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MRSC Insight Blog


Posts for Tracy Burrows

Shows a fleet of mid-sized electric vehicles being charged at a public charging station

Tips for Transitioning Fleet Vehicles to Electric

Electric vehicle (EV) fleets can help an agency save money and meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, but transitioning fleets to EVs will be a major undertaking. It helps to start small and to pair the program with the build out of local EV charging infrastructure.

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Making Government Work Attractive

Making Government Work Attractive

How can local governments build a strong workplace culture that engages current staff and attracts new workers? Here are some ideas, including a case study from the City of Issaquah.

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Investing in Equity To Prepare for Environmental Challenges

Investing in Equity To Prepare for Environmental Challenges

Some Washington local governments have placed equity front and center when preparing for the impacts of climate change. This blog looks at efforts in Lakewood and Shoreline.

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They Said What?! — Handling Misinformation

They Said What?! — Handling Misinformation

From conspiracies to outright gossip, this blog offers tips for local governments on how to counter misleading claims on social media. 

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MRSC Tackles Big Challenges Through Its Local Climate Response Project

MRSC Tackles Big Challenges Through Its Local Climate Response Project

MRSC is launching the Local Climate Response Project this month to help local governments protect the health and economic vitality of their communities.

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Being Cyber Aware in the Age of COVID-19

Being Cyber Aware in the Age of COVID-19

This blog posts looks at cyber threats that have taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic and offers tips for local governments to help protect their resources. 

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MRSC Launches New Website Search

MRSC Launches New Website Search

We've updated our website search system. The new features make it easier to find information, providing more relevant results and allowing you to quickly narrow your search. 

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How to Talk to the Public When the Heat is On

How to Talk to the Public When the Heat is On

Don't wait until a crisis hits your agency to develop a plan for managing communication with the public. This blog post provides an overview of how to plan ahead—before crisis puts you in the spotlight. 

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3 Steps to a More Meaningful Mission Statement

3 Steps to a More Meaningful Mission Statement

In this post, MRSC's Executive Director Tracy Burrows looks at the role of an organization's mission statement and an easy, 3-step process to creating mission statements that will engage employees long after the process is over.

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Voter-Approved Tax Measures: Five Years of Washington State Trends

Voter-Approved Tax Measures: Five Years of Washington State Trends

Using data from over 1,200 local ballot measures put out to voters since 2011, our online Local Ballot Measure Database can offer insight into voting trends and what makes a ballot measure successful.

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Time to Scrap the Annual Performance Review?

Time to Scrap the Annual Performance Review?

New approaches to performance reviews offer techniques that could enhance the value of public sector performance appraisals.

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Our Deepest Appreciation: MRSC Fully Funded, Thanks to Your Support

Our Deepest Appreciation: MRSC Fully Funded, Thanks to Your Support

After considering a proposal to zero-out MRSC’s funding, the 2016 state legislature recognized MRSC’s value and enacted a final budget that maintains MRSC’s funding at the same level as it has been in recent years.

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What Makes A Successful Ballot Measure? A Look at the Data

What Makes A Successful Ballot Measure? A Look at the Data

A review of the results of over 600 local ballot measures in our searchable ballot measure database shows some very interesting trends. 73% of all ballot measures succeed, but that only tells part of the story.

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The Year the Public Servant Became the Bureaucrat

Cultural shifts are reflected in the language that we use. We can see this over the past 50 years of city planning as we have shifted from "urban renewal," which quickly took on the connotation of a flawed solution...

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Public Records Act Report Emphasizes a Better Way to Resolve Disputes

This week, the William D. Ruckelshaus Center issued to the State Legislature its Situation Assessment of Public Records Requests to Local Governments. In our September 25th post, "Is the Public Records Act Working?," Joe Levan reported on the charge that the Legislature gave to the Ruckelshaus Center to develop recommendations for the future of the Public Records Act (PRA). The Center's report...

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Successful Tips for Recruiting Board and Commission Members

When a vacancy occurs on a citizen board or commission, it’s a real opportunity to seek out new voices to contribute to the dialogue on community issues.

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Are Local Government Revenues Lagging Behind the Economy?

Using past recessions as a guide, the rule of thumb is that the recovery in local government revenues will lag 18 to 24 months behind the low point of a recession, but in Washington the lag may be shorter for some jurisdictions.

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The cost of public healthcare

Creative Use of Emergency Communications Tool Saves Clark County Time and Money

In Clark County, response to a public health emergency sparked a creative solution that's saving time and money. It was an epiphany born out of crisis—the commonplace resource...

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What the State Auditor is Looking for...and Findings (Part 2)

In reviewing county and special purpose district audit findings from 2010 to 2012, a few key issues stand out. This post summarizes those issues and provides tips to help these jurisdictions avoid audit issues in the future.

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Super Staff Work: Comparison of Impact Fees

Call me crazy, but I get a real thrill out of reading an outstanding staff report. It's based on data! It lays out options! It gives a well-considered recommendation! I love it. A lot of us are in this business to give elected...

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What the State Auditor is Looking for... and Findings (Part 1 - Cities)

In reviewing city audit findings from 2010 to 2012, a few key issues stand out. This post summarizes those issues and provides resources to help cities avoid audit issues in the future.

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Practical Resources for Consolidating Services

In the current economic climate, all of us are looking for ways to do things better and with less expense.  At MRSC, we are getting lots of requests for information about consolidation as a way to reduce...

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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

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

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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Police Staffing - How Much Is Enough?

Recently, Anna Halloran, Manager of the Community Indicators Initiative at Eastern Washington University, asked me to comment on trends in police staffing in Spokane County.  From 2008 to 2010,...

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Top Five Video Ideas for Local Government

The digital futurists predict that within three years 80 percent or more of internet content will be via video.  Why is that important to local government?  Citizens are already accessing most of their information about local government via the internet, and there will be a growing expectation that the information presented on your website will be via video.  The flexibility of the internet as a...

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Caterpillar, Inc. chose Spokane for the location of its new distribution center.

Economic Development - Illegal in Washington State?

Recently, I was meeting with a new city official who had just moved to Washington from Florida. He’d had a successful track record in attracting major businesses...

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King County's New Management: Failing Forward and Other Good Ideas

A Conversation with Fred Jarrett, Part 1
In 2010, newly-elected King County Executive Dow Constantine tapped Fred Jarrett to be his deputy to help carry forward an ambitious reform agenda.  Recently, Lynn Nordby, MRSC management consultant, and I sat down with Fred to capture his ideas on organizational...

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