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Focus - July 2003

		County MVFT Estimate for 2004 Revised Downward (July 31) The Department of Transportation discovered that it added the Capron Refunds to the county estimate of the motor vehicle fuel tax (MVFT) distribution rather than subtracting them. The correction reduces the forecast of the pot of money available to counties from $146,673,000 to $134,673,000. The allocation factors have not changed. A new spreadsheet (21 KB) shows the revised county forecasts. Use it to replace the information on pages 23 and 24 of Budget Suggestions for 2004 (385 KB).
		Transportation Second Highest Cost for America's Families (July 29) A new report from the Surface Transportation Policy Project, "Transportation Costs and the American Dream: Why a Lack of Transportation Choices Strains the Family Budget and Hinders Homeownership," uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to rank metro areas according to the portion of household expenditures devoted to transportation.
		GSA's Final Rule for the Dot-Gov Domain (July 29) Cities and counties that want to take on the dot-gov domain name for their Web sites now have that option, thanks to the General Services Administration (GSA). More from American City & County.
		Washington Cities and Counties in the News Here are the latest news clippings from around the state highlighting current events, trends and other news affecting Washington city and county governments: Another Push for Council-Manager (Tacoma News Tribune, July 31, 2003) New Traffic Laws Target Seat Belts, DUI (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 28, 2003) Translating Meetings Crusade of Councilwoman (Yakima Herald, July 28, 2003) Areas in County are Becoming Urban Orphans (The Seattle Times, July 28, 2003) Tacoma Rolls the Dice (Tacoma News Tribune, July 27, 2003) County Mulls Ways to Profit from Parks (The Bremerton Sun, July 28, 2003)
		Washington Local Governments Receive Federal Homeland Security Funds (July 29) Washington State is receiving more than $40 million in federal homeland security money made available in the federal fiscal year '03 budget and '03 supplemental budget. More from the Courthouse Journal.
		Homeland Security: Lessons Learned for America's Cities and Towns (July 29) The National League of Cities' Working Group on Homeland Security has developed several documents that offer practical guidance to local officials in cities and towns to assist in their ongoing efforts to develop and refine local and regional homeland security plans.
		FEMA Announces Availability of Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grants The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently announced the availability of competitive grants for Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM). More from Nation's Cities Weekly.
		Regulating Faith-Based Planned Developments (July 29) In the June issue of the American Planning Association's Zoning News, Jim Schwab looked at how to mitigate the impacts of faith-based planned developments for the good of the community while respecting their legal and constitutional privileges and the benefits they may provide. More from Zoning News.
		Rethinking Parking Requirements (July 29) Many urban development projects become unfeasible when large amounts of parking are required by local zoning codes. Livable Places has prepared a brief fact sheet that outlines the problem of minimum parking requirements and offers solutions for reducing the need for parking with new urban development.
		Sidewalks Must be Accessible under the ADA (July 18) The United States Supreme Court upheld on June 23, 2003 a United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit decision that ruled sidewalks installed and maintained by local governments must be accessible to persons with disabilities under the ADA. More.
		Budget Suggestions For 2004 (July 17) Budget Suggestions for 2004 ( 385 KB) is now available. Paper copies have been mailed to all mayors, city managers and administrators, finance directors and clerk-treasurers, and county commissioners, administrators and auditors.
		Shoreline Guidelines Ready for Public Comment (July 17) The state Department of Ecology (DOE) is hoping the third time's the charm for updating Washington's shoreline management guidelines. The department is seeking public comment on draft rules that will be used by cities and counties in updating and implementing their shoreline master programs. More from DOE.
		City Councils Reflect Community Diversity (July 16) America's city councils are growing increasingly diverse, according to a study commissioned by the National League of Cities. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.
		SARS: Lessons Learned for America's Cities and Towns (July 16) The National League of Cities' Working Group on Homeland Security offers practical guidance to local officials in cities and towns based on lessons learned during the SARS outbreak. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.
		Washington Cities and Counties in the News Here are the latest news clippings from around the state highlighting current events, trends and other news that impacts city and county governments: City Change Makes Ballot (The Tacoma News Tribune, July 17, 2003) Wal-Mart to Pay Most of Street Cost (The King County Journal, July 17, 2003) County Executive Wants to Use Cowpies to Produce Electricity (The King County Journal, July 17, 2003) Spokane to Vote on Government System (Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, July 9, 2003) Cell Tower Creates a Tempest (The Olympian, July 15, 2003) County Ponders Higher Tax (The Tacoma News Tribune, July 15, 2003)
		Web Sightings - Local Government Job Listings (July 16) Seeking a local government position in Washington State? MRSC has compiled a Web page on job openings. Here are some of our favorite links. AWC Job Net Washington County Employment Opportunities (WACO and WSAC) GovtJob.Net - Sponsored by the Local Government Institute, lists jobs available nationally MRSC links to Washington city and county job listings State professional associations frequently include employment listings. Here are a few examples: American Public Works Association, Washington State Chapter - Employment Planning Association of Washington - Opportunities Washington Finance Officers Association Job Listings Washington Municipal Clerks Association - Job Openings
		Can the Arts Energize a City? (July 16) A recent Smart City™ radio show answers the question, "Can the Arts Energize a City?" Smart City™ is a weekly, hour-long public radio talk show that takes an in-depth look at urban life, the people, places, ideas and trends shaping cities.
		Telecom Links (July 16) The National Association of Telecommunications Officers & Advisors (NATOA) has compiled a great list of web links to national and regional organizations, and to other related telecom web sites. The list includes some sources not already listed on MRSC's telecom links page.
		A Matter of Taste (July 16) How to control the odor and flavor of water before residents raise a stink. More from American City & County.
		State and Local Rights-of-Way (July 16) NTIA's State and Local Rights-of-Way Resources website is designed to provide information about the laws, regulations, policies, and practices that affect state and local management of rights-of-way.
		Free Pollution Liability Insurance for Oil Heat Users (July 10) The Washington Pollution Liability Insurance Agency’s (PLIA) Heating Oil Pollution Liability Insurance Program provides no cost pollution liability insurance coverage for active (in use) heating oil tanks. If you have residents or businesses that use oil heat, you may want to publicize this on your Web sites or in your newsletters (see the PLIA announcement).
		Report Finds U.S. Unprepared for Terrorist Attack (July 8) A new report from the Council on Foreign Relations, "Emergency Responders: Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared" (264 KB), finds that nearly two years after 9/11, the United States is drastically underfunding local emergency responders and remains dangerously unprepared to handle a catastrophic attack.
		Ecology Adopts New Water Quality Standards (July 8) The Department of Ecology recently announced the adoption of changes to the surface water quality standards for the state of Washington (Chapter 173-201A WAC). More from the Courthouse Journal.
		Search the MRSC Library Catalog (July 8) You can now keyword search the catalog of local government documents held by the MRSC Library. After searching the catalog, Washington city/county officials and staff can borrow documents over the phone or by using our online library loan request form.
		Study Finds Impact Fees Promote Growth (July 8) Impact fees - one-time charges against new development - foster growth by providing an increased and predictable supply of buildable land, according to a new study, "Paying for Prosperity: Impact Fees and Job Growth" from the Brookings Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy.
		Washington Cities and Counties in the News (July 8) This new Focus section features selected news clippings from around the state highlighting current events, trends and other news that impacts city and county governments in Washington: Council Approves Rules For Live-Work Units, City of Seattle (6/23/03) Federal Report Gives Light-Rail Project Good Marks, Seattle Times (7/8/03) Region is Learning to do Water Shuffle, Seattle Times (7/7/03)
		Best Practices - Municipal Awards Links (July 8) MTAS has updated and revised the format of their municipal awards information page. This is an excellent source for local government best practices.
		Brownfields Development Report (July 8) A new report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, "Recycling America's Land - A National Report on Brownfields Redevelopment" (12 MB), finds that redeveloping brownfields could generate more than 575,000 new jobs and as much as $1.9 billion annually in new tax revenue for America's cities.
		Thurston County's History on the Web (July 8) Thurston County's "History People and Places" Web site contains numerous photographs from the early years of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and many other locations.