Plan Implementation - Funding and Budgeting

Question 1

Taxation notes

Taxes are a REVENUE source for local government agencies.

Primary source of taxation varies from state to state.

Taxes are used to finance government AND redistribute income.

Question 2

Taxation type 1

The tax rate increases as income rises.

Ex. the Federal Income tax system taxes those with higher incomes at a higher tax rate than those with low incomes.

Answer 2

Progressive

Question 3

Taxation type 2

The tax rate is the same regardless of income.

Ex. a property tax rate is the same regardless of the price of your home. Each homeowner pays the same tax rate regardless of their differing values.

Answer 3

Proportional

Question 4

Taxation Type 3

The tax rate decreases as income rises.

Answer 4

Regressive

Question 5

Consider these items when implementing a tax…

1. Fairness - tax should reflect the ability to pay of those who bear its burden. The who are poor, for instance, should not have to pay a lot in taxes.
2. Certainty - tax should be fairly applied (same tax rate over time - consistency)
3. Convenience - tax should be convenient to pay.
4. Efficiency - tax should allow collection and enforcement to be a straightforward process.
5. Productivity - tax should provide a stable source of revenue - not be useless or ineffective.
6. Neutrality - tax should not change the way a government would normally use its resources.

Question 6

An economic development tool/incentive to attract economic development. Temporary loss of revenue.

Answer 6

Tax write-off

Question 7

Revenue Sources Notes

User fees = generate revenue for local governments. Must be for a provided service, parking, utilties, and municipal services.

Intergovernmental transfers of taxes between states, municipalities, and the Federal Government. (Ex. property taxes).

Local-option tax = locally levied tax (local sales tax, local earnings tax, local corporation tax, etc.)

Regulatory Fees = charged fees to cover costs of inspections, code enforcement, or business licensing.

Development exactions/special assessments/impact fees = fee charged by local government to developer as reimbursement to cost of providing additional services (roads, sewers, etc.).

Question 8

Consistency Notes

Zoning and day-to-day land use decisions must be made in harmony with a comp./general plan.

Originated from growth management - outward growth must be consistent with comp. plan.

Some states require comp. planning but not consistency with zoning.

Some states reformed their enabling legislation to require that zoning conform to the their general plans, but permitting decisions (ex. plat approval) may not have that requirement.

Some other states require legislative consistency with a written plan and both zoning and permitting decisions apply.

With or without legislation, consistency can support/detract from a zoning-related litigation. Some courts have upheld severely restrictive policies when supported by comp. plans (consistency) while non-consistent zoning actions may be considered spot zoning or unconstitutional.

Best practice is that zoning, capital improvements, rezonings, and zoning amendments conform to the future land-use maps in a comp. plan.

Planners should consider if LDC or zoning ordinance standards/regulations are consistent with adopted comp. plans.

Consistency between plans and levels of plans is critical, too.

Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard (PIRS) determines if a discrete local geography’s various plans and levels of plans are consistent with a focus on climate change resiliency by overlaying and overlapping a community’s plans and policies and scoring -1, 0, or 1.

Question 9

This is the practice of tying comp. plan goals/policies to actionable timetables, activities, budgets, and agencies with effectiveness measured by and reported to the public (plans can adjust accordingly).

Answer 9

Accountable Implementation

Question 10

Accountable Implementation Notes

Specific strategies for implementing accountably
1. Connect plan implementation to capital planning process.
2. Connect plan implementation to annual budgeting process.
3. Establish interagency and organizational cooperation.
4. ID funding sources for plan implementation.
5. Establish implementation benchmarks, indicators, and targets.
6. Regularly evaluate/report on implementation progress.
7. Adjust the plan as necessary based on evaluation.

Barriers to implementation are hyper local and could be legal, political, financial, or cultural.

Question 11

Plan implementation evaluation method No. 1

Literal - believes planning has the ability to control future development.

Plans are blueprints. The more outcomes (land use patters) conform to the plans, the more successful the plan is.

Answer 11

Conformance-based evaluation

Question 12

Plan implementation evaluation method No. 2

Views plans as decision-making tools more in line with the incrementalism of Charles E. Lindblom.

Achievement of end-state goals are not the main concern. Any result that is deemed desirable could be considered a success.

Answer 12

Performance-based evaluation

Question 13

CDC policy evaluation process notes

Evaluation is the activity that develops an understanding of merit, worth, and utility of a policy.

Must consider…
1. Utility - Who wants the evaluation results? For what purpose?
2. Feasibility - Are the evaluation procedures practical with your resources?
3. Propriety - is evaluation being conducted in a fair/ethical way?
4. Accuracy - Are approaches at step accurate?

Evaluation of general plans, laws, regulations, etc. can be done via document review, interviews with key informants, and data analysis.

Evaluation of policies, programs, and practices involve a broader set of project-participating organizations, but would also be done through document review and use of interviews or key informant surveys.

Question 14

What are the two main differences between policy evaluation and program evaluation?

Answer 14

1. Level of required analysis. (ex. system vs. community level for policy evaluation; program level for program evaluation).
2. Scale and scope of data collection may be greater with policy evaluation.

Question 15

Evaluation of Planning Policy perspective no. 1

Considers utilization. Did the plan prove useful for subsequent decision-making?

Answer 15

Performance Perspective

Question 16

Evaluation of Planning Policy perspective no. 2

Investigates the extent to which policies or implementation substantively align with the recommendations made by the plan.

Answer 16

Conformance Perspective

Question 17

Effects of Revent structures on Land Development notes

Reliance on sales tax results in pushing retail along city boundaries to generate revenue and minimize expenses on infrastructure/services on non-resident shoppers.

Reliance on income tax results in employment-intensive uses, office parks, etc.

No sales or income tax would be bad if you had lots of vacant, low-value land. You would prioritize policies that maximise property values.

Question 18

Community Benefit Agreements

Local hiring requirements.

Job training programs.

Affordable housing requirements.

Provision of community facilities.

Can be affective at addressing site-specific development imapacts but not politically easy (there is often resistance from developers).

Question 19

Finance methods - BONDS

Bonds have cash flow sources that repay investors who provide capital to issue the bonds.

1. General Obligation - backed by credit of issuer including power of City to tax citizens.
2. Revenue - backed by a specifc revenue stream (ex. building a stadium).

Ratings linked to community’s debt. Assessment of investment risk of that community. Moody’s grades, for example.

REIT - real estate investment trust

Question 20

Finance Methods - SPECIAL DISTRICTS

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) = tool to finance certain developments. Anticpated increase in real estate tax revenue resulting from increased property values is used to pay off bonds sold to finance the “blighted” area.

City captures additional property taxes resulting from improvements.

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) = business group funnels money that they’ve taxed themselves into their business district.
Ex. Lincoln Ave TIF in Chicago was succesfull for libary construction and low-income housing development. Still, they are convtroversial and supposedly benefit developers.

Question 21

Budgeting Notes

1. Line-item = separating expenses and expenditures into different categories. Earliest and most traditional. Cost by departement/administrative unit. Easily managed. Good for small agenies.
2. Program = budgets organized around specific programs.
3. Planning, Programming, and Budgeting Systems (PPBS) = defense industry after WW2. Program budgeting with short- and long-term targets, tracking system, performance meaures, and ID of critical path needed to reach organizational obejctives.
4. Zero-based Budget (ZBB) = expenses have to be justified for each new period. Each cycle requires a zero base. All functions in an organization are analyzed accordingly. Created by Texas Instruments
5. Performance Budgeting = “program budgeting +” with performance objectives for each program.
6. Annuality = common practice. Budget has to be prepared every year and cover only one year. If funds are not spent, you don’t carry over the remainder to the same line in the next year’s budget. Unspent money goes back to the general fund.
7. Participatory Budgeting = community crafting where money should go and be spent on.

Small but growing.

Question 22

CIP notes

Plan to fund infrastructure and improvements over a fixed period of time.

Forecasts of population projections and improvement schedule (5 years)

Future projects listed in priority, cost estimate, and anticpated financing means. Regularly reviewed for conformance and consistency.

*Net Operating Income is used to analyze income-producing real estate investements.

Net = Gross Operating Income (revenue) minus operating expenses. Include vacancy rate if applicable.

Also used to find capitalization (cap) rate. Cap rate = NOI/property value

Question 23

Program & Project Evaluation Notes

1. Cost-Benefit Analysis = actual and hidden costs of proposed project measured against benefits of proposed project.
2. Fiscal Impact Analysis = estimate impact of development or land use change or plan on costs/revenues of governmental untis serving the development. Ex. direct costs from population/employment change in that jurisdiction.

Helps governments evaluate fiscal merits of specific and general plans.

3. Fiscal Impact vs. Economic Impact = economic focuses on cash flow to private sector vs. fiscal’s focus on cash flow to public sector.

Fiscal Impact looks at city’s property tax rate, education costs per child, avg. cost of building construction per sq. ft.

Don’t look at historic assessed valuation trends - it’s not about trends.

Question 24

Program Management Techniques

1. Critical Path Method (CPM) = helps with decision-making. Complex, interrelateda activities.
2. Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT)
3. Goal Achievement Matrix
4. Gantt Chart = map out tasks, timelines, and responsibilities.