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Detailing the development of municipal institutions, the original logic behind the city-county separation, and the eventual shift in institutional and municipal organization, this book demonstrates that urban and rural areas have always had a reciprocal relationship and that both play an important role in the strength of the national economy and the broader local community. Focusing on three case studies of separated cities and their counties that still retain strict city-county separation, former IMFG Post-Doctoral Fellow Zachary Spicer reveals how this policy works, what problems it poses, and examines the best practices for addressing growth, development, and sprawl from a regional perspective.
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Participatory budgeting gives the public the right to propose, deliberate, and vote on a part of the city budget. Does participatory budgeting actually improve democracy, transparency, and accountability, or is it simply another consultation tool in disguise?
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This video features Josh Lerner, Director of the Participatory Budgeting Project, in conversation with Shelley Carroll, Alex Mazer, and Peter MacLeod. Participatory budgeting gives the public the right to propose, deliberate, and vote on a part of the city budget. Does participatory budgeting actually improve democracy, transparency, and accountability, or is it simply another consultation tool in disguise?
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This paper evaluates the financial tools available to fund stormwater infrastructure (property taxes, development charges or cash-in-lieu payments, grants, borrowing, and user charges), and proposes user charges as the most appropriate.
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Municipal bonds are one way to raise money for long-term infrastructure investments. In several U.S states, bond approvals are put to a public referendum. This presentation looks at one such case in San Antonio, Texas.
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In this video, former Toronto City Manager Joe Pennachetti was joined in conversation with Matt Galloway, host of CBC Radio 99.1 FM’s Metro Morning. With 35 years of municipal financial management experience, Mr. Pennachetti reflected on his career in the public service and share his thoughts on the challenges of policymaking for cities.
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This presentation looks at how demographic and industrial shifts in recent decades have impacted equity in municipal service delivery across the Metro Detroit region. Could fiscal equalization narrow the gap between Detroit and its outer suburbs? More broadly, can regional governance help restart the Motown engine?
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Enid Slack presents to the Municipal Finance Authority of British Columbia on March 31, 2016.
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