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MRSC Insight Blog


Posts for November 2012

Can a Local Elected Official Temporarily Live Outside Their Jurisdiction and Remain in Office?

November 29, 2012  by  Jim Doherty
Category:  Administrative and Elected Officials

If an elected official temporarily moves out of their jurisdiction at some point after being elected, can they still retain their elected position or does the office become vacant? It depends on the facts of the situation.

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Can We Amend Our 2012 Budget after the Year Has Ended?(and Other Year-End Issues)

November 29, 2012  by  Judy Cox
Category:  Budgets and Budgeting

During the last couple weeks, our office has received some calls/emails about passing amendments to the 2012 budget during 2013. That got me thinking about an article that Toni Nelson wrote for our “Finance Advisor” column some years back. (For those of you who do not know her, Toni was the Small Cities Specialist for the Washington State Auditor's Office for 11 years and the Clerk/Treasurer for...

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Collecting Delinquent Water Bills and Terminating Service

November 20, 2012  by  Paul Sullivan
Category:  Utilities - Billing and Collection

Many cities and towns operate their own public utilities, including water service. Unfortunately, sometimes utility customers do not pay their bills. What can be done to collect unpaid or delinquent accounts, and when can water service be shut off?

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A Simple Technique for Improving Council Decision Making

November 5, 2012  by  Byron Katsuyama
Category:  Legislative Body

One of the things that has always fascinated me as a student and observer of local government has been the process that local legislative bodies use to discuss, debate, and formulate policy decisions. To my mind, much of what constitutes “good government” is a direct consequence of an open, fair, and effective legislative decision-making process. The open and fair parts are regulated by state...

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State Supreme Court Issues Ruling on Municipal Debt

November 1, 2012  by  Bob Meinig
Category:  Debt

On October 25, the state supreme court issued a plurality decision in In re Bond Issuance of Greater Wenatchee Reg'l Events Ctr., holding that city of Wenatchee would exceed its debt limit if, without voter approval, it entered into a "contingent loan agreement" (CLA) with the Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center...

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