GRA Research Repository

Northeast

Questions for the CandidatesThis publication is intended to provide candidates and residents in Worcester with questions for consideration. We offer the following to provoke discussion, debate, and potentially decision as the voters of Worcester select their leaders for the 2024-2025 political cycle. The post Questions for the Candidates appeared first on Worcester Regional Research Bureau.

Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent retiresWorcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent has retired, the city announced Friday, ending a nearly four-decade-long long career in law enforcement. The post Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent retires appeared first on Worcester Regional Research Bureau.

2023 Worcester Municipal Election Candidate DebatesDon’t miss these upcoming debates! The post 2023 Worcester Municipal Election Candidate Debates appeared first on Worcester Regional Research Bureau.

Breaking Down the Budget FY24Each Year on July 1, Massachusetts cities and towns must implement a new budget. The City of Worcester’s Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget, entitled Empower Progress: Investing in Equity, Talent, and Culture, took effect on July 1, 2023. The post Breaking Down the Budget FY24 appeared first on Worcester Regional Research Bureau.

Research Bureau Releases New Report on Worcester’s Changing DemographicsThe Worcester Regional Research Bureau released a new report entitled “Reinventing Worcester,” which looks at the city’s demographics and economy. Executive director Paul Matthews said the changes the city has undergone in recent years go beyond the skyline’s appearance. The post Research Bureau Releases New Report on Worcester’s Changing Demographics appeared first on Worcester Regional…

National Association of Researchers Study the Most Pressing Public Problems Facing Our CommunitiesAt the end of July, the Worcester Regional Research Bureau (WRRB) hosted the nation’s top governmental researchers at the annual conference for the Governmental Research Association (GRA). The post National Association of Researchers Study the Most Pressing Public Problems Facing Our Communities appeared first on Worcester Regional Research Bureau.

Worcester Recognized For Policy Achievement And TransformationWorcester, a small community in Massachusetts, recently hosted the annual conference of the Governmental Research Association (GRA), bringing together top governmental researchers from across the nation. The conference focused on the challenges confronting government, including transit, housing, education, public workforce shortages, and federal financial relief. The post Worcester Recognized For Policy Achievement And Transformation appeared…

Southeast

State budget has no money to ease the child care financial cliff expected next year Public funds propping up North Carolina’s child care network will run out at the end of June 2024 under the state budget passed early Friday. The budget includes no state funding to extend the federal funds that child care providers have used to help their businesses recover from the pandemic and to raise staff wages.……

North Carolina has a new budget. Here’s what educators need to know. Contents Teacher pay Pay for other school employees ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights,’ teacher pipeline, and more The Republican-led General Assembly passed North Carolina’s new $30 billion budget with bipartisan support on Friday, leading to the expansion of both Medicaid and private school vouchers through the Opportunity Scholarship Program. President Pro Tem Sen.… The post North…

Research | This budget accelerates the disinvestment in our schools and the communities they serve Over 1.4 million students across North Carolina attend our public schools, and public schools serve as the hub of our rural, suburban, and urban communities. In NC, the state has the responsibility to fund our public school operations. Budgets are a reflection of values and priorities, and the conference budget developed by the NC General…

Perspective | Seeing 2023 education legislation through a 1997 lens The decades-long effort in North Carolina to strengthen public education through a legal route has come to a standstill, thwarted by the Republican legislative majority’s pursuit of an alternative agenda. That far-reaching agenda ranges from a huge increase in government subsidy for private school tuition, to restraints on teachers in discussing race and gender, to…

What does a thriving Latinx leadership community look like in North Carolina? LatinxEd, a nonprofit focused on investing in Latinx leadership to advance educational equity and opportunity in North Carolina, held its second in-person Latinx Education Summit Sept. 15 and 16 in Greensboro. A unique feature of this year’s summit was the decor: specially selected floral arrangements, various cultural displays such as cloths and flags, and paintings…

Monitoring and Oversight of General Obligation Bonds to Improve Broward County Schools As the 2023-24 school year begins and students return to class, Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) begins Year 10 of the SMART Program. This is significant in that former …

West

Average workers’ compensation rates could increase by 4.9% in 2024The Department of Labor & Industries is proposing a 4.9% increase in average workers’ compensation rates for next year. That would be the largest increase since 2011 (displacing this year’s increase of 4.8%). According to L&I, rates would increase for 283 of 325 risk classes. L&I notes, “In part, the rate increase is needed because…

Midwest

New MCFE Issue Brief on Determining the Fate of the Minnesota Provider Tax

Time for An LGA Renaissance? (Part 1) As interest in rejuvenating state Local Government Aid picks up steam, history shows a primary objective – delivering property tax relief – is likely to run headlong into the “Ventura Law of Local Finance”. (First of a two-part series looking at the merits of a reinvestment in the Local Government Aid program)

MCFE 2018 Annual Meeting and Policy Forum: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Tax World Our MCFE Policy Forum is open to everyone — both members and non-members. CPE and CLE credits available.

2018 Edition of How Does Minnesota Compare Released

MCFE Releases Report on State Assessment of Utility and Pipeline Property

2019 Edition of "How Does Minnesota Compare?" Released

Member Reports