Public Management Lessons From A Bond Issue Obstacle Course

March 30, 2015 by Lynn Nordby
Category: Management

During my time as a city administrator for Enumclaw, one of the projects I worked on was the development of a new library in the heart of town. With land secured, significant community support, and a bond issue ready for voters, I thought the project would be a cakewalk. However, I soon learned that things aren’t always as easy as they appear; getting the project done required maneuvering through an obstacle course of issues. The experience was challenging, but also taught me a number of important lessons about public management.

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Seattle Addresses Privacy and Public Disclosure in New Strategy for Managing Big Data

March 26, 2015 by Josh Mahar
Category: Information Technology

Earlier this year, the Seattle City Council adopted a set of six privacy principles regarding personal information. It was the first deliverable from the city’s Digital Privacy Initiative, an effort aimed at developing a comprehensive plan and process for how the city collects, manages, and uses data. Seattle’s efforts are pioneering in this area and are a likely precursor of discussions that many local governments will need to have in the near future. As jurisdictions adopt new technologies and use data to better serve their constituents, myriad questions of privacy and public disclosure are often left unanswered. Developing a clear strategy and process to address these issues, like Seattle is attempting, may help local governments steer clear of major problems down the road

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Confirmation of Mayoral Appointments (and Terminations) by City or Town Council – Is that OK?

March 25, 2015 by Pat Mason
Category: Classification , Recruitment and Hiring

In mayor-council cities and towns, the mayor is generally in charge of the hiring and firing of all appointed officers and employees. But can the city or town council require that the council confirm mayoral appointments before they become effective? This blog post explores the answer.

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Court of Appeals Reverses Large Public Records Act Penalty Imposed on University of Washington

March 24, 2015 by Adrian Urquhart Winder
Category: Court Decisions and AGO Opinions , Open Government Advisor , Public Records Act

In Bichindaritz v. University of Washington (2015), the Court of Appeals reversed a penalty against the University of Washington after a trial court found that the university's production of documents was not in good faith and took too long.

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Info and Checklists to Get Your Annual Financial Report Done Accurately and On Time

March 23, 2015 by Toni Nelson
Category: Financial Reporting

This post provides useful information to help make sure your annual financial reports to the State Auditor's Office are done right.

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Hiring the Right Person: Getting The Job “On the Street”

March 18, 2015 by Marci Wright
Category: Recruitment and Hiring , HR Advisor

You are ready to actively begin your recruitment process. Here are a series of questions to help you focus the recruitment.

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Model Ordinances for New Wireless Antenna Facility Siting Regulations

March 17, 2015 by Jim Doherty
Category: Telecommunications

Cities and counties need to revisit their wireless antenna facility siting regulations to bring them up-to-date with the FCC’s October 2014 Acceleration of Broadband Deployment Order, which includes final rules implementing Section 6409(a) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.

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Game Changing: Local Planners Rising to Meet Global Challenges

March 17, 2015 by Jill Sterrett
Category: Climate Change , Planning Advisor

In my article last October, I talked about Climate Change in the news and some of the actions that planners in the Washington Chapter of American Planning Association are taking to plan for the changes that Washington will face.  Today, I’d like to update you on our progress and talk about the upcoming National Planning Conference.

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Open Data Portals for Washington Local Government Finance Data

March 8, 2015 by Mike Bailey
Category: Public Participation , Finance Advisor

There is a lot of attention these days on the transparency of government spending, as there should be. This post exmaines the State Auditor's Office Local Government Financial Reporting System and other open data portals.

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BIG Public Records Requests

March 3, 2015 by Jim Doherty
Category: Public Records Act

How can local governments respond to large public records requests? In light of some recent public records requests that have made the news, this blog post discusses overbroad requests, identifiable records, and the ability to provide public records in installments.

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