Your public works department is planning to construct a new waste water collection system, and, in a meeting with your engineer, you learn that a piece of equipment she plans to include in the bid specifications is a proprietary piece of equipment manufactured by only one company, No-Stink, Inc.  She tells you that this particular brand of equipment will greatly improve the function of the collection system. Specifying one brand of equipment doesn’t seem right to you, though.  So what do you do?

Your public works department is planning to construct a new waste water collection system, and, in a meeting with your engineer, you learn that a piece of equipment she plans to include in the bid specifications is a proprietary piece of equipment manufactured by only one company, No-Stink, Inc.  She tells you that this particular brand of equipment will greatly improve the function of the collection system. Specifying one brand of equipment doesn’t seem right to you, though.  So what do you do?

More than a few local government taxes, fees, and costs can be collected using some or all of the remedies available for the collection of property taxes.  As I’ve blogged before, property taxes can be waived or refunded only in very limited circumstances. Do these same stringent waiver and refund rules apply to those taxes, fees and costs that can be collected using property tax remedies?  I don’t think so, meaning there may be room for creativity by local governments in this area.

More than a few local government taxes, fees, and costs can be collected using some or all of the remedies available for the collection of property taxes.  As I’ve blogged before, property taxes can be waived or refunded only in very limited circumstances. Do these same stringent waiver and refund rules apply to those taxes, fees and costs that can be collected using property tax remedies?  I don’t think so, meaning there may be room for creativity by local governments in this area.

After a grueling budget season, the county board of commissioners has cut, and cut, and cut. The board members have come to the conclusion that, to avoid serious diminution in services, they must increase revenue. The next step is to put the local option sales tax on the ballot and hope that they can convince the citizens of the need to approve it. Meanwhile, the city council, facing the same budget woes, has decided to cut back on library and other popular services, and charge or increase fees for things like recreational programs.

After a grueling budget season, the county board of commissioners has cut, and cut, and cut. The board members have come to the conclusion that, to avoid serious diminution in services, they must increase revenue. The next step is to put the local option sales tax on the ballot and hope that they can convince the citizens of the need to approve it. Meanwhile, the city council, facing the same budget woes, has decided to cut back on library and other popular services, and charge or increase fees for things like recreational programs.

UPDATE August 2013: For updated information on the public school funding dispute resolution process, click here. In my last post, I reviewed the constitutional and statutory framework for county funding of local school administrative units (public schools). As I explained … Read more

UPDATE August 2013: For updated information on the public school funding dispute resolution process, click here. In my last post, I reviewed the constitutional and statutory framework for county funding of local school administrative units (public schools).

UPDATE August 2013: For updated information on the public school funding dispute resolution process, click here. In my last post, I reviewed the constitutional and statutory framework for county funding of local school administrative units (public schools).

UPDATE November 2013: In 2010 the General Assembly enacted substantial changes to the personnel records privacy statutes discussed in this post, but those changes do not affect the analysis in the post. The city manager enters a written contract of … Read more