ELGL News and Notes

Join ELGL: Students (free), individuals ($20), and organizations ($250)

Newest Members:

• Brianne LaVoy, Product Manager

• Robin Franzen Parker, City of Gresham, Senior Manager

Upcoming Forums:

• January 15: Bill Wyatt, Port of Portland Executive Director

• January 17: City of Eugene, Triple Bottom Line Decision Making

• January 29: ELGL Central Oregon Meet Up

The High Five

1. 7 Things to Watch for in the 2013 Legislature – Oregon lawmakers are trekking to Salem for the start of the 2013 legislative session next week, which will feature heavy-duty issues such as education funding, higher education restructuring, health care transformation, prison sentencing, PERS reform, gun control and funding for a new I-5 bridge over the Columbia River. Here are seven things to look for as the new session unfolds.

2. Nashville’s Latest Big Hit Could Be the City Itself – Portland knows the feeling. Austin had it once, too. So did Dallas. Even Las Vegas enjoyed a brief moment as the nation’s “it” city.

3. Exit interview: Ann Lininger says key to progress is building bipartisan coalitions - The Oregonian sat down with the three outgoing Clackamas County commissioners to talk about their tenure on the board and what they see for the future of the county. Ann Lininger left the board after deciding not to run for election. The interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

4. And the Survey Says…City hall staffers finally open up—and unload!

5. Piercy outlines lofty goals - Eugene’s mayor wants to tackle a budget gap, boost business and help the homeless, among other challenges

 

The Local Fiscal Cliff

• If Muni Bonds Tax-Exempt Status is Lifted, $150B Are at Risk

• Bainbridge Island passes $20 car fee

• New LEDs saving Yakima money

• Woodland raises water, sewer rates for developers

• Cowlitz County hopes to avoid the costs, hassles of judges lawsuit

• Justice Takes a Breath

• Port of Portland OKs container shipping subsidy

• Debate on the ‘cliff’ delays tax refunds

• State wants to study charging drivers by the mile as gas taxes shrink

• Portland fraud hotline nets tip that recoups $17000 in city money

• Economist: Oregon’s recovery bumps along

• Gov. Gregoire’s budget director retires, criticises Inslee’s budget plan

• Overtime Busts

 

Inside Portlandia

• Tigard’s newest community development director talks job expectations, future growth

• Hall Monitor

• Also Glaring in the O‘s TriMet Exhaustion Story: Shenanigans with Public Records

• ODOT rail plans upset area mayors

• Sources Say: Hales ready to shake things up

• TriMet board member demands action in light of investigation by The Oregonian

• Waste not, want not: County encourages WL businesses to compost

• Banks City Council roundup: parking tickets could change, residents light up city for holiday contest

• Proposed Council Creek Regional Trail could link Hillsboro to Banks

• New annexation raises old questions

• Boss sets up disaster plan, responds to growth

• Water treatment plant is a community benefit

 

Outside Portlandia

• City of Puyallup Appoints New City Manager

• New council members to be sworn in tonight

• City manager’s job dominates Santa Ana council meeting

• Three jobs add up to one pay raise for Fillmore’s interim city manager

• Los Alamitos city manager retires after one year

• Hercules responds to former city manager’s claim for more exit pay

• Simi Valley assistant city manager retires

• Olympia council bans campers, many in crowd show outrage

• 2020 Klamath Vision: A need for intergovernmental cooperation

• Council elects Langrell as mayor

• Ferndale’s Zimmerman, rival to mayor, decides not to seek council re-election

• Collaboration group hears from city staff on parking issues

• 6 Ideas for L.A.’s Next Great Transit Project

 

The Career Center

5 jobs where pay is making a comeback - Thanks to increases in the second half of 2012, wages grew by about 3.5% last year, according to Payscale.

10 Simple and Powerful Body Language Tips for 2013 - Body language plays a key role in effective leadership communication.

Why Success Is Never an Accident - Successful people always seem to make their own luck and find opportunities, but it has more to do with their state of mind than anything else.

 

Do Something

A Public Service Gift That Keeps Giving: Mentoring the Next Generation - I am writing to ask for your support in providing a public service gift that is better than money! I urge each of you to consider providing an internship placement opportunity sometime in the new year for our pre-service MPA students who are at the front-end of their public service careers.  These students need 180 hours of required Organizational Experience to meet their degree requirements. Most of these opportunities are unpaid.  If you or your agency can provide an Organizational Experience placement for any of our pre-service MPA students, please contact Linda Golaszewski (lagola@pdx.edu).

Invitation to the Cutting Edge Communities Symposium - Lynn Peterson, Transportation Policy Analyst for Governor Kitzhaber, has invited ELGL to the Cutting Edge Communities Symposium.

Boards, Commissions and Committee Vacancies - The Milwaukie Budget Committee has an opening for a citizen for a four year term. Deadline for applications is January 18.

 

The World Wide Web

 

Google to bring free Wi-Fi to New York - The search giant hopes to lure startups to Chelsea by providing free service in the area.

20 Ideas for Content that People Love to Share on Social Media - Social media is a hungry beast. The social networks require constant feeding. They need to be thrown a diet of content that keeps readers and viewers coming back for more.

We recommend:

• ELGL Facebook: National Journal

• ELGL Google+: City of Salisbury

• ELGL Pinterest: Florida Economic Development Council

• ELGL Twitter: Brian Hodson