Public debt stands at more than $39 trillion, with the interest expense on that borrowing now exceeding $1 trillion a year, highlighting the urgent need for a sustainable fiscal path.
OMB is not giving access to anything to agencies, according to a spokesperson, despite the administration's interest in the powerful Mythos AI model that identifies digital vulnerabilities.
Without the half-percent sales tax increase, which would generate an estimated $9 million per year for the city's general fund if voters approve it this November, Berkeley could face deeper cuts including shuttering a fire station, laying off police officers and reducing hours at city pools and recreation centers.
Most local utility companies provide energy audits for their small business customers. For example, my provider - PECO - offers customized reports and online tools to benchmark energy usage, incentives for better energy consumption, rebates for buying energy-efficient equipment and free energy assessments.
"Yes, we're No. 1 in education. Yes, we're a safe state," said Chris Keohan, the spokesperson and consultant for the Taxpayers for an Affordable Massachusetts ballot committee. "But what does it tell you if we're losing people to states that are less safe, that have less level of education? It tells you that we're at a breaking point and something absolutely has to be done."
A debt management plan (DMP) is a way to combine your unsecured debts into a more manageable single monthly bill. You'll typically get reduced interest rates compared to what you're currently paying thanks to negotiation by the agency you're working with.
Through Community Facilities Districts (CFD), Municipal Utility Districts (MUD), Public Improvement Districts (PID), Community Development Districts (CDD) and reimbursement districts (RD), builders can potentially shift infrastructure costs off their balance sheets and onto special districts that homebuyers ultimately absorb through property taxes without potentially adding debt to the builder's books.
The Portland Housing Bureau has found additional unspent dollars in its coffers, adding to the previous $21 million it found through an audit last year. It is unclear exactly how much money is in the fund, but Council President Jamie Dunphy called councilors over the weekend to tell them they would soon learn of the specifics of what was found in the Housing Investment Fund. He told the Mercury February 2 that he did not yet know how much total funding was available.
Understanding the difference in purpose Unlike private businesses, which exist to make a profit, public institutions are designed to create impact - especially social and economic outcomes that benefit everyone, not just paying customers. A public agency doesn't measure its success in revenue or margins, but in how much it improves lives, builds equity and maintains public trust. This doesn't mean budgets and spending don't matter - they absolutely do - but money is not the goal. It's the tool.
In principle, all the departments are supportive of the Shared Services Strategy. However, HM Treasury and the Department for Education (DfE), who currently have modern ERPs and are both in the Matrix cluster, have indicated they would welcome more information through the business case about likely costs for them before they assess that onboarding is feasible and value for money.
The total proposed 2026 operating budget amounts to $18.9 billion, with 31 per cent being covered by property taxes and 24 per cent made up of federal and provincial funding. The rest is made up of smaller measures, including rate programs (12 per cent), transit fares (six per cent), and reserves (nine per cent). Chow submitted her budget proposal on Feb. 1, based on a city staff proposal put forward on Jan. 8.
Under Executive Order 12, according to a press statement from the city, each agency will now have five days to appoint an existing senior employee as Chief Savings Officer and grant them the relevant staff and information. This employee will have 45 days to complete a comprehensive assessment of their agency's spending, analyzing the most expensive programs to understand major drivers of cost, as well as the highest-performing programs, to try to replicate successes.
Let me get straight to the point: Three years ago, I was spending $200 a month on coffee shop visits while telling myself I couldn't afford to max out my retirement contributions. The irony wasn't lost on me when I finally sat down with a spreadsheet and saw where my money was actually going. That wake-up call came right after watching my dad get passed over for yet another promotion, despite working harder than anyone else in his department.
Despite some idealistic intentions, that framework is in fact what put Muni in the financial hole in the first place. Working from a scarcity mindset, namely trying to preserve an already pilfered service, is a losing battle. To guarantee the service that citizens and workers expect from a city like San Francisco requires a committed vision of the future, one that centers Muni as the public good that it is.
"If we don't get what we need [in terms of extra government help] then a Section 114 Notice will come in, which is effective bankruptcy. We'd then get administrators come in, in effect - they'd then make a plan for where the money gets spent in Worcestershire. It would be a catastrophe. We're going to have to halt projects that were put into the budget by the previous administration, things that maybe were 'nice to have', but we can't afford them."
Like [Keir] Starmer, the chancellor is also fighting for her political life whether because the prime minister himself falls, or chooses to move his chancellor in a reset reshuffle. Against that backdrop, Reeves hopes to project calm and competence next week, after a tumultuous 18 months.
