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Alex Brown

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Financial Education is Key When Employees Assume Increased Pension Risk

September 27, 2012

public pension, pension

Public pension systems are currently experiencing a period of unprecedented change. Driven largely by a decline in funding levels caused by the 2008 economic recession, lawmakers in a number of states have made a concerted effort to modify or redesign their public employee pension systems to shift a greater portion of risk from the employer(s) to the members, both new and existing. With this transfer of risk comes a transfer of responsibility to the employee who must now manage more of his or her retirement savings program. As a few governments have shown , the need for

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Benefits Public Policy

Local Governments' Pension Funding Improves in FY11

September 14, 2012

pensions, public pensions

Local government pension plans were funded at 80% for FY11 according to a report published by Willshire Associates last week. This is an increase of 8 percentage points from an aggregate FY10 funding level of 72% for the 106 city and county plans in the report. The funding percentages measure a pension fund's ratio of assets to liabilities, and is indicative of how much a system has set aside to make future benefit payments. The Government Accountabilty Office (GAO) sets 80% as the minimum threshhold for healthy pension funding. By comparision, state government pension plans have remained

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Benefits Public Policy

Unions Play an Important Role in Pension Reform

August 31, 2012

The process of passing reforms to public pension systems is at times, tumultuous, with stakeholders on all sides of the issue promoting group interests and making sure their side is heard. Recently however some generalizations have emerged, namely that the wave of recent pension reforms has come about because of the weakening of employee unions in the United States . A recent study by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence details how unions and state and local elected and appointed leadership can work together to craft a package of reforms that is satisfactory to both

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Benefits Public Policy

Resources on Municipal Bankruptcy

August 10, 2012

Chapter 9 of the United States Bankruptcy Code provides for the assistance to and reorganization of distressed municipalities including cities, towns, and other administrative districts. Chapter 9 provides municipalities protection from creditors while they come up with a plan to pay off their debts. Since 1980 there have been 271 municipal bankruptcy filings, with most cases involving utilities or special districts. So far in 2012 9 municipalities have filed for Chapter 9, compared to 13 in all of 2011. Three recent Chapter 9 filings have come from cities in California (Stockton, San Bernardino, and Mammoth Lakes). The California Legislative

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Municipal Assistance Programs Aid Local Governments

June 27, 2012

As the economy continues to recover slowly the challenges in service delivery and policy implementation become even greater for the nation’s local governments. Across the country states are offering programs designed to aid local governments in these core functions. In Pennsylvania the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) recently approved 20 projects through their Municipal Assistance Program (MAP). The programs are aimed at improving local emergency services and assisting in the community development process through municipal planning. ICMA’s Governmental Affairs and Policy Committee identified some similar programs that have

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Gridlock in Congress over Transportation Funding

June 19, 2012

The nation’s current transportation law expires on June 30th and so far the House and Senate remain far apart in negotiations as the deadline approaches. Some areas of disagreement include: Funding for highway programs: The Senate wants to include $3 billion for highway programs, but the House says it is unacceptable given the current fiscal situation; Funding for beautification projects: The Senate wants to include this in a new law, while the House wants to make this optional and determined by the States; Spending limits: The House is conc

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Rural Transportation Issues Loom Large as Congress Begins to Act

March 28, 2012

With the current law authorizing federal transportation spending set to expire on March 31 Congress has turned its’ attention to working out an extension which will continue to finance the country’s transportation needs. Earlier this month the Senate passed a two-year, $109 billion transportation bill but the House seems unlikely to approve. Whatever the final extension looks like it is important to consider the unique and evolving needs of America’s rural communities. The U.S. rural population is at an all-time low of just 16 percent and this population change has had an effect on the

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Report Shows ARRA's Progress, But Issues Remain

March 9, 2012

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its’ latest quarterly report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) in February, covering employment and economic output from October 2011 through December 2011. Recipients of ARRA funds must complete and file regular reports on the number of jobs created by ARRA programs and activities. The CBO is required to comment quarterly on the figures which come from these reports. ARRA was passed in 2009 for the primary purpose of stimulating the economy and increasing employment in the United States. To accomplish these goals

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Economic Development Public Policy

2012 Economic Census at Risk

November 14, 2011

Congressional funding for the 2012 Economic Census is at risk, with both the House and Senate proposals falling short of providing the necessary funds to carry out the survey. The Economic Census is conducted every five years and is an important tool which profiles the U.S. economy and provides valuable data to federal, state, and local governments. State and local governments use the data collected by the Economic Census for planning, analysis, and research purposes , including: Revenue forecasts; Workforce planning and development; Academic policy research. The Economic Census collects information from 5 million

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Virginia Earthquake Highlights Public Safety Communications Needs

August 24, 2011

Yesterday’s 5.8-magnitude earthquake that originated in central Virginia disrupted cell phone networks for several hours on Tuesday afternoon along much of the east coast. The event evoked memories of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which clogged networks on a much larger scale. Since public safety and commercial networks operate on the same spectrum the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a statement asking the public to utilize text messaging and email to communicate to keep the lines open for emergency responders. This random event highlights the need for state and local public safety

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Risk Factors for Rising Medicaid Costs in Uncertain Financial Times

June 21, 2011

State and local fiscal conditions remain constrained as revenues have yet to return to 2008 levels. Compounding this problem is the fact that Medicaid costs keep growing at unsustainable rates, partly because of high unemployment rates and the increased demand for Medicaid services as individuals lose employer-based health insurance. Recently an expert panel discussed potential short-run and long-run tactics to manage the rising costs of Medicaid. Including: Howard Dean, 79th Governor of Vermont Nina Owcharenko, Director of the Center of Health Policy Studies, Heritage Foundation Robert Reischauer, President,

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Health Public Health Public Policy