July 3, 2008
Conference preview.
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June 3, 2008
I thought this was an interesting post on the CEOs for Cities blog…the “world’s first contextual drainage system“? Maybe this is exactly what is needed to spice up a cities’ downtown. However, I have no idea what this costs…and with many cities looking to cut budgets wherever possible I’m assuming this is pretty cost prohibitive. But an interesting idea nonetheless. And this is a blog about ideas, right Brian?
May 28, 2008
There are a number of great advantages to walking…increased health, opportunity to visit with neighbors, plus anything that decreases your dependence on fuel is great right now. We all can save a little $$$ by walking to a few more destinations. My neighborhood only scored a 46 out of a 100…but I did beat Brian’s neighborhood by 4 points.
April 16, 2008
The debate over sales tax driving economic decisions (or the “zoning for dollars”) has been an important discussion for local officials for years. Despite the years of debate it isn’t exactly clear how much sales tax revenue dictates local land use decisions and more importantly to what extent the economic development incentives of the state are different than the economic development incentives of cities and towns. We know that cities have a large dependency on sales tax. However, the state frequently pursues higher paying jobs than retail (which does not provide immediate financial incentives to cities). However, the puzzle of economic development is complicated…sales tax is also important to the state (generating nearly $2 billion and over 34% of the GF budget) and high paying jobs are key to the quality of life of cities and towns. In my opinion the economic development decisions are not singularly dictated by tax revenue incentives. Not to mention other factors such as demographics, infrustructure, and quality of life factors that may play a more important role than tax structure on business decisions.
Anyhow Utah Foundation explores these questions in an interesting recent report: local-economic-development-utah-foundation
The sales tax may actually be a more balanced economic incentive than it seems at first glance. Many retailers prefer locating in a city with good jobs and well-to-do residents, creating an incentive for cities to pursue balanced development to foster strong retail sales.
March 3, 2008
A recent article in the NY Times notes an interesting comparison between corporate bonds and municipal bonds.
States and cities rarely dishonor their debts. The bonds they sell to investors are generally tax-free and much safer than those issued by corporations. But some officials complain that ratings firms assign municipal borrowers low credit scores compared with corporations. Taxpayers ultimately pay the price, the officials say,
in the form of higher fees and interest costs on public debt.
The major complaint is coming from California (who currently rated A, but claims they should be rated triple A). However, the move to reform bond ratings has already attracted the support of half a dozen state, including Washington and Oregon. Apparently the group is lobbying Moody’s for some changes to the ratings scale. I doubt anything will change, but it is an interesting issue…and might become more important if the economy worsens.
October 26, 2007
There have been some pretty unusual stories in the press this week, related to city government and municipal elected officials. I can’t help but blog about a couple of these stories. Here is a quick recap:
Monday — New Delhi Deputy Mayor S.S. Bajwa was attacked by wild monkeys…which led him to fall from his balcony and die (I’m not making this up, thank Cameron for the email): India official dies after monkey attack
Tuesday — Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey tackled a burglar who tried to enter his home…the 135 lb mayor received national press for his act of bravery: Boston Globe article, Deseret News article
Wednesday — I didn’t believe this story when I first heard it on NPR, but apparently this is real. Dallas Deputy Mayor Dwaine Caraway is pushing a new policy…for residents to pull their pants up.
“The No. 1 mission is very simple: pulling up your pants. That’s all we want,” Caraway says. Read the NPR story (and even better listen to the rap song ‘Pull Your Pants Up’) here: Hip-Hop Plea
Thursday — After 9 mayors in 11 years in Eagle Mountain one city councilmember is pushing for background checks of all candidates running for office. I normally would be opposed to such a policy…but in the case of Eagle Mountain this might not be such a bad idea. Should Eagle Mountain’s mayoral candidates clear background checks
Friday – ? seems like a boring news day compared to these stories…any suggestions?
September 17, 2007
Back to the office today after our Annual Conference last week. Overall we felt the conference was a great celebration, in addition to a great learning and training opportunity.
August 6, 2007
Last week the U.S. Senate passed resolution 297, co-sponsored by Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, to honor the 100th anniversary of the Utah League of Cities and Towns.
“I am grateful that my colleagues have joined with me in supporting this resolution and in wishing the members of the League another 100 years of success in the century to come. When it comes to helping local Utah governments, they’re out of everyone’s league,” said Senator Hatch.
“I’m pleased to join Senator Hatch in extending our congratulations and appreciation for the 100 years of service by the Utah League of Cities and Towns,” said Senator Bennett.
Check here for the Senator Hatch press release.
July 24, 2007
Utah now has 244 cities and towns. Monday Ruby’s Inn incorporated and created Bryce Canyon City, population 138. However, while only a population of 138 Bryce Canyon City represents around 70 to 75% of Garfield County’s sales tax revenue.
I was actually in Bryce Canyon this past weekend, so a couple photos of Utah’s newest town…
And while Bryce Canyon City did not yet exist when we conducted the cluster analysis I think it is fair to say that it will be categorized as a “Resort Community.”
- Ruby’s Inn Incorporates (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Decision on Bryce Canyon City (Deseret News)
July 17, 2007
So I haven’t read the book yet, so I can’t give a full review…but I think the topic is really interesting. The Brookings Institution just published a new book Boomburbs: The Rise of America’s Accidental Cities. This book documents the growth of some of the fastest grwoing suburbs in America, suburbs that eventually grow to cities beyond 100,000 in population…but are not the largest city in their metropolitan region.
One problem of the Boomburb cities, according to many of their elected officials, is that they do not get any respect. They are often overshadowed by the larger metropolitan city (e.g. Anaheim to Los Angeles). For example, over a dozen major league sport franchises are centered in Boomburbs, bu only one carries that cities’ name (Anaheim). As an example of these cities not getting any respect I found a reference to the mayor of Salt Lake City (I can’t say I’m surprised):
“Michael L. Montadon, the mayor of North Las Vegas (one of the nation’s fastest growing boomburbs), tells of an encounter in which the mayor of Salt Lake City dismissed the idea that the two places share common problems, despite the fact that North Las Vegas is both bigger and more ethnically diverse than Salt Lake City.”The book also addresses the concept of baby boomburbs. These suburban communities are between 50,000 and 100,000. At least four Utah cities fit the profile as baby boomburbs. If you are interested you can read the first chapter of the book here: Legoland.
