Municipal Enterprise

RESEARCH RESOURCES

Baller Herbst Law Group
www.baller.com/library.html
The Baller-Herbst Law Group has specialized in representing municipal utilities in litigation regarding broadband development. Their web site contains a number of presentations and articles regarding municipal broadband and related legal issues.

Center for Brownfields Initiatives at the University of New Orleans
www.brownfields.com
On this web site there are links to articles and other information about brownfield redevelopment efforts across the United States.

Center for State and Local Government Excellence
www.slge.org
The Center for State and Local Government Excellence assists municipal governments become better employers, allowing them to attract and retain better individuals in public service jobs. Connecting state and local leaders with respected researchers, the Center works to identify and promote best practices for a variety of issues, including how to address the expanding costs public employee pensions and retiree health care benefits.

Economic Development Directory
www.ecodevdirectory.com
Economic development corporations play a critical role in developing many city, county, and regional economic development efforts — everything from traditional business incentives to more innovative efforts based on developing local capacity. This web site contains a directory of websites of over 2000 economic development agencies, consultants and associations worldwide.

Good Jobs First
www.goodjobsfirst.org
This group both critiques the use of economic incentives and tax abatements and advocates for alternative local economic development strategies, particularly those that establish “community benefit agreements” (where economic incentives are tied to local economic development objectives). The web site contains a large number of publications related to these issues.

The Hometown Advantage
www.newrules.org/retail/index.php
This web site, hosted by the Institute for Local Self Reliance, focuses on the efforts to preserve independently owned retail establishments and resist the proliferation of “big box” retailers. On this site, you will find both articles on local disputes, as well as a number of economic impact studies that document the greater local economic multiplier effect of locally owned retail establishments.

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In The Public Interest
www.inthepublicinterest.org  
In the Public Interest provides educational resources on privatization and it impacts on service quality, infrastructure maintenance and costs, and works to ensure that public contracts with private entities are transparent, fair, well-managed and effectively monitored, and that they meet the long-term needs of the community. As a resource center for citizens, public officials, and public interest groups, In the Public Interest is focused on guaranteeing that public goods and services are provided to those who need them, managed by people who are publicly accountable, and affordable to all.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
www.lincolninst.edu
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a nonprofit educational organization that provides research, analysis, and education in the areas of land taxation, land markets, and land as common property.

MuniNet Guide
www.muninetguide.com
MuniNet Guide is an online guide and directory to municipal-related content on the Internet. Its emphasis on municipal bonds, state and local government, and public finance serves people in a number of fields, including government administration, municipal investment, municipal research, and urban affairs

National Center for Public Private Partnerships, “Case Studies,”
www.ncppp.org/cases
This web site provides examples of nearly 50 different instances of public-private partnerships in such areas as wastewater management, transportation, and real estate and economic development.

Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, Fiscal Studies Program
www.rockinst.org/research
This website provides a comprehensive data source for state government policies and budgetary information. The main Rockefeller website has additional available publications on state and local government and community economic development issues.

Partners for Livable Communities
www.livable.com
Founded in 1977, Partners for Livable Communities is a non-profit leadership organization working to improve the livability of communities by promoting quality of life, economic development, and social equity. In particular, the group encourages strategies that employ cultural industries as a strategy for local economic development. The web site includes many examples of best practices, newsletters, and links to other articles and resources.

Public Strategies Group
www.psg.us
This website, home to the Public Strategies Group consulting practice, also contains resources on how to “reinvent” government, with a focus on the state and local level. One of their staff members is David Osborne, coauthor of Reinventing Government in 1992 and, more recently, author of The Price of Government, which focuses on need-based budgeting, in 2004.

Taubman Center for State and Local Government (Harvard)
www.ksg.harvard.edu/taubmancenter
The Taubman Center studies state and local governance and intergovernmental relations. The Center focuses on several areas, most notably: public management, innovation, finance, and labor-management relations; urban development, transportation, land use, and environmental protection; education; civic engagement and social capital; and the impacts of information technologies on both government and governance.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Landfill Methane Outreach Program
www.epa.gov/lmop/res/index.htm
This web site provides documents and resources regarding the EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program, which supports local efforts to generate electricity from methane, a practice that can generate revenue for localities while supporting environmental and economic development objectives.

Urban Land Institute
www.uli.org
Founded in 1936, ULI is a research and education institute, with more than 22,000 members worldwide, representing the entire spectrum of land use and real estate development disciplines. The website provides links and articles regarding a number of issues, including smart growth, transit-oriented development, and real estate.