Click here to skip to main content.
scenic picture from Washington state
MRSC FOCUS › Focus - June 2000
 

Note: Some of the information on this archival Web page may no longer be current.

Focus - June 2000

Inquiry of the Week

This week's "Inquiry of the Week":

Does RCW 58.08.040, requiring a deposit to cover anticipated taxes and assessments for plats, apply to short plats?

[Previous inquiries of the week]

The New MRSC Discussion Forum is Up and Running!

MRSC has launched the new Discussion Forum area of our Web site. You can use the discussion forums to collaborate with other city and county officials and to share information, ideas, experience and resources relating to local government. The permanent link to the Discussion Forum area is listed under the "Communicate" menu on the left hand side of the home page. Sign up as a "new user" on the Welcome page, get your password, and join the discussion. You can also enter as a "guest", but you will then be limited to "read-only" access. Please join the discussion!

I-695 Replacement Funding

The Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) has released the first distribution of the replacement funding to cities and counties for losses due to Initiative 695. A memo from CTED was sent to all cities and counties explaining the distribution. The supplemental operating budget EHB 2487 provided that one-third of the assistance will be distributed in FY 2000 and approximately two-thirds in FY 2001. More from AWC's Web site.

New Housing Web Page

Our new Housing Page has information on a variety of housing-related issues, including housing affordability, legal authority, sample ordinances, programs, plans, best practices and resources.

Washington Supreme Court Upholds Utility Tax on Pagers

On May 11, the state supreme court decided in Western Telepage v. City of Tacoma that the city's utility tax on paging services is consistent with the statutory definition of a taxable telephone business under RCW 82.04.065(4). The court rejected the plaintiff's argument that the legislature intended to include only "two way" communications in the definition of telephone services that are subject to a local utility tax.

GASB Statement No. 34

Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 34, "Basic Financial Statements - Management's Discussion and Analysis - for State and Local Governments," will change the way state and local governments present financial information to the public. Our new "GASB Statement No. 34" Web page contains a collection of resources explaining its implications and effects on financial systems.

AOL Technology Grants

The America Online (AOL) Foundation and the National Center for Small Communities (NCSC) have announced the AOL Rural Telecommunications Leadership Awards. Five $10,000 and ten $2,000 awards will be given to community leaders who have enhanced rural communications through a public-private partnership in a community of less than 10,000 people. Because rural areas have the lowest online participation rate, the AOL Foundation is sponsoring these awards to highlight efforts to bridge the "digital divide.

Vancouver's Foster Grandparent Program

Vancouver's Foster Grandparent Program provides opportunities for low-income seniors to contribute to their community while serving as a positive role model for children at risk. Foster grandparents spend twenty hours a week with children at risk in one-to-one supportive relationships, reading, playing games, helping with school work, or just taking time to listen. Their services are provided in various school and non-profit settings. We like it!

PTI's Top 25 Local Government Technology Solutions for 1999

"Solutions" is the national, annual competition conducted by Public Technology, Inc. (PTI) to showcase examples of technology excellence in the public sector. Their Top 25 Technology SOLUTIONS from the 1999 competition can be downloaded in PDF format from the PTI Web site.

Redmond's Civilian Disabled Parking Enforcement Program

The Redmond Police Department recently announced planning for a Civilian Disabled Parking Enforcement Program. Civilian volunteers will function in teams of two in a city vehicle and will be assigned to conduct primary enforcement of disabled parking spaces in shopping centers, park and ride lots and other similar heavily used ways open to the public. Washington State law (R.C.W. 46.16.381 (13a)) authorizes law enforcement agencies to appoint volunteers to issue notices of infractions for this specific violation. More from Redmond's Web site.

MRSC Library Catalog Now Available Online

Find out what documents we have in our library available on loan to Washington city and county officials and staff. Search our entire library holdings of more than 10,000 documents by subject, author or title. If you find items that you would like to borrow, you may either submit the library loan request form or call the MRSC library. While we have the full text of many city and county documents posted on our Web site, the library catalog contains records of materials that are not available in electronic format.

Web Sightings - Community Indicators

This collection of Web links, along with many other related sites, is from the Spring 2000 issue of Urban Quality Indicators:

Selected New MRSC Library Materials

Browse through a selected list of new MRSC Library materials (listed by subject). The list includes new library books, videos, articles, government publications, and more.

Get MRSC Web Site Updates by E-mail

You can get a monthly e-mail notifying you of selected updates to MRSC's Web site by subscribing to the mrscweb mailing list (listserv). Simply send an e-mail to the MRSC E-mail List Administrator. Include your first and last name and your e-mail address. You may also have your name removed from the list at any time by sending us an E-mail with your request.

Unlike most listservs, mrscweb is not a discussion list to which all subscribers may post messages, but a free subscription to a monthly notice updating you on major changes and additions to the MRSC Web site.