FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - State and local finance officials are seeking ways to provide the services taxpayers expect, while trying to control costs and deal with a wave of unknowns - from welfare reform and federal budget cuts to year 2000 computer issues - that threaten to drive up government spending.
At sessions and coffee breaks throughout the Government Finance Officers Association's annual conference here this week, speakers and vendors suggested ways to do more with less money.
Discussions ranged from how to use pension obligation bonds to reduce the annual budget impact of retirement system payments, to securitizing or selling delinquent tax liens, to privatizing everything from solid-waste collection to document storage. All were cited as ways to maximize the money available to governments without raising taxes.
Jeffrey L. Esser, GFOA's executive director, said the anti-tax sentiment prevalent in the public is a backlash against some excesses of the 1980s.
Quoting Irving R. Levine, former chief economic correspondent for NBC News, who addressed the conference Tuesday, Esser noted that "in both business and the public sector, one of the most significant things going on is seeking ways to improve efficiency and productivity."
Gale Dushack, comptroller of Madison, Wis., said the demand for accountability and efficiency from government has grown.
"Citizens are more active on every level and they demand proof that government is not wasting money," he said.
"There is not a region in this country where they aren't trying to limit or roll back property taxes," said Janet C. Corcoran, vice president in the structured finance group at General Electric Capital Corp. She noted that selling off government assets, including water and waste utilities, has become more attractive as federal dollars have become more limited and grant programs have become revolving loan programs.
"The scarcer the resources, the more pressure officials are under," said Catherine L. Spain, director of GFOA's federal liaison center. "While the country is in economic recovery now, officials are looking long-term."
From an Arkansas pension official worried that other branches of government see the funds in the trust she manages as an easy source of money, to the Denver water district official who is considering automated meter reading to reduce costs while providing better service, the theme was apparent.
"There is no pressure from customers to cut service, but to keep prices down," said Bobbie Wilson, finance director of the Denver City and County Board of Water Commissioners. "For the last few years we have focused on doing things more efficiently. But you can't skimp on water quality, it is a no-frills basic service."
Mark Funkhouser, auditor for Kansas City, Mo., said centralized, core cities are "priced out."
"We can't raise taxes, but we have huge infrastructure needs," Funkhouser said. "When a company divests its assets, it is because they are in trouble in their core businesses. I can't see any benefits to being in some of what we are in. There are only costs."
For those in his position, a roundtable discussion on selling municipal assets offered several points to consider, especially about whether a city should continue to own an airport or collect its own taxes.
Corcoran, who ran the roundtable, said one of the key questions for officials must be "in what circumstances can a government say 'I don't need to own this thing?' "
When municipal assets aren't for sale, government officials were still considering how the private sector could help them offer services cheaper.
Ben Hayllar, Philadelphia's finance director, told a standing-room-only discussion session on public-private partnerships that there are both benefits and pitfalls in working with the private sector.
While private data-processing services can save a city money because it won't have to make a capital investment in computers and software, outsourced billing for utilities or even taxes can backfire if the mailings are done late. The city may only find out about a problem when revenues do not arrive when expected, he warned, advising careful monitoring of outside contracts.
When not talking about ways to shrink government or cut costs, several of the conference sessions focused on how to bring in more money.
Arlington County, Va., Treasurer Francis X. O'Leary described working with neighboring counties to develop an efficient way for residents to pay tax bills by phone 24 hours a day.
Elizabeth A. Fowler, a vice president at Springsted Public Finance Advisors, cited describe a series of sessions on cash management and investment, which focused on how governments can get every dollar from their operating capital portfolios.
