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MRSC FOCUS › Focus - September 2001
 

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Focus - September 2001

State Supreme Court Decides I-722 is Unconstitutional . . .

In a unanimous decision issued on September 20, the state supreme court decided that Initiative 722 is unconstitutional and void because it violates the single subject clause of the state constitution. Justice Sanders wrote a separate, concurring opinion. (September 20)

Implicit Price Deflator (IPD) Increase is 1.89 Percent

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce has released the July 2001 index number for the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures. It is 109.755. This represents a 1.89 percent increase over the revised July 2000 index number of 107.714. More … (September 1)

Changes to Street Vacation Compensation Law

The state law governing street vacations undertaken by cities and towns has been amended by Chapter 202, Laws of 2001 allowing cities and towns, under certain conditions, to seek up to the full appraised value of the area to be vacated and restricting how the compensation raised by the vacation may be spent. More … (September 5)

Shorelines Hearings Board Invalidates DOE's Shoreline Master Program Guidelines

The state Shorelines Hearings Board on August 27 issued a decision invalidating, on a number of grounds, the shoreline master program guidelines adopted by the Department of Ecology (DOE) on November 29, 2000. The decision was accompanied by two opinions, by board members Kaleen Cottingham and Martin Carty and Pierre Peltier concurring in part and dissenting in part. The DOE guidelines have generated much controversy over Endangered Species Act compliance, the timetable for local government compliance, and unfunded mandate issues. The decision may be appealed to superior court within 30 days. (August 28)

Disclosure of Public Employees Personal Information

The state public disclosure law was amended during the 2001 session to specifically exempt from disclosure the residential addresses and phone numbers of any public employees or volunteers contained in records held by any public agency. See Chapter 70, Laws of 2001 (HB 1002), amending RCW 42.17.310(1)(u). (September 1)

City Fiscal Conditions 2001 Report

The National League of Cities' annual report of city fiscal conditions (Adobe Acrobat Document515 Kb) describes the results of their survey of municipalities conducted during the months of March and April of 2001. The survey findings are supplemented by several narrative descriptions based on interviews with city officials. (September 1)

Public Safety Radio Interference

Seattle, King County, and Portland are among several communities nationally that have been identified as experiencing significant interference to their public safety radio systems from Nextel, a national commercial mobile radio service provider. Pending radio license applications give local governments who are concerned with interference to their public safety radio systems an opportunity to bring the problem to the attention of Nextel and the FCC once again. For more see our Telecommunications News Notes. (September 5)

Featured Page: E-Government and E-Commerce

Many city, county and state governments have begun offering a variety of E-government services to citizens over the Web. The E-government revolution has the potential to create significant value through more efficient and convenient citizen-to-government, business-to-government, and government-to-government interactions. MRSC's E-Government and E-Commerce page contains E-government resources and articles, examples from other jurisdictions, sample online forms, and much more. (September 1)

Records Management and Retention Guidelines Updated

The Local Government Agencies Records Management Guidelines and General Records Retention Schedules, issued under the authority of the Washington State Local Records Committee, has recently been updated. This manual provides instructions and guidelines for public records management based on the provisions of Chapter 40.14 RCW. It also contains schedules governing the retention and disposition of records commonly held by local government agencies in Washington State. (September 1)

Domestic Partner Benefits Upheld by Court

The state supreme court ruled on August 23, in Heinsma v. Vancouver, that it is constitutional for a city to extend insurance benefits to the domestic partners of city employees. Justice Sanders dissented. (August 24)

Inquiry of the Week

This week's "Inquiry of the Week":

Must a code city with a population over 2,500 establish a board of adjustment?

[Previous inquiries of the week]

Web Sightings – Neighborhood Resources

Many resources for neighborhoods are available on the Web, including information on local neighborhood matching grant programs, neighborhood preservation, and other local programs: (September 1)

University Place Community Gift Guide

The University Place Community Gift Guide provides the opportunity for individuals, organizations, and businesses to be personally involved in shaping the special character of their community. The Guide lists city projects and items that need funding ranging from general monetary donations to funding specific items like plants for city parks. (September 1)

Best Practices Report

A report on "Governmental Best Practices" (Adobe Acrobat Document201 Kb), prepared by the Institute of Portland Municipal Studies at Portland State University, looks at issues and strategies related to traffic congestion, improving the public's involvement in local government, volunteer programs and alternative funding sources. (September 1)

Local Governments Must Appoint Agents to Receive Claims for Damages

State law currently requires that a claim for damages must be presented and filed with the governing body of each local government entity within the applicable period of limitations. New legislation enacted at the 2001 legislative session, which became effective July 22, 2001, requires that the governing body of each local government formally appoint an agent to receive these claims for damages. The identity and location of the agent during business hours must be recorded with the county auditor. See ESHB 1530, enacted as Ch. 119, Laws of 2001. Also see sample claim for damages forms from the cities of Lacey and Vancouver. (August 17)

Washington City/County History Quiz

This city was named in honor of an Okanogan Indian chief who donated the land for the first school established in the area. Historically, it had been used as one of his tribe's many encampments. The city got its first post office in 1901, was platted in 1910 and incorporated in 1927. It now serves as a hub for area agricultural and forestry industries, including three major fruit storage and processing facilities and the offices of the national forest ranger district. What city is it? And the answer is ~drum roll~ ... (September 1)

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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