Note: Some of the information on this archival Web page may no longer be current.
Focus - February 1999
Sign Our Guestbook
If you haven't had a chance to sign our guestbook yet, please take a minute to say hello and tell us what you think of our Web site. We appreciate the feedback and rely on your opinions to guide us in making improvements to this site.
Inquiry of the Week
This week's "Inquiry of the Week":
[Previous inquiries of the week]
Y2K Compliance Database
Equipment used in water, sewer, fire, police, emergency management, traffic systems, etc. often have embedded microprocessor chips that may or may not be Y2K compliant. MRSC now has a prototype of a Y2K database containing compliance information about equipment researched by one Washington city. In coming weeks, more Washington cities and counties will be contributing information about their equipment. To find out how you can add your Y2K equipment compliance inventory to the database, please contact Fred Ward.
Salary Increases for Elected Officials
The Attorney General's Office recently issued an opinion answering the following question: "If a person is elected to fill an unexpired term as a city councilmember, and the compensation for the position had been increased earlier in that term, is the newly elected councilmember eligible to receive the increase during the remainder of the term?
The opinion (AGO 1999 No. 1) concludes that a person elected to an unexpired term of a city council may not constitutionally receive, during the unexpired term, any changes in compensation previously enacted by the council during that term.
Snow and Ice Control - What's the Plan?
When snow and ice make driving conditions hazardous does your jurisdiction have a response plan? The city of Spokane does - City of Spokane Ice and Snow Control Plan.
Web Sightings - Web Search Sites
This month we look at general Web search engines. Next month the focus will be on sites for searching for government information.
- Northern Light - One of our
favorite search engines. We like the way Northern Light organizes results
into folders so that you can refine your returns.
- Yahoo - With its comprehensive directory,
Yahoo is still the best choice for a simple search on a general topic
- MetaCrawler - This is a
good choice for metasearching, or querying multiple engines at once. Metacrawler
sends your query to several search engines, such as Lycos, Infoseek, Excite,
AltaVista, and Yahoo, and limits the number of results.
- Other Search Engines - We have also found the following sites to be useful: AltaVista, Excite, Hotbot, and Infoseek.
IRS Mileage Rate Lower in 1999
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reduced the mileage rate for business travel from 32.5 cents per mile to 31 cents, effective April 1, 1999. The reduction is based on lower fuel prices and slower auto depreciation rates. The 1998 rate of 32.5 cents will continue to apply through March of 1999.
Telecommuting Sites
Telecommuting or teleworking is an arrangement that permits employees to work in or near their homes for all or part of the workweek. Telecommuting arrangements have been recognized as having the potential to improve employee effectiveness, reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and conserve energy. Learn more about telecommuting:
- Telework - Washington
State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program's site includes information
on telework tools, technical and training assistance.
- The International Telework Association
- A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the Economic, social and
environmental benefits of telework.
- State of California
Telework Telecommute Site - includes state law, model policy, and links.
- Pacific
Bell Network Telecommuting Guide - Includes information on equipment needs,
tips on managing telecommuters, policies, and telecommuter agreements.
- Telecommuting, Teleworking, and Alternative Officing - Gil Gordon, president of Gil Gordon Associates, a top national telework expert, provides up-to-date telework resource information, including a monthly on-line newsletter, "Telecommuting Review."
Have We Missed Your Web Site?
We're collecting links to Washington city and county Web sites. Take a look at our list of links to make sure that we have one for your city or county's home page. If we don't have it, please E-mail us with the site address so we can add you to the list.
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 type: subscribe mrscweb your name in the body of the message, and press "send" (leave the subject line blank). You may have your name removed from the list at any time by following the directions in the welcome message you will receive after subscribing.
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. If you have questions about this listserv, please contact Terri Sanders, MRSC Information Services Technician, at tsanders@mrsc.org.