New Legislation Impacts Purchasing, Contracting

July 26, 2017 by Judy Isaac
Category: Purchasing and Contracting

Purchasing and contracting procedures for Washington local governments changed on July 23, 2017.  Public Works Consultant Judy Isaac reviews the changes. 

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New Public Records Data Reporting Requirement

July 24, 2017 by Jim Doherty
Category: Public Records Act

2017 was a big year for the PRA, with the legislature making several high-profile changes to the law. In this blog post, MRSC Legal Manager Jim Doherty discusses one change that may come as a surprise to many agencies: the new public records data reporting requirement. 

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New Open Government Training Requirements for Public Records Officers

July 21, 2017 by Brooke Frickleton
Category: Public Records Act

Earlier this year, the legislature made a number of changes to the Public Records Act (PRA). One key update is that the PRA and records retention training currently required for PROs must now include training on electronic documents and improving technology information systems. In this blog post, MRSC Legal Extern Brooke Frickleton outlines this new requirement.

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Building for Bicycles: Safe Roads & Recreational Use Immunity

July 19, 2017 by Nick Quijas
Category: Cycling and Walking

Here in Washington, bicycles are being increasingly recognized and appreciated as a legitimate and important transportation option. In this blog post, MRSC Legal Intern Nick Quijas explores some of the ways in which local governments will be affected by increasing growth in bike transportation. 

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Critical Areas: The Importance (and Difficulty) of Knowing Where They Are

July 18, 2017 by Greg Wessel
Category: Critical Areas

Regulated critical areas vary from place to place but in some cases, a jurisdiction’s knowledge of its critical areas may be based on outdated or incomplete information. Guest author Greg Wessel looks at some steps jurisdictions can take to address this problem. 

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Top Picks: Citizen Engagement Tools, Impacts of Shrinking Retail, Telecommuting Update

July 14, 2017 by Byron Katsuyama
Category: Strategies and Programs , Public Participation , Planning

Policy consultant Byron Katsuyama identifies some of the emerging issues and innovations that local government leaders should be aware of.

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Introducing MRSC's New Public Works Consultant

July 10, 2017 by Judy Isaac
Category:

Say hello to Judy Isaac, MRSC's new Public Works Consultant!

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New Law on Restraining Dogs

July 10, 2017 by Paul Sullivan
Category: Animal Control

In this blog post, Paul Sullivan provides an overview of a new law adopted by the legislature that regulates the tethering of dogs. The new law goes into effect on July 23, 2017. 

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When is a Development Application Ready for Review?

July 6, 2017 by Steve Butler
Category: Development Regulations and Zoning

Once a jurisdiction determines that a planning-related application is complete it has 120-days to  make a decision on that proposal. But what makes an application complete? MRSC Planning Consultant Steve Butler reviews the options. 

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June 2017 Land Use Case Law Update Recap

June 29, 2017 by Jill Dvorkin
Category: Court Decisions, AGO Opinions and Regulations , Land Use Administration

On June 15, Phil Olbrechts and Jill Dvorkin presented the first of two annual Land Use Case Law Update webinars for 2017. In this blog post, Jill Dvorkin provides a brief recap of the cases covered in the webinar, as well as a summary of another case decided since the webinar.

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Fiscal Feast or Famine: A Survival Guide

June 27, 2017 by Stan Finkelstein
Category: Budgets and Budgeting , Council-Commission Advisor , Financial Management

What can local governments do to avoid the fiscal cliff? Advisor Stan Finkelstein argues that the best defense is to develop a multiyear forecast of anticipated resources and expenditures.

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Use of Electronic Devices During Council/Commission Meetings

June 23, 2017 by Jim Doherty
Category: Open Public Meetings Act , Public Records Act

It seems that everybody is always looking at a screen or sending messages these days, sometimes using a smartphone, a notebook computer, or tablet—what’s the big deal? This blog post examines the issues that arise when members of a governing body text, meassage, or email during a public meeting. 

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A Tale of Many Cities, Counties, Special Districts and ….

June 21, 2017 by John W. Carpita, PE
Category:

After more than 20 years working as a Public Works Consultant for MRSC, John Carpita will be retiring at the end of this month.  In this post, he shares a few of his favorite memories. 

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Summer Fun: Tips on Holding Summer Community Celebrations

June 19, 2017 by Flannary Collins
Category: Administration and Management

Summer officially commences on Tuesday, June 20, and a lot of Washington cities and counties take advantage of the lovely Washington summers by holding a community celebration. In this post, Flannary Collins covers how to incorporate food and drink into your festivities as well as considerations related to parades. 

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Food Truck Laws and Regulations

June 15, 2017 by Oskar Rey
Category: Licensing and Regulation

In this blog post, Oskar Rey sorts through applicable food truck laws and regulations and cites examples of approaches taken by Washington municipalities that regulate food trucks in their jurisdictions.  

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Funding Utility Infrastructure

June 14, 2017 by Courtney Black
Category: Finance , Finance Advisor , Utilities

The facilities that make up your utility infrastructure won’t last forever. This post looks at how asset management options can help a utility avoid significant funding challenges or impacts to ratepayers during infrastructure replacement.

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The Supreme Court Narrowly Construes the “Minimum-Value” Executive Session Exception to the OPMA

June 12, 2017 by Ramsey Ramerman
Category: Court Decisions, AGO Opinions and Regulations , Open Public Meetings Act , Open Government Advisor

On June 8, the Washington Supreme Court issued its opinion in Columbia Riverkeepers v. Port of Vancouver, adopting a very narrow interpretation of the executive session “exception” to the OPMA for discussion about the sale or lease of real estate (the “minimum-value exception”). In this blog post, guest author Ramsey Ramerman breaks down the case. 

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Easy Problem Solving Using the 4-step Method

June 7, 2017 by Jennifer Haury
Category: Management

Is your worksite suffering from 'change fatigue' and your staff, leery of any new improvements? Guest author Jennifer Haury offers a 4-step problem solving method to help you avoid making new changes that ultimately fail to address old, underlying issues. 

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Regulating Sky Lanterns

June 6, 2017 by Davis Abbott
Category: Licensing and Regulation

Between the Fourth of July, summer weddings, and other celebrations, sky lanterns are becoming an increasingly popular way to celebrate on summer nights. But Sky Lanterns may not be as innocent as they seem. This blog post will explore how sky lanterns are regulated in Washington State.

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Big Cybersecurity for Small Jurisdictions

June 1, 2017 by Mike Kaser
Category: Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is complicated. Guest author Mike Kaser suggests that the best place to start is to determine what can be done within the current resources and skill sets of your organization, then decentralize the risk beyond IT. 

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