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MRSC Insight Blog


Posts for August 2012

Utility Billing and Termination in the Landlord/Tenant Context

MRSC frequently receives questions regarding the responsibilities of city utilities, particularly water, where the utility service is provided to a tenant. Here are some general considerations and some specific requirements that apply in this context that a city utility should be aware of to ensure compliance with state law and to respect the rights of both landlord and tenant:

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The Three Envelopes

Lynn Nordby tells a city manager joke and offers some words of wisdom for how to navigate the city manager position successfully.

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Local Governments May Assess "Reasonable" Service Charges for Stormwater Facilities Owned by the Federal Government

A significant case decided last May resulted in a major victory for local governments in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.  The case determined that federal agencies must pay local governments “reasonable service charges” for stormwater pollution control.  Some federal agencies had been paying such fees, but others had refused to pay based on the principle of...

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The BUC Stops at the Bond Users Clearinghouse

Every year when I work on our publication, Budget Suggestions, reading matter piles up.  When I turned to my stack last week, the first item I grabbed was The GO Report 2010: An Analysis of Local Government Outstanding General Obligation Debt from the Bond Users Clearinghouse (BUC) of the Washington State Department of Commerce.   This is always an interesting document and it had not...

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