All State & Federal Policy The Permit Stack: Why One Street Festival Needs Sign-Off From Six Different Agencies September 30, 2026 Margaret Hale A neighborhood association wants to close four blocks for a Saturday festival — food trucks, a stage, maybe a beer garden if the budget allows. The date is set, the…
All Local Government The Frozen Baseline: How Tax Increment Financing Redirects Property Taxes Without Raising the Rate September 27, 2026 Margaret Hale A new mixed-use building goes up downtown. The parking lot next to it gets repaved with better drainage and a row of trees. None of it required a tax increase,…
All Local Government The Fee Nobody Notices: How Stormwater Utility Charges Are Reshaping City Budgets September 6, 2026 Margaret Hale A line item marked “stormwater utility fee” sits on municipal water bills across much of the country, usually somewhere below the sewer charge and above the recycling assessment. Most residents…
