Hello and welcome to the NYGFOA Article Hub. In this blog, you’ll find a selection of articles from past issues of the NYGFOA quarterly Newsletter. We’ve also mixed in other sourced articles on hot topics and trends in the world of government finance.
Financial Strategies in Case Stagflation Spawns a Recession
Inflation is now foremost on the minds of most Americans, according to poll after poll. The Federal Reserve board remains keenly focused on curbing inflation through higher interest rate policies. Nobody knows whether the Fed can succeed without crashing the U.S. economy into a recession, and financial markets have already priced in some but not all of the potential economic impact of such an unhappy outcome. Meanwhile, most state and local government budgets are flourishing, with record revenues, even if some of that is arguably the froth of inflation and not real growth. So, what’s next?
One Year On, Public Officials Laud Success of the American Rescue Plan (ARPA)
Federal support through the ARPA and the CARES Act initiatives have done much to stabilize communities amid the pandemic’s unprecedented challenges.
With businesses shuttered and economic uncertainty dominating discourse over the last few years, the fiscal toll over the last year felt by everyday people has been severe—with the blow lessened by national initiatives like the American Rescue Plan (ARPA), which was enacted exactly a year ago Friday (March 11, 2021). Federal support through the ARPA and the CARES Act initiatives have done much to stabilize communities amid the pandemic’s unprecedented challenges.
Shields Up, By the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Agency
While there are no specific or credible cyber threats to the U.S. homeland at this time (March 2, 2022), Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which has involved cyber-attacks on Ukrainian government and critical infrastructure organizations, may impact organizations both within and beyond the region, particularly in the wake of sanctions imposed by the United States and our Allies. Every organization—large and small—must be prepared to respond to disruptive cyber activity.
10 Steps to Succession Planning
Succession planning has become even more challenging in recent years, given a changing job market, shorter employee tenure, and COVID-19 job turnover—which means that governments should make it an even higher priority. GFOA’s ten steps to succession planning will help your organization retain key talent and find skilled employees to replace staff members who move on.
The Future Government Workplace
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated an already emerging trend toward hybrid work for state and local government. In a Center for Digital Government (CDG) survey of more than 200 government leaders, nearly half of respondents said they plan to work in a hybrid work model where they alternate between remote and in-office work for the next 12 to 24 months.
The IRS has released draft Form 8038-CP, Return for Credit Payments to Issuers of Qualified Bonds (PDF), including new Schedule A, Specific Tax Credit Bonds Interest Limit Computation (PDF), and the related draft Instructions (PDF). We’re updating the form and instructions to accommodate electronic filing of Form 8038-CP in 2022.
GASB Changes Name of Report to ‘Annual Comprehensive Financial Report”
In October, GASB issued a pronouncement that changes the name of the most extensive report prepared following its standards to the annual comprehensive financial report or ACFR. Until now, the name applied to those reports was the comprehensive annual financial report.
NYGFOA Winter 2021: Ask the Association
Q. Can a municipality go out seven (7) years on a Bond Anticipation Note (BAN)?
A. Chapter 157, Laws of 2020 amended the NYS Local Finance Law by extending the ‘rollover’ period for BANs issued in calendar years 2015 – 2021 (inclusive) to up to seven (7) years beyond the original date of issue of the BAN.*
Racoons in the Driveway: the Temptation of the Rainy-Day Fund
Unlike some other cultures, many Americans don’t like to save. So, it should come as no surprise that one of the endless professional challenges for state and local government executives, finance officers, budgeters and labor negotiators is trying to explain the need for a healthy rainy-day fund. They must perpetually respond to voices chiding, “Why not just tax tomorrow when you can spend today?” And then there are the politicos and advocates who never saw a revenue surplus or a nonrecurring “found dollar” that they couldn’t wait to “invest” in a pet cause.