Cities leading in efforts to transform government

City leaders in San Francisco have launched a bold initiative and are being touted as visionaries!  The mayor has announced the creation of an innovation lab called Superpublic. This project is so timely it has caught the attention of community leaders, government officials and business executives throughout the country. The lab is designed as a […]

Not all public-private partnerships related to infrastructure … some more creative than costly

Population growth is good for cities in so many ways. More jobs and economic vitality – public officials tend to love growth. But, there are detriments as well. With more citizens to serve, infrastructure and resources get stretched very quickly. There is rarely enough revenue to cover the need for increased resources and services. That […]

State legislative problems similar throughout the U.S.

50 State Project image

When the 50 State Project was undertaken two years ago by CQ Roll Call, the report producers took an unconventional approach to the project. Instead of surveying public officials and government executives regarding the most talked about issues facing states, they turned to the media to ask about the hottest legislative topics. The 2016 report […]

We’ve seen this before but still hope for a better ending!

Traditional versus non-traditional spending, $5 billion versus $9 billion, earmarks versus no earmarks … the U.S. House and Senate are on a collision course over an infrastructure bill again. As always, projects are in danger and this time the projects and funding are wrapped up in opposing versions of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) […]

Public-private collaborations producing municipal Wi-Fi networks

Whether for work, school or leisure, the Internet is now an essential part of life.  Most people cannot imagine life without access, yet one out of every four homes in America cannot connect to the Internet. This creates the Digital Divide – a huge disparity between those with Internet access and those without it. Cities […]

Creative collaborations – boosting revenues for state parks, government coffers

state parks

“Luxury” is not a word often associated with accommodations at state parks. However, a public-private partnership (P3/PPP) in West Virginia is out to change that notion. In Lewis County, the Stonewall Resort State Park is celebrating the opening of 20 luxury cottages in a new development on the lakeshore. Private-sector capital and collaboration between public […]

Survey shows increased support for user fees, levies for transportation needs

Americans are more likely to be open to innovative financing tools to pay for the nation’s crumbling infrastructure than many previously had thought. A recent national survey, Transportation Mobility 2016, conducted by HNTB Corp. and released today, shows that 65 percent of those surveyed would support user fees such as levies on vehicle miles traveled or mileage-based fees to address the country’s deteriorating transportation infrastructure.