B&G Report

Toward the end of July, Route Fifty published our most recent column about the arduous task that government officials have when faced with a financial scandal. We got the idea for this column during the June conference of the Government Finance Officers Association, where we serve as advisors. A GFOA session about ethics set us off on a determined exploration of some of the common aspects of fiscal scandals that involve powerful individuals. We subsequently had long talks wit

There’s been a great deal written about the ways in which states and localities are spending the federal dollars they are receiving from the American Rescue Plan Act. In fact, we just wrote one of our own in Route Fifty about communities that are using these dollars for “transformative” purposes. A helpful resource is now available for people who want to get a detailed picture of how large cities and counties (those with populations of at least 250,000) are using their ARPA f

by John R. Bartle, University of Nebraska at Omaha and Can Chen, Georgia State University John Bartle Can Chen Modern life cannot exist without good infrastructure. Travel, water, toilets, electricity, internet, and heating and cooling for buildings all rely on good infrastructure systems. The wealth of cities depends on public investments in infrastructure. Right now, it might seem as though there is all the money

by Neil Bergsman, Senior Policy Analyst at Maryland Nonprofits with a 35-year background in Maryland government finance, both executive and legislative branches. ​ In the federal government, and in many states and localities the budget process is contentious with lots of drama. It’s exciting: red lines, brinkmanship and shut-downs. But excitement isn’t a good thing for budgeting. In Maryland, there has been plenty of contention about budget priorities, what’s in and what’s ou