GRA News, January 2014
New GRA Trustee
It is with great sadness that GRA says farewell to Kirstin Prior, former of the Center for Governmental Research in New York. With Kirstin's resignation from the GRA Board of Trustees, Shawn Teigen from the Utah Foundation has been appointed to fill out the remainder of the term.
GRA Website Updates
Have you been on the GRA website lately (
www.graonline.org)? With direction from the GRA Board of Trustees, Kent Gardner and Kate Bell from CGR have been hard at work updating the look of the website. Updates are designed to have the website serve as a conduit to our individual organizations and emphasize the great work going on in the many states and cities where our organizations are found. Their work continues, so stay tuned for more!
GRA Finances
GRA Treasurer, Kriss Sjoblom, reports that GRA finished 2013 with more members and more funds in the bank than previous years. Hopefully the worst is behind us and GRA can grow as a strong association that serves our needs.
Leadership Change in Governments Division in the Census Bureau
It was recently announced that Lisa Blumerman is leaving the Governments Division in the Census Bureau for a new assignment in the position of the Assistant Director for the Decennial and 2020 Directorates. In Lisa's 5 1/2 years with the Governments Division she led the process of modernizing and reengineering the Census of Governments and our Government Statistics Program. She has sent staff to the GRA conference annually for the past few years and called upon representatives of GRA to better understand how their products are used by our community. GRA wishes her luck in her new job and looks forward to building a strong relationship with her successor.
Staff Changes
Mallory Bateman Joins Utah Foundation
Utah Foundation is excited to have Mallory Bateman on board as a research analyst. Mallory received her Bachelors degree in Urban Planning from the University of Utah in 2008 and a MSc in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics in 2012. Mallory comes from a background as a planner, with a focus on National Environmental Policy Act research and public involvement for transportation projects. Additionally, Mallory was the Project Director for a local non-profit focusing on voter registration and civic engagement. She is jumping right in with projects focusing on Utah's population growth impacts through 2040 and on Utah's water issues.
GRA Policy Conference
Details for the 2014 GRA Policy Conference continue to take shape. The conference is scheduled for August 3-6 at the offices of the Pew Trusts in Washington, D.C. Mark your calendar so you can be on hand to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of GRA as well as learn about several topics very timely to today's policy environment. Watch for future articles in these monthly emails as well as separate emails with agenda, hotel accommodation arrangements, and other details.
New Publications
Bureau of Governmental Research
Open, Fact-Based Process Needed to Address Judgeships
LINK
In this release, BGR calls on the Supreme Court committee that is reviewing court efficiency to conduct its work in an open and transparent manner. It also urges the committee to act in a timely fashion.
Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana
A New Safety Net: The risk and reward of Louisiana's Charity hospital privatizations
LINK
Louisiana’s reinvention of the Charity hospital system is a controversial and complex health care reform. PAR examines this historic initiative with an in-depth report, A New Safety Net: The risk and reward of Louisiana’s Charity hospital privatizations. The report explains the transformation and evaluates the advantages and disadvantages for the state, the communities and the healthcare system. A special section provides a deal-by-deal breakdown of the new agreements affecting most regions of the state.
Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence
Understanding Your Property Taxes, 2014 Edition
LINK
The publication explains property tax bills, how the tax is calculated, gives good questions to ask local government officials, and provides important and helpful appendices.
Commentary on Minnesota’s 2013 Tax Changes
LINK
This report features Executive Director Mark Haveman's interview with State Tax Notes’ Billy Hamilton, one of the nation’s leading experts on state taxation, focusing on the tax changes Minnesota made in 2013.
Taxing Decisions Matter: A Guide to Good Tax Policy
LINK
November/December edition of Fiscal Focus
LINK
Citizens Research Council of Michigan
School District Dissolutions: Another Approach to Address Local School District Fiscal Distress
LINK
This report examines the state’s new policy allowing for school district dissolutions and its implications for local districts and the state at-large. The report identifies many of the causes of school district fiscal distress and Michigan’s oversight role in preventing distress from occurring in the first place. Additionally, the report discusses the justifications for state intervention, along with Michigan’s traditional response when districts are unable to address their problems on their own.
Public Policy Forum
Public Schooling in Southeast Wisconsin 2012-2013
LINK
This report is the first of two comprehensive analyses addressing the issue of dedicated public funding for arts, cultural, recreational, and entertainment institutions in Milwaukee County. In this first report, the Forum focuses on the finances and physical needs of the institutions, including an assessment of their need for public financial support. The report found that the facility needs Milwaukee’s institutions face are substantial and suggested that if the city wishes to build its national reputation for strong cultural amenities, additional public investment will likely be needed. However, the report also notes that such investments would need to be weighed against other public funding priorities such as schools, transportation systems, and law enforcement agencies.
Getting to Work: Opportunities and obstacles to improving transit service to suburban Milwaukee job hubs
LINK
This report examines a significant problem in the Milwaukee area: the divergence between where workers live in the Milwaukee area and where jobs are located, especially in the context of cuts to public transit. The report identifies suburban Milwaukee job centers that might benefit most from improved transportation access and models a few new suburban bus routes to illustrate potential costs, obstacles, and benefits.
Other Publications:
The Public Policy Forum’s ‘Milwaukee Talkie” blog had four posts in December: http://publicpolicyforum.org/blog. Subjects included the Forum’s top five research findings of 2013 and the role of the manufacturing sector in the Milwaukee region’s economy.
Illinois Fiscal Policy Council and Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois
TFI report from the Capitol is published weekly during legislative sessions.
Civic Federation
Estimated Full Value of Real Property in Cook County: 2002-2011
LINK
This report provides estimates of the total market value of real property in Cook County from 2002-2011 and shows how property value is spread among the City of Chicago, the northern and the southern suburbs. The full market value of real estate in Cook County was approximately $442.8 billion in tax assessment year 2011. This represents a decline of $7.0 billion, or 1.6%, from the 2010 estimated full value. The 2011 estimated decline is the fifth in a row for the whole County, but the rate of decline was the lowest since tax year 2007 and significantly less than the 18.2% decline seen in 2010. Tax year 2011 is the most recent year for which data are available.
Estimated Effective Property Tax Rates 2002-2011: Selected Municipalities in Northeastern Illinois
LINK
This report compares effective property tax rates in selected communities around metropolitan Chicago. The Civic Federation found mixed results across the region for effective tax rates in 2011 with rises in tax rates for all of the collar county municipalities studied over 2010 while in Cook County some communities saw decreases in residential effective tax rates. Commercial effective tax rates in each of the 12 Cook County communities studied declined by between 11.4% and 27.1%. Additionally, effective tax rates in 2011 were higher than they were 10 years ago for all communities studied.
Final Two Local Government Fiscal Year 2014 Proposed Budget Analyses
LINK
The Civic Federation analyzed the FY2014 proposed budgets of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) and the Chicago Park District. The Civic Federation supported the $425.6 million Chicago Park District budget for thoughtfully combining expenditure reductions, moderate revenue increases and comprehensive pension reform in a balanced approach to stabilize finances. The Federation also supported the proposed MWRD tentative budget of $1.2 billion for its responsible pension practices and transparent long-term planning.
