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MRSC FOCUS › Focus - February 2001
 

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

Focus - February 2001

MRSC Commences Digital Government Strategic Planning Effort

By June 2001, MRSC will have completed a Digital Government Strategic Plan. Our goal is to help local governments in Washington implement digital government applications by sharing expertise, staffing, hardware, software, and bandwidth. Possible applications include online payments, service requests, and licensing. We anticipate that service areas will include master contracts, application hosting, application development, education, and technical support. In addition to a Task Force of 13 members advising us on our plan, we are forming a "reader's group" of an additional 20-30 people to review elements of the plan. If you are interested in reviewing and commenting on the plan, please contact Fred Ward.

MRSC Launches Local Government Business Web site

MRSC launched a local government business Web site on January 22, 2001. On the web at http://beginwa.org, the Business E-government Information Network currently includes more than 90 city business license application forms, along with information about licensing requirements and regulations. This site will make it easier for companies that conduct business in multiple localities to obtain license application forms. See the complete press release.

Washington State and Local Governments Ordered to Cut Energy Use

On January 26, 2001, Governor Locke issued an energy supply alert to ensure that Washington residents and businesses have enough electricity while protecting air quality. In announcing the alert, Locke signed three orders, one of which requires state and local governments to cut electricity and natural gas use by 10 percent for at least 90 days. The Association of Washington Cities sent a Memo to All Cities and Towns dated January 29, 2001 requesting that jurisdictions assign a management team member with the responsibility of implementing this order as soon as possible. For additional information, see MRSC's Energy Conservation and AWC's Energy pages.

Attorney General Says No To Privately Operated Jails

Any city or county that is considering contracting with a private company to operate its jail will want to read a recent state attorney general opinion (AGO 2000 No. 8) that significantly restricts such business deals. More ...

New Discussion Forum Topic - Survey Process

In "The Survey Process," Carolyn Browne, Principal, Carolyn Browne Associates, highlights several key elements involved in survey preparation, data collection and analysis. Carolyn is also moderating a discussion on this topic in the MRSC Discussion Forum. A Help Page offers step-by-step instructions for joining the discussion.

I-722 Preliminary Injunction

A preliminary injunction (Adobe Acrobat Document 1,027kb) against implementing and enforcing Initiative 722 was entered on November 30, 2000 by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy. The injunction applies to all parties in the lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the initiative that were consolidated in the Thurston County Superior Court. The court is scheduled to hear motions for summary judgment in the consolidated cases on February 23, 2001.

In an order entered on January 9, 2001, the court extended the preliminary injunction to include all cities, towns, and counties, regardless of whether they were parties to the original lawsuits. However, counties were required to confirm their desire not to be excluded as plaintiffs by January 5. Thirty-five counties confirmed their status as plaintiffs; Asotin, Grays Harbor, Island, and Kittitas counties did not.

Other documents from this case can be found in the Litigation section of our Initiative 722 page.

Inquiry of the Week

This week's "Inquiry of the Week":

What overtime regulations apply to a city with a police chief and two full-time police officers?

[Previous inquiries of the week]

Attorney General Opinion on Costs of Street Lighting

In AGO 2001 No. 1, the attorney general's office addresses the authority of cities and towns to shift the costs of street lighting from the general government to utility customers, and concludes that they lack the authority to operate their street lighting as a utility or to impose a charge on utility customers for the cost of furnishing street lighting.

Citizen Budget Guide

Effective communication with the public about the complexities of your city or county budget is no simple task. How you present this type of information can often be just as important as what you present. Thurston County's Citizen Budget Guide does an admirable job of presenting and explaining the budget challenges facing the county in a way that is both informative and accessible. We like it!

Washington Kids Count

The Year 2000 County/City Profiles of Child and Family Well-Being prepared by the Washington Kids Count project at the University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs are now available. The Washington Kids Count project improves policies for children by analyzing and disseminating data on the well being of children and mobilizing communities to action. Each of the 39 counties and the three largest cities, Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane are profiled.

Customer Service

Do you put all of your city or county forms on a single Web page for convenient citizen access? Enumclaw, Federal Way and Longview do. We like it!

Web Sightings

There is a wealth of information on grant funding sources available on the Web. Here are some of our favorite sites:

Domestic Violence Plan

The Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence has developed a Comprehensive Domestic Violence Plan to promote coordination and increase collaboration of institutions, systems and services as they respond to offenders, victims, children, and others who have been impacted by domestic violence.

Washington City/County History Quiz

This city was originally established as a farming center by the Hudson's Bay Company. One pioneer story ascribes the name to an incident in which a small trading ship entered the main harbor and hailed a sheepherder ashore, asking "What bay is this?" The sheepherder thought what they wanted to know was the day of the week, and so replied. The traders then inscribed this name on their chart. What city is it? And the answer is ~drum roll~ ...

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.

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