States begin to disburse hundreds of millions of new stimulus dollars in increased (and sometimes retroactive) unemployment benefits today.* The cash will hit the streets this week. It comes with the expectation that unemployed people will spend the extra money and it should provide a needed economic bump to local communities soon after.
This most recent cash infusion does not change the underlying fact that the size of the hole in the economy is much larger than any of the patches that come with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
It is timely then that the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is expanding the conversation by returning to some of the core disciplines of public finance, cleverly adapted to the challenges of our time. GFOA makes a useful distinction between long term financial planning and the more urgent notion of fiscal first aid.
The first aid metaphor works. The promo piece from GFOA reads, in part, "Fiscal first aid tactics provide immediate relief from fiscal distress, and help stabilize the situation so that more comprehensive treatments can be applied."
The association is offering an Internet course on fiscal triage on May 21, 2009, from 2:00 to 3:40 p.m. (ET), featuring a trio of financial EMTs -- Melanie D. Purcell (Assistant Director, Municipal Technology Advisory Services, University of Tennessee); Timothy J. Soave (Manager of Fiscal Services, Oakland County, Michigan); and Shayne Kavanagh (Senior Manager, Research and Consulting Center, GFOA).
Like the first aid courses offered at your local fire house or community center, GFOA's fiscal rescue and survival skills course will "highlight a variety of fiscal first aid techniques, including their advantages and disadvantages and when it is best to use each technique."
Also like community events, GFOA is passing the hat to help cover its costs -- Government employees pay between $65 and $90 depending on whether they are an associaton member. Private sector folks are charged $110 (member) or $130 (non member).
To register for GFOA's Surviving Financial Distress: Fiscal First Aid Tactics, follow this link.
If you are interested in how information technology can help change the cost structure of service deliver, download a free copy of the Center for Digital Goverment white paper, Be IT Resolved, a guide to modernizing when you have no money.
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* States were able to adjust the benefits payment systems to accomodate the increased Stim benefits and eligibility periods. Many states missed a crucial implication of the one time stimulus money. Payments are typically charged to employers through the companion employment tax systems. For this exercise, the two systems had to be delinked. According to anecdotal reports, many states found themselves scrambling to make changes to avoid an unintended (and unauthorized) tax increase.
This most recent cash infusion does not change the underlying fact that the size of the hole in the economy is much larger than any of the patches that come with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
It is timely then that the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is expanding the conversation by returning to some of the core disciplines of public finance, cleverly adapted to the challenges of our time. GFOA makes a useful distinction between long term financial planning and the more urgent notion of fiscal first aid.
The first aid metaphor works. The promo piece from GFOA reads, in part, "Fiscal first aid tactics provide immediate relief from fiscal distress, and help stabilize the situation so that more comprehensive treatments can be applied."
The association is offering an Internet course on fiscal triage on May 21, 2009, from 2:00 to 3:40 p.m. (ET), featuring a trio of financial EMTs -- Melanie D. Purcell (Assistant Director, Municipal Technology Advisory Services, University of Tennessee); Timothy J. Soave (Manager of Fiscal Services, Oakland County, Michigan); and Shayne Kavanagh (Senior Manager, Research and Consulting Center, GFOA).
Like the first aid courses offered at your local fire house or community center, GFOA's fiscal rescue and survival skills course will "highlight a variety of fiscal first aid techniques, including their advantages and disadvantages and when it is best to use each technique."
Also like community events, GFOA is passing the hat to help cover its costs -- Government employees pay between $65 and $90 depending on whether they are an associaton member. Private sector folks are charged $110 (member) or $130 (non member).
To register for GFOA's Surviving Financial Distress: Fiscal First Aid Tactics, follow this link.
If you are interested in how information technology can help change the cost structure of service deliver, download a free copy of the Center for Digital Goverment white paper, Be IT Resolved, a guide to modernizing when you have no money.
------------------------------------------------------------
* States were able to adjust the benefits payment systems to accomodate the increased Stim benefits and eligibility periods. Many states missed a crucial implication of the one time stimulus money. Payments are typically charged to employers through the companion employment tax systems. For this exercise, the two systems had to be delinked. According to anecdotal reports, many states found themselves scrambling to make changes to avoid an unintended (and unauthorized) tax increase.
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