ProGov21 Policy Library

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...

2009 New York City Local Law 88 Energy Efficient Utilities

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2009

Level City or Town

State(s) New York

Source New York City Council

Policy Areas Public Spaces, Energy

This ordinance requires lighting systems to be upgraded and sub-meters to be installed in certain covered buildings based on square footage. It also requires that each tenant or subtenant within a covered tenant space that has a sub-meter to measure electrical consumption shall be...

2001 Wales First Source Hiring and Local Business Enterprise Policy

Type Act or Session Law

Year 2001

Level City or Town

State(s) New York

Source Wales Town Board

Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Economic Justice, Civil Rights

An act requiring that for city-assisted development projects, developers and employers of the built business are required to hire 30% local residents, or make efforts to do so....

Mutual Aid Agreement for the Sharing of Municipal Resources

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source National League of Cities

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

This model ordinance establishes a mutual aid agreement to allow one municipality to share its services with another in a time of need. It outlines the responsibilities and obligations of each participating municipality, provides a framework for dispute resolution, and limits liabilities...

How Ohio Funds Public Transit

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town

State(s) Ohio

Source Policy Matters Ohio

Policy Areas Transportation & Mobility

This report highlights the inadequate funding and strains faced by public transit in Ohio, emphasizing the need for increased support from the state. More funding must be needed to ensure the city's ability to maintain services and expand to meet growing demands. The report proposes...

Saving Time and Making Cents: A Blueprint for Building Transit Better

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town, County, National, State

State(s) All States

Source Eno Center for Transportation

Policy Areas Finance & Procurement, Transportation & Mobility

Transit projects in the United States suffer from high costs and take longer to complete than they do abroad. After conducting 117 interviews with key stakeholders, this report finds that institutional structure and decision-making, procurement specifications, utility relocation,...

Memphis Blues: How Corporate Property Tax Breaks and Stadium Subsidies are Sapping the City’s Fiscal Strength

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2014

Level City or Town

State(s) Tennessee

Source Good Jobs First

Policy Areas -

The City of Memphis has deliberately avoided its municipal pension obligations at the same time it has granted a series of costly property tax abatements, such as payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs), to large corporations and sports franchises. For every year between 2009 and 2012,...

2013 San Francisco Ordinance 121017 Regulating Open Data Requirements

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2013

Level City or Town, County

State(s) California

Source San Francisco Board of Supervisors

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Data & Technology

This ordinance amends a prior open data policy that empowered San Francisco's Committee on Information Technology to establish rules and standards applicable to all city departments regarding the release of data to the city's online data portal. This ordinance establishes the positions...

LIFT-UP: Innovative City Strategy Reduces Utility Debt and Financial Insecurity for Residents

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year -

Level City or Town

State(s) Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas

Source National League of Cities

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

This report outlines the impact of the Local Interventions for Financial Empowerment Through Utility Payments initiative (LIFT-UP) which helped cities connect citizens to financial services while recouping revenue from unpaid utility bills. It found that residents who participated...

How Circular Economies Will Drive a New Urban Metabolism

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Meeting Of The Minds

Policy Areas Energy, Transportation & Mobility, Finance & Procurement

Although the traditional linear economy brought much prosperity, it has functioned by taking primary resources, turning them into products, and disposing of the waste. In the face of the global climate change crisis, cities need to transit to circular economy. In a city with a circular...

Northern Arizona Council of Governments Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 2020-2025

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County

State(s) Arizona

Source Northern Arizona Council of Governments

Policy Areas Community Development, Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice

This report outlines economic development priorities for Northern Arizona include expanding renewable energy production, growing the tourism industry, improving healthcare access, expanding educational investment, and natural resources preservation. It features economic analyses of...

Local Income Taxes: City- and County-Level Income and Wage Taxes Continue to Wane

Type Article

Year 2011

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Tax Foundation

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

This article outlines different types of local income taxes and highlights localities that have recently implemented significant changes to their income tax codes. It recommends that local governments implement moderate income tax rates and mitigate compliance costs to secure investment...

NACCHO’s 2019 Profile Study: Local Health Department Capacity to Prepare for and Respond to Public Health Threats

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source National Association of County & City Health Officials

Policy Areas Finance & Procurement, Health

Local health departments (LHDs) play a critical role in their communities during a national pandemic. However, LHD emergency preparedness and response programs have been chronically underfunded and understaffed, hindering their ability to quickly mobilize in times of crisis. This...

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...

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...

Cash is King: Short-Term Strategies to Slow the Flow of Money Out the Door and Keep the Budget Balanced

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Government Finance Officers Association

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance

Local governments need to make sure they have enough cash on hand for essential services. During a financial crisis, the first thing local governments should do is slow the net flow of cash exiting and find ways to rebalance the budget. This report presents retrenchment techniques...

Early Childhood Workforce Index 2020

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

Policy Areas Children & Families, Economic Justice, Education, Public Safety

Despite their important and complex work, early educators have faced low wages and unsafe working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report demonstrates that compensation within the early childhood education (ECE) workforce is uneven across states and among different classifications...

2010 Baltimore Ordinance 455 Requiring Community Benefits Agreements for City Financed Projects

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2010

Level City or Town

State(s) Maryland

Source Baltimore City Council

Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance

This ordinance requires community partnership agreements for certain construction projects financed or funded by or through the city. A project contractor must enter into a community partnership agreement with the city and the appropriate qualified construction union. The agreement...

A Toolkit for Procuring Resilience

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Re:Focus Partners

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

Many cities across the United States are home to legacy infrastructure systems. These older water, transportation, and communications systems are not only poorly suited to current needs, but they are also nearing the end of their usable lives after decades of underinvestment and deferred...

2013 New Orleans Ordinance to Procure Environmentally Preferable Products and Services

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2013

Level City or Town

State(s) Louisiana

Source City of New Orleans

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development, Energy

This ordinance prioritizes environmental sustainability in procurement spending and creates an environmental purchasing committee. It establishes an assessment system for environmentally preferable purchases and explains the city's plans for promoting the policy will be promoted to...

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