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MRSC Insight Blog


Posts for July 2012

Five Tips on Supporting a Ballot Proposition

July 30, 2012  by  Joe Levan
Category:  Elections

This blog post provides five tips to help guide elected officials and staff over the – at times – rocky shoals of state election and campaign law.

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Climbers, Kayakers, and Skydivers Wear Helmet Cameras -- Why Not Firefighters?

July 24, 2012  by  Jim Doherty
Category:  Fire Protection

Helmet camera videos can be great for trianing purposes and for reviewing possible modifications to procedures, but they can also cause problems.

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Close Enough for Government Work

July 20, 2012  by  Lynn Nordby
Category:  Management

There are always words or catch phrases that capture people’s imaginations and seem to be just the right shorthand to express a thought or make a point.  After a while though, they simply lose their impact through overuse and are no longer clever...

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New Indemnification Language for A/E Contracts

July 18, 2012  by  John W. Carpita, PE
Category:  Administration

Is there a “brave new world” in which architects and engineers have gained the upper hand by limiting indemnification language that can be included in their contracts?  Maybe not, but legislation enacted this year should cause local governments to review the indemnity language in their construction and design professional contracts.  Read on for specific recommendations.
An indemnity is an...

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Richland City Manager Gets the Job Done with Guts, Personality, and Key-Shaped Cookies

Richland City Manager Gets the Job Done with Guts, Personality, and Key-Shaped Cookies

July 16, 2012  by  Tracy Burrows
Category:  Leadership

Cindy Johnson, Richland City Manager since 2008, has used guts, personality and key-shaped cookies to lead the change in Richland to a high performance organization.   She’s focused on developing a team of leaders to help...

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Attracting the Next Generation to a Career in Local Government

July 5, 2012  by  Tracy Burrows
Category:  Leadership

In Washington State, the average government worker is 47 years old, compared to 39 years old for private sector workers. A new generation of local leadership is beginning to step forward, but will local government be able to attract the best and brightest to public service?

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“We’re Going into Executive Session to Discuss Personnel.” Is That Okay?

July 3, 2012  by  Paul Sullivan
Category:  Open Public Meetings Act

I've attended several local government meetings where the chair has announced that the board or council will be going into an executive session to “discuss personnel.”  It sounds as if that might be permissible, but it is not necessarily so.  Although governing bodies may conduct executive sessions to discuss some personnel issues, that ability is limited.  The fact that the discussion may touch...

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