In what felt like an eerie flashback, the scenes at the gas pumps following last month’s ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline resembled the gas crises of the 1970s: long…
Here’s a harsh reality that will be hard for some who lead and manage in municipal government to stomach. Those staffers you lost as COVID-19 battered your local government’s tax…
As state and local governments celebrate the latest federal stimulus package, I’m struck by what I heard recently from Uri Monson, CFO of the Philadelphia School District: “The hardest thing…
If you’re looking for ways to improve social equity and racial justice in your community, you may find support in an ally you likely haven’t considered: your local nerd. Chances…
If you work in local government, you’re facing a responsibility you never signed up for: Today, you’re the last firewall against your residents’ cynicism toward government. Voters are justifiably pessimistic…
In the 1990s, political scientist Robert Putnam documented a worrisome trend: Fewer Americans were members of groups that formed the very fabric of American life, such as unions, PTAs and even…
I have long argued against the use of tax incentives, including tax increment financing (TIF), in which future property tax revenues are diverted to companies to subsidize development. It was the focus…
One of the most surprising aspects of the last few months is how much city leaders, regardless of size or region, have been focused on the same issues at the…
“Government auditors are critical to ensuring that our police and law enforcement agencies are effectively and equitably serving and protecting all communities.” That is a stone cold truth, one that…
“The more you allow localities to control their destiny, the better they do.” That’s Mike Pagano, quoted in Neil Kleiman’s new paper, Remaking Federalism: How States Can Realign and Rebuild a Stronger…