit on a 25-foot-wide lot. That's what Portland, OR, asked architects to do for its Living Smart Project, an effort to create a catalog of attractive houses on the city's popular, but narrow, "in fill" lots. More from American City & County.

Management - Loving a Loser (July 06)
Award-winning programs usually spawn copycats, but there may be good ideas to replicate from innovative projects that falter. More from Governing.

Housing - Retail Workers Find Housing Options Severely Limited (July 06)
A new study by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows that the vast majority of retail sales workers cannot afford to rent housing in most major metropolitan areas without spending a disproportionate share of their incomes. More from the NAHB.

Public Works - Bridge over Troubled Water (July 06)
Despite the absence of federal funding, communities are finding ways to improve their water systems. More from American City & County.

Tax Policies to Help Working Families in Cities (July 06)
The significant link between federal tax policies and the welfare of households in cities should be receiving more attention from urban leaders and federal policy makers. More from the Brookings Institution.

Study Ranks Metropolitan Areas by Transportation and Housing Costs (July 06)
A new report from the Transportation Research Board (TRB) ranks 28 metropolitan areas by their transportation and housing costs and recommends specific actions governments can take to reduce the burden of transportation costs on families. More from the TRB.