November 2014

Indigent Defense Standards – Misdemeanor Caseload Limits Take Effect Soon

November 21, 2014 by Bob Meinig
Category: Courts, Criminal Justice and Corrections

On January 1, 2015, the misdemeanor caseload limits for public defense attorneys adopted by the Washington State Supreme Court in the new Standards for Indigent Defense take effect. The court had in 2013 delayed the implementation of the caseload limits until that date, to provide time for...

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Public Works Board’s FirstStop Initiative Aims to Better Connect Local Governments to Infrastructure Resources

November 18, 2014 by John W. Carpita, PE
Category: Administration

The Washington Public Works Board has a new FirstStop Initiative bringing together a host of resources, including a robust online tool, to provide local governments with financial and technical support to develop sustainable infrastructure systems.

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Cooperative Senior Housing: An Alternative to Meet the Needs of Today’s Senior Citizens

November 14, 2014 by Sue Enger
Category: Housing

The needs of retirees continue to change as they age. Innocative alternatives such as senior co-operative housing may better address today's seniors than traditional senior housing models.

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Is Your Community Ready for Micro-Housing?

November 13, 2014 by Andy Lane
Category: Housing , Planning Advisor

You're sitting at your desk at the permit counter. An application is dropped in front of you. You quickly skim the application — hmmm... five stories... 40 residential units... five shared kitchens — huh? Then you recognize the project address as a rather small lot. Your eyebrows (and your brain) furrow as you wonder how the architect could fit 40 units on that lot. Your forehead exchanges its confused furrows for wide-eyed astonishment as it dawns on you — each unit is only 120 square feet! At that moment, what pops into your head?

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Charting a Future Course for Your County or City

November 12, 2014 by Stan Finkelstein
Category: Management , Council-Commission Advisor

The reality is that in this day and age the citizenry, for the most part, desires dynamic local governments. They abhor lethargy and they want to see positive change. They want their elected officials to position their jurisdictions to anticipate future needs. For the past 6 years most Washington counties and cities have been “treading water” ...

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Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: To Charge or Not to Charge?

November 12, 2014 by Flannary Collins
Category: Energy Resources and Conservation

Can local governments allow employees and members of the public to charge their personal electric vehicles without a fee or provide other electric charging benefits?

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The Exciting Possibilities of Crowdsourcing

November 10, 2014 by Byron Katsuyama
Category: Social Media

This article looks at four news articles from 2014 about how crowdsourcing and social media data can be used to provide critical real-time information to aid local governments in responding to public health threats and disasters.

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2014 General Election: Bonds and Levy Lid Lifts Struggle

November 7, 2014 by Steve Hawley
Category: Elections

The Washington State general election results have officially been certified, so we now know the fates of all of the local ballot measures.

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What if Some of Your Elected or Appointed Officials Have Not Yet Completed Open Government Training Act Requirements?

November 5, 2014 by Pat Mason
Category: Open Public Meetings Act

The Open Government Trainings Act enacted by the 2014 Legislature (ESB 5964, Laws of 2014, ch. 66) requires training for some local government officials in the fundamentals of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), Public Records Act (PRA), and records retention requirements. Many local government officials have already completed these training requirements, which are not burdensome. However, we are receiving calls from some local governments asking what to do about those officials who haven’t completed this training yet this year. Basically, is that a problem?

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