The Increase in the Implicit Price Deflator (IPD) from July 2007 to July 2008 Is 4.527 Percent (September 22)

This means, for most jurisdictions, that the maximum allowable levy increase for 2009 is 1 percent of the 2008 levy (plus taxes on new construction and the change in the value of state-assessed utility property).

The July implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures has been published by the Department of Commerce in the September issue of the Survey of Current Business. It is 123.081. This represents a 4.527 percent increase over the revised July 2007 index number of 117.751.

Here is the math. Divide the July 2008 index (123.081) by the July 2007 index (117.751). Subtract 1 and multiply by 100. The result is 4.527 percent. This number will not be official, however, until you receive your notification from the Department of Revenue.

The fact that the increase is greater than one percent comes as no surprise. The data we had (through April 2008) when we published Budget Suggestions for 2009 suggested that the increase would be around 3.2 percent. A small portion of the difference between 4.527 and 3.2 percent is attributable to the annual revision that the Bureau of Economic Analysis does every June. The remainder, however, comes from large increases, over the previous year, in the June and July index numbers.

Information on the statutes that inform property tax levy increases is given below.

RCW 84.55.010 allows a taxing district to levy an amount equal to its highest allowable levy in the most recent three years times a "limit factor." (WAC 458-19-020 says the base year is the highest amount that could have been lawfully levied since 1985 for 1986 collection.) For most taxing jurisdictions, this will be the 2007 levy.

The "limit factor" is set out in RCW 84.55.005. For taxing jurisdictions with a population of under 10,000, Initiative 747 sets the limit factor at 101 percent. For those with a population of 10,000 or more, the limit factor is the lesser of 101 percent or 100 percent plus "inflation." "Inflation" is measured by the increase in the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures for the most recent twelve months, ending in July. Since, for this year, the latter measure produces a figure of 102.084 and that is greater than 101 percent, the limit factor for the 2008 levy is 101 percent. To put it a different way, the maximum allowable increase is 1 percent of the highest allowable levy that could have been levied in 1985 for 1986 collections.

Exceptions:

• Some jurisdictions have "banked" capacity. If they choose to use it, their levy increase will be more than 1 percent.
• Some jurisdictions are at their maximum statutory tax rate. They cannot increase their levy at all except for taxes on new construction and changes in the value of state-assessed utility property.
• Some jurisdictions are so close to their maximum statutory tax rate that they will be able to raise their levy by only a portion of 1 percent.

KaBOOM! Announces the 2008 Playful City USA Communities (September 18)
Sixty-seven communities in the United States have been designated as “Playful Cities” by KaBOOM!, a national non-profit organization that wants every child in America to have a place to play within walking distance of their home. More from KaBOOM!

Database Targets Childhood Obesity (September 18)
NACo has released the Healthy Counties Database, a new resource designed to help county officials prevent childhood obesity in their communities. More from NACo's County News.

Know Thyself: Judgment Capability Factors (September 18)
In today’s challenging environment, with simultaneous demands for control and release, delicacy and power, the public management professional must take note of the importance of what sound judgment is. More from Public Management.

Follow the LEEDer (September 18)
Portland’s Gerding Edlen Development continues to break new ground in green design. More from Metropolis Magazine.

Putting Out the Vacancy Sign (September 18)
Rather than the usual campaigns municipalities run to lure new residents or attract industries, Federal Way is running an economic-development campaign to fill its 500,000 square feet of empty office space.

Communicating the Counts (September 18)
Performance measures needn’t be feared. Publicizing the data in the right way can benefit government agencies and the public. More from Governing.

Performance Measurement - Compared with What? (September 18)
All evaluations involve a comparison. Whether you are evaluating a village or a public agency, you do so by making a comparison. More from Bob Behn's Public Management Report.

From ‘Sporks’ to ‘Spudware,’ Counties Going Green (September 18)
Until recently, San Mateo County, Calif. Jail inmates were blowing through 3,000 disposable plastic spoons per day — used once then off to the landfill. San Mateo is among the latest crop of counties that are stepping up their environmental efforts. More from NACo's County News.

Smart City - Housing/Transportation Affordability Index (September 18)
This week on Smart City, Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology discusses the Housing and Transportation Affordability Index.

City Fiscal Conditions Take a Turn for the Worse (September 18)
The National League of Cities recently released their City Fiscal Conditions in 2008 report, which finds a troubling combination of developments that will likely affect the financial health of cities over the next several years. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Executioner’s Song (September 11)
There is a lot of fanfare when a new program is signed into law. But then, it disappears from sight. Why is that? More from Governing.

Proposed Changes to Americans with Disabilities Act (September 11)
Some proposed changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are aimed directly at state and local governments and could amend the definitions of discrimination in the use of government services and facilities. More from American City & County.

Green Infrastructure Rising (September 11)
The future of stormwater has arrived, and that future is green. Green infrastructure, that is. More from Planning.

Elderly at the Wheel (September 11)
In the next 20 years the number of elderly drivers — persons 70 and over — is predicted to triple in the United States, and statistics show that older drivers are more likely than younger ones to be involved in multi-vehicle crashes, particularly at intersections. More from Governing.

Smart City (September 11)
This week on Smart City, Alan Ehrenhalt, executive editor of Governing Magazine, talks about a new trend in America where people with financial options about where they live are moving to cities, while those with less money are moving to the edges of metro areas.

GASB Requests Response on Proposed Performance Reporting Guidelines (September 11)
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has issued a Request for Response on Suggested Guidelines for Voluntary Reporting of Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) Performance Information. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Trends in Performance Measurement and Management Practices (September 11)
An increasing number of governments are using performance measurement and management practices, and these initiatives have broader stakeholder involvement than in the past. More from Government Finance Review (1.5 PDF).

Brownfields and Land Revitalization Conference (September 11)
The Washington Department of Ecology's Toxics Cleanup Program invites you to participate in the State's first-ever Brownfield Conference, October 21-22 in Tacoma.

The Foreclosure Credit Storm and Cities (September 11)
The most visible impacts on cities and towns of the foreclosure crisis have been boarded up neighborhoods and sharp declines in property tax revenues. But the credit meltdown of financial institutions has had less visible, but more serious impacts for city finances. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Crossing the Rubicon (September 11)
On Sunday, September 07, 2008, an Administration philosophically committed to the "free market" nationalized the U.S. housing finance system. We're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. More from the Urban Land Institute.

EPA Launches Treatment Database (September 04)
The Environmental Protction Agency's (EPA) Drinking Water Treatability Database is a new online tool for water treatment professionals that can be used for assessing the effectiveness of dozens of treatment processes, conducting literature reviews, and assessing relevant regulatory issues for specific contaminants.

New Report Helps Communities with Holistic Disaster Approach (September 04)
A new report from U.S. Chamber's Business Civic Leadership Center, On the Brink: Re-engineering the Nation's Disaster Response Processes, provides a catalogue of how the business community and respected partners apply lessons learned and develop new systems to make the disaster response process more holistic and strategic.

The Case for Evidence-Based Policy (September 04)
U.S. public policy has increasingly been conceived, debated, and evaluated through the lenses of politics and ideology. The fundamental question "Will the policy work?" too often gets short shrift or even ignored. More from the Urban Institute.

Performance Measurement - Shining a Bright Light (September 04)
Shining a light on the performance of different units can both motivate improved performance and generate experiments from which everyone can learn how to produce better results. More from Bob Behn's Public Management Report.

A Push-Pull Strategy for Change (September 04)
Leadership is about winning followers. One basic way to do so is to articulate demand for change and put people in touch with their own discontent about the status quo. More from Governing.

Counties Enter MySpace-YouTube Generation (September 04)
Increasingly, counties are using free social networking Web sites to connect with their residents "where the eyeballs are" - online - on sites such as Friendster, MySpace, YouTube, Bebo and Facebook. More from NACo's County News.

Revival by Restaurant (September 04)
Downtowns used to be the place to shop. Now, they’re the place to eat. More from Governing.

Top Government Web Portals and Applications for 2008 (September 04)
Winners of the 2008 Best of the Web and Digital Government Achievement Awards have been announced by e.Republic's Center for Digital Government. More from Government Technology.

City Curbs On Cars: Now Accelerating (September 04)
For close to a century, the automobile has so boldly seized Americans’ imagination — sparking the economy, paving the continent, designing our neighborhoods — that even the thought of curbing its dominion seems unnatural. But realism says this century simply can’t be a repeat of the heavily motorized 20th. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

New Feature - National News Clippings (September 04)
We've added a new feature to our "Local Governments in the News" section below. Now, in addition to our regular local news source clippings, we will also be featuring news clippings from various national news sources highlighting current events, trends and other news affecting Washington city and county governments and special districts.