September 1, 2006
Issues & Trends
Local governments fight climate change
The ski slopes of Aspen, Colo., have attracted thousands of vacationers for decades, but warmer temperatures in the last 10 years have cut the ski season...
Corporate sponsors
Several large cities are entering sponsorship agreements with big corporations. The companies get exclusive rights to sell their products in public buildings...
Fewer cities increase outsourced services
As costs for employee health benefits and wages grow, some cities are turning to contractors to relieve pressure on their budgets. However, many others...
Day reporting eases jail overcrowding
Across the nation, the inmate population in county jails is growing to problematic levels. As a result, many counties are creating alternatives to incarceration,...
Roll Call
Malcolm Pirnie Douglas Sawyers, senior associate for the White Plains, N.Y.-based consulting company, has been promoted to vice president. Also, senior...
New ICMA president searches for recruits
This month, the Washington-based International City/County Management Association (ICMA) will induct Sedgwick County, Kan., Manager William Buchanan as...
Features
Getting the drift
For many public works directors, snow and ice control planning is a year-round activity, often affected by a community's complexity, local weather patterns,...
Setting the Bar
Each year, Elwood Davis and his staff spend more than $8 million to maintain 1,025 miles of streets in Raleigh, N.C. From asphalt and chain saws to storm...
Brand new revenue
Lucrative naming-rights agreements for sporting venues from Boston's FleetCenter to the Staples Center in Los Angeles were once novel approaches to advertising...
Columns
Uncivil liberties
Having been labeled everything from rude to insensitive, New Yorkers are becoming models of civility, if only because their local government is requiring...
Crossing the lines
For a number of regions, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and subsequent homeland security requirements, combined with natural disasters and budget...
Purchasing power
In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed an executive order, requiring federal agencies to increase their use of recycled goods and to buy more environmentally...
All eyes on the prize
With Congress working on an extremely tight schedule to pass 10 spending bills before the end of the month, local government officials are closely watching...
Ways & Means
Reducing truck emissions
For several years, the Culver City, Calif., Sanitation Division has been replacing its diesel-powered refuse collection trucks with alternative fuel vehicles....
Helping employees get fit
In 2004, when Loudoun County, Va.'s, health care plan contract was set to expire, administrators began searching for a new plan that included programs...
Combining property data
After years of searching through filing cabinets to research land values and ownership information, Brunswick, N.Y., has created a geographic information...
Across America
The road still traveled
In 1926, tourist camps dotted the American Southwest. Because most established hotels at that time were located downtown and lacked adequate parking,...
Articles
Hot times, summer in the city
Like flash floods, blizzards and other extreme weather, soaring summertime temperatures can prove deadly to some. The Washington-based U.S. Environmental...
When disaster strikes, are cities ready?
America's cities are more prepared for emergencies since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but a recent survey by the Washington-based U.S. Conference...
And the winner is
The Kent County, Del., Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant has received an Achievement Award from the Washington-based National Association of Counties...
Documenting the birth of a new city
Sandy Springs, Ga., resident Oliver Porter has self-published a book about how the city was formed last year. Creating the New City of Sandy Springs,...
Plugged in
San Diego has contracted with Reston, Va.-based MAXIMUS to provide an automated fleet fueling system. Spokane, Wash., has contracted with San Ramon, Calif.-based...
Notable Quote
In any structure when the people who are making those decisions are not financially accountable, by definition it will not be prudent. John Por, president...
Council-manager system
The council-manager system of government, in which an appointed manager administers day-to-day operations, has spread nationwide since Staunton, Va.,...
Mile High City an ideal place for singles
For the young and single, Denver is the place to be. That is the conclusion from New York-based Forbes.com, at least, which released results of its Best...
Getting there
Maryland Heights, Mo., has contracted with St. Louis-based Horner & Shifrin to design and help manage an improvement project at the intersection of Craigshire...
Postcards
Fowl play In July, Elizabeth City, N.C., residents welcomed quieter mornings following an ordinance change that prohibits anyone from keeping crowing...
An icon for the City of Brotherly Love
Jill Jacobus, administrative director for the International Visitors Council of Philadelphia, submitted this photo of LOVE Park, built in the 1960s as...
