ProGov21 Policy Library

Willing to Work and Ready to Learn: More Adult Education Would Strengthen Michigan's Economy

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level State

State(s) Michigan

Source Michigan League for Public Policy

Policy Areas Community Development, Education

State policymakers consistently neglect adequately funding adult education, making it less accessible for low-skilled workers who want to build their skills, become financially self-sufficient and contribute to Michigan’s economy. Adult education is the key to preparing these workers...

Graduated Parking Fines

Type Article

Year 2010

Level City or Town

State(s) California, New Hampshire

Source Los Angeles Times

Policy Areas Finance & Procurement, Public Safety

Cities often increase parking fines to raise revenue, which unfairly penalizes occasional violators while failing to deter chronic offenders. This article recommends that municipalities implement graduated parking fines, which increase penalties for repeat offenders while remaining...

The New Math on School Finance: Adding Up the First-Ever Disclosure of Corporate Tax Abatements’ Cost to Public Education

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town, State, School District

State(s) All States

Source Good Jobs First

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Education

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 77 requires most state and local government bodies, including school districts, to annually disclose the costs of corporate tax abatements. As a result of the new rule, thousands of America’s public school districts are...

The Limits of Microtransit

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Transit Center

Policy Areas Transportation & Mobility, Finance & Procurement

Microtransit involves running on-demand services with smaller vehicles that people can summon without walking to a fixed location like a bus stop. This brief argues that microtransit is incapable of serving the same scale of ridership as fixed-route buses and trains. Microtransit...

How Green Banks Help Cities Transition to Clean Energy

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Meeting Of The Minds

Policy Areas Energy

In the face of climate change crisis, it is urgent for policymakers at state, local, and city level to make transition to clean and renewable energy. However, the construction of renewable projects is usually capital-intensive and requires bank’s upfront investment. Green banks help...

Planning for Arts and Culture in San Diego

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Meeting Of The Minds

Policy Areas Community Development

The San Diego Chapter of the American Planning Association, in partnership with MIG San Diego, recently launched a new program called SDAPA Better Buzz, a quarterly series designed to inspire creative thinking around integrated planning processes. Rather than relying solely on this...

Voting is the Easy Part: Why LA’s Measure M Hasn’t Led to Greater Transit Use

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Transit Center

Policy Areas Transportation & Mobility, Finance & Procurement

In 2016, citizens of Los Angeles voted in favor of Measure M, a ½-cent sales tax increase that will raise $120 billion over forty years for transit expansion and maintenance, and traffic and street improvements. Despite this, transit ridership in Los Angeles has continued to fall....

At a Crossroads: Options for Fire and Emergency Medical Services in the City of Milton

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town

State(s) Wisconsin

Source Wisconsin Policy Forum

Policy Areas Community Development, Finance & Procurement, Public Safety

In response to labor shortages, fiscal challenges, and recruitment and retention barriers facing emergency medical services (EMS) agencies across Wisconsin, the City of Milton is considering alternative options for their future fire and rescue services. This report evaluates the city's...

Revenue Roadmap

Type Roadmap

Year 2021

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source ProGov21

Policy Areas Finance & Procurement

Sufficient sources of revenue are critical to realizing the progressive agenda. ProGov21's Revenue Roadmap highlights untapped revenue streams, like recreational marijuana and carbon pricing, and outlines strategies that can maximize existing revenue streams. Recommendations include...

Game-Changing Potential: Urban Wealth Funds and the City of Atlanta

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level City or Town

State(s) All States, Georgia

Source Government Finance Officers Association

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement, Housing

Urban wealth funds allow local governments to generate revenue by taking stock of publicly owned assets and engaging in new forms of planning and development to generate long term financial returns. This report examines how Atlanta's use of an UWF to finance affordable housing expansion...

Tax Increment Financing: Pros, Cons, and Examples

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Environmental Risk Information Services

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement

This report outlines the redevelopment benefits of tax increment financing, including restoring historic buildings, creating public-private partnerships, raising the value of the tax base, and supporting infrastructure expansion strategies. It also includes case studies of states...

2000 Santa Cruz Living Wage Ordinance 25

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2000

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Santa Cruz City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance, Finance & Procurement

This ordinance requires city service contractors to pay workers a living wage. Each year the city council will review and extend the living wage by at least an amount which corresponds to the cost of living increase as measured by the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area Consumer...

CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund: The Prime Recipient Perspective

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County, State, National

State(s) All States

Source Government Finance Officers Association

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Democracy & Governance

Title V of the CARES Act established the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF). To assess the effectiveness of the fund from the perspective of state and local prime recipients, this report outlines the results of a survey sent to all 50 states and the 171 eligible units of government that...

2005 Burlington Ordinance 14 2005 Burlington Ordinance 14 Requiring Domestic Labor for City Contracts

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2005

Level City or Town

State(s) Vermont

Source Burlington City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance

This ordinance prohibits the city from contracting with a contractor, subcontractor, or vendor who is outsourcing work outside of the United States or Canada, for projects costing $50,000 or more. The ordinance establishes penalties for non-compliance and reporting and oversight requirements....

Austerity Versus Reinvestment: A Roadmap for a Broad-Based Connecticut Economic Recovery

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level State

State(s) Connecticut

Source In the Public Interest

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Community Development, Finance & Procurement

In the face of a public health emergency, an economic recession, and widening of social inequities, Connecticut has continues to reduce its public investment in services such as education, healthcare, housing, and transportation. Downsizing the public sector and failing to adequately...

1999 Los Angeles Living Wage Ordinance 172336

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 1999

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Los Angeles City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

This ordinance requires that nothing less than a living wage be paid to employees of the city's service contractors, of certain of its lessees and licensees, and of its financial assistance recipients. Employers should also provide at least 12 compensated days off per year and some...

Abating Our Future: How Students Pay for Corporate Tax Breaks

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level State, School District

State(s) Louisiana, Missouri, New York, South Carolina, Texas

Source Good Jobs First

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Education

Public school students in the U.S. suffered poorer schools—and local and state taxpayers paid higher taxes—in 2019 due to corporate tax breaks; economic development tax abatements given to corporations cost public school districts at least $2.37 billion in foregone revenue in FY 2019....

Payments in Lieu of Taxes: Balancing Municipal and Nonprofit Interests

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2010

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs) encourage property tax-exempt institutions like nonprofits to make voluntary payments to support their municipalities. This report outlines effective strategies for PILOT programs and highlights successful local case studies. Best practices include...

Building Blocks: Understanding and responding to Waukesha County’s housing affordability challenges

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2023

Level City or Town, County

State(s) Wisconsin

Source Wisconsin Policy Forum

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Economic Justice, Housing

This report examines market characteristics and barriers to affordable and workforce housing development in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. It outlines the extent of affordable housing development in the county over past years, financing approaches, and best practices for increasing the...

Municipal Liens: Procedures for Filing, Perfecting, and Collecting

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2011

Level City or Town

State(s) Illinois

Source Illinois Municipal League

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement, Housing, Public Spaces

This guide provides an overview of liens available to municipalities under Illinois state law and provides examples of how cities should assess and enforce liens. Properties that are abandoned or liable for taxes, require excessive pest extermination efforts, or intensive removal...

Economic Benefits of Parks

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2011

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States, Pennsylvania

Source We Conserve PA

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces

This guide examines economic impact studies of public parks, and finds parks provide many economic benefits to their surrounding communities, including increased property values, increased tax revenues, decreased medical costs due to recreational opportunities, and decreased stormwater...

Silver Line/Dulles Metrorail – Special Tax District

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States, District of Columbia, Virginia

Source Center for Innovative Finance Support

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement, Transportation & Mobility

This report outlines how commercial tax districts, tolls, and grants were used to fund the Silver Line Metrorail expansion project. Most notably, through the use of special tax districts, Fairfax Country was able to raise $400 million from commercial and industrial properties located...

A Guide to Evaluating Pay for Success Programs and Social Impact Bonds

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2015

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source In the Public Interest

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Finance & Procurement

Pay for Success (PFS), or Social Impact Bonds (SIBs), are an alternative private financing model often promoted as cost-free, risk-free silver bullets to support underfunded public services. In PFS and SIB funding models, investors provide the up-front funding for services with the...

Paying For Water Systems

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement

Many public water utilities struggle to pay for repairs and upgrades necessary to improve energy efficiency, reduce leaks, and prevent infiltration. This brief outlines existing mechanisms to raise these funds as well as promising new methods for public officials to consider. Some...

Fiscal First Aid for School Districts: Additional Considerations for School Districts

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level School District

State(s) All States

Source Government Finance Officers Association

Policy Areas Health, Children & Families, Education

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, schools are tasked with providing a quality education to their students, along with ensuring their safety and welfare, regardless if classes are being held in-person or virtually. Additionally, schools must adjust to the economic ramifications brought...

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