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MRSC Insight Blog


Posts for March 2015

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

As jurisdictions adopt new technologies to better serve their constituents, questions of privacy and public disclosure are often left unanswered. Developing a strategy and process to address these issues, like Seattle is attempting, may help agencies avoid 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?

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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:  Guest Author ,  Court Decisions and AGO Opinions ,  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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Hiring the Right Person: Getting The Job “On the Street”

March 18, 2015  by  Marci Wright
Category:  Guest Author ,  Recruitment and Hiring

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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Game Changing: Local Planners Rising to Meet Global Challenges

March 17, 2015  by  Jill Sterrett
Category:  Guest Author ,  Climate Change

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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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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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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