Stop the Municipal Budget Scramble: Make FY2026‑27 Easier by Acting Now

By Mark Moses
10/14/2025
About four months have passed since most local government agencies adopted FY2025‑26 budgets, and roughly four months remain before leaders begin planning FY2026‑27. But waiting to think about budget decisions until the official start of the budget process is a costly mistake. Every day that passes with inaction is a lost opportunity to improve both...

TAGS: California local elected officials, Government Finance, local government, municipal government

Define the Business of Local Government — And Mind It.

By Mark Moses
10/04/2023
This past summer, the National Civic League published an article entitled “Is It None of Our Business?” The purpose of the article was to evaluate whether local government agencies should be undertaking national issues, which the League characterizes as “the ‘nationalization’ of local government matters.” The League concludes that such nationalization constitutes a “positive phenomenon.”...

TAGS: A Move to Put the Union Label on Solar Power Plants, climate change, equity, immigration, local government, municipal government, National Civic League, national issues