Property tax relief is high on the agenda of many lawmakers from states in the Mountain West, where property values have skyrocketed in part because of an influx of residents from the East and West coasts. This escalation in real estate costs has resulted in rapidly rising property tax bills for millions of people in states such as Colorado and Montana. States have at times considered offsetting property tax breaks by increasing another revenue stream, such as sales taxes. But as the flow of revenue slows in many states, lawmakers are seeking more sustainable solutions to these property tax issues. Learn how policymakers are addressing high property taxes from Riley Judd, state fiscal policy associate at The Pew Charitable Trusts, below. https://lnkd.in/eV2zNTTg
Route Fifty
Book and Periodical Publishing
A news publication covering trends and best practices in state and local government across the U.S.
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Route Fifty is a leading source of original news reporting, analysis and insights for state and local government leaders, staff and stakeholders across the U.S. Sign up for our newsletters: https://www.route-fifty.com/newsletters/ Check out our events: https://www.route-fifty.com/events/ Route Fifty is a GovExec brand. Learn more about GovExec here: https://about.govexec.com/
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COMMENTARY | No family should be forced to choose between one essential and another. And they don’t have to, as long as Congress acts to renew the Affordable Connectivity Program, provides low-income participants up to $30 a month to help them afford broadband internet. In the meantime, America’s cities know just how important internet access is, write Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, chair of the United States Conference of Mayors’ Technology and Innovation Committee, and John Giles, mayor of Mesa, Arizona, and trustee of the USCM. Seattle and Mesa both have resources to help families find affordable internet. In Mesa, when 1-in-5 residents reported difficulty affording internet access, we expanded access to public Wi-Fi. In Seattle, Black, indigenous and other people of color are 2.5 times less likely to have internet. We’ve helped more than 38,000 families there sign up for the ACP, helping them get the internet access they need. https://lnkd.in/esxPai7c
Don’t pull the plug on internet access for 23M families
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This week, Dan Vock looks at the flurry of new federal regulations issued by the Biden administration. Plus: A win for transgender rights, bail reform, grizzly bears and more news to use from around the country.
Roundup: The flurry of federal regulations, transgender rights, bail reform and grizzly bears
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The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has reduced hiring times for frontline workers from nine months to just a few weeks. Agency leaders hope a bigger staff will help improve the lives of kids it serves. “This is one of those things where you just have to dig in and try new things and not be scared to say, ‘Listen, we don’t have everything solved. We don’t necessarily know whether this is going to work. No one else is doing this … But we’re going to invest a ton of time, energy, effort and collaboration and just do it. We’ll see what happens,’” said DCFS chief of staff Jassen Strokosch. “And it worked.” https://lnkd.in/eTRsent7
Illinois' child welfare agency goes on a hiring spree
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The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in late March created an opportunity for local leaders to reevaluate their community’s risk profile and grapple with a concept that is complex but vital for local resilience: the total cost of risk, or TCOR. The big challenge in these events is to weigh not only the risk itself but also those ripple effects that ultimately prove to be the most costly. By categorizing and quantifying the costs—calculating the TCOR—municipal leaders can get better at managing the fiscal impacts and directing resources toward mitigating them, thereby preventing some of the damage, writes Mark Funkhouser, president of Funkhouser & Associates and advisor to Route Fifty. TCOR appears to be increasing for most governments, although we can’t know for sure because most jurisdictions haven’t been capturing that data. However, looking at the risk of failing infrastructure, ever more frequent environmental disasters, reports of cyberattacks on local governments and today’s litigious environment, it’s hard to escape that conclusion. Learn more from Mark Funkhouser, municipal finance expert and former mayor of Kansas City here: https://lnkd.in/gJZexZrv #baltimorebridge #keybridge #maryland #baltimore #localgovernment #riskmanagement #infrastructure
Measuring and managing risk in the quest for resilience
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Southern governors are ramping up the pressure in union battles. What does this mean for the auto industry's future? Route Fifty’s Dan Vock has the latest developments shaping workforce dynamics in the South. https://lnkd.in/gXC9FrzA #RouteFifty #stateandlocalgovernment #SLG #workforce #finance #unions #autoindustry
Southern governors raise pressure in fights with auto unions
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Many states in recent years have extended their sales tax to include digital services consumers use in an effort to bring their tax codes into the 21st century. But Virginia ventured into unexplored territory earlier this year when budget negotiations also applied the tax to business-to-business transactions. According to The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, including both consumer services and business software services in the tax would add over $1 billion to the state's general fund. But the Virginia Chamber of Commerce said that applying the sales tax to business-to-business software transactions would cost Virginia businesses over $360 million each year. It would raise business costs across industries and “discourage economic development and business investment in Virginia by making the Commonwealth’s tax system less competitive.”
Virginia's 'tech tax' ignites debate on business taxes
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The Affordable Connectivity Program, a $30-a-month subsidy to help low-income families pay for home internet service, will run out of funds this month unless Congress acts. The Federal Communications Commission began winding down the program in January, announcing in March that April would be the last month participants would receive the full subsidy. Some households will continue to receive up to $14 in May. State and local leaders have voiced concerns over the program's end, citing resident's dependence on affordable internet to navigate the digital world. “With a digital divide that has long contributed to chronic inequity in America, the ACP has given people a lifeline,” said Hillary Schieve, mayor of Reno, Nevada, and president of the United States Conference of Mayors, in a recent statement. “After all the progress we’ve made to strengthen our cities, we cannot pull the plug on 23 million American families.” Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dZJHT-iD #acp #affordableconnectivityprogram #digitaldivide #fcc #congress
Federal broadband subsidy cut amid fears over its future
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Route Fifty reposted this
Glad to see our latest article on *measuring and managing risk* amplified via Route Fifty. Localities must work to assess their #TCOR to build resilience. Here's how 👉 https://lnkd.in/gJZexZrv
Measuring and managing risk in the quest for resilience
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A new report from the Center for American Progress and the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators identifies how states and territories across the U.S. are generating innovative conservation solutions for the benefit of communities and wildlife.With solutions tailored to their states, these leaders are collectively building a menu of policies that could turn the tide of nature loss. But while recent conservation momentum from states and territories is encouraging, still more is needed and possible. Scaling up impact in the face of extinction and climate crises combined with growing pressures on state budgets and other challenges, will take even deeper commitment from state leaders, local advocates, federal partners and private philanthropy. Learn more from Drew McConville and Kate Burgess here: https://lnkd.in/e9y2kZFZ
State-level conservation action sparks hope for nature
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