Annexation is a method of city growth in which parcels or developments are added to municipal borders by city officials and staff. It's usually a disaster for a city's finances. But there are a few (very rare) cases where it might be advantageous.
Read MoreMost city officials are operating in good faith, trying their best to make decisions that will help their community. Even when they've made bad decisions in the past, it's never too late to start making good ones.
Read MoreIn this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses municipal finance with Michel Durand-Wood, a longtime Strong Towns contributor and local budget aficionado.
Read MoreWashington's Department of Transportation recently reported that they’re weight restricting another bridge because it’s becoming dangerously old. This is a symptom of a problem that stretches across North America: grossly misplaced priorities. It's time for a serious reevaluation of transportation spending priorities.
Read MoreThis fall, seven states will have the opportunity to cut — or abolish, in some cases — property taxes. In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss whether that’s a good idea. (Spoiler: It isn’t.)
Read MoreIn this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck responds to a recent Substack column that criticized the Strong Towns stance on the Suburban Experiment and infrastructure spending.
Read MoreAre urban areas really more financially sustainable than suburbs? Do urban areas inherently have higher infrastructure costs? Here's what Strong Towns actually says about the Suburban Experiment and infrastructure spending.
Read MoreThe financial struggles of Houston and the cities of the Silicon Valley area—as well as tens of thousands of others across North America—have the same underlying cause.
Read More“Is this a good project, or will it set up my city for financial insolvency??” Here’s how to find out.
Read MoreIf we’re not paying attention, it can be hard to tell whether a city is using debt to simply to smooth out cashflows, or if it’s just covering up insolvency. Here are four telltale signs of the latter scenario.
Read MoreAt a glance, the sales tax is a nearly invisible revenue source that is also a cash cow. Yet, for local governments, it is the most distorting of taxes. Here’s why.
Read MoreThe Conservancy of Southwest Florida has done the math on a proposed development in rural Collier County, FL, and what they discovered enabled them to take a large-scale developer to court.
Read MoreWhat kind of financial challenges can our cities and towns expect to face in the new year?
Read MorePart of having transparent local accounting is ensuring that the people living in a community know and understand the public costs associated with their homes and businesses. Right now, that isn’t the case in most places.
Read MoreYet another failed mall (this time in Milwaukee, WI) proves to be a drag on—and an active harm to—its surroundings.
Read MoreDon’t be fooled: Winnipeg’s newly proposed “rapid transit” project is actually a road-widening project in disguise. And it aims to borrow money so the City can destroy millions of dollars of its own tax base.
Read MoreWe expect city budgets and financial reports to inform citizens and community leaders alike, but in reality, local government accounting is unnecessarily complicated, confusing, and illogical.
Read MoreMichel Durand-Wood takes us on a hilarious walk through the stages of grief as he puts a financial spike in the heart of his beloved city’s unsustainable 2050 Master Plan.
Read MoreThis organization is suing their local government over an insolvent, master-planned development in Collier County, Florida.
Read MoreIn this new series, we’re looking at Collier County as a case study for how insolvent growth persists in Florida. What's the history behind Collier’s development, and where is it headed?
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