The rise in municipal bankruptcies has been one of the most devastating trends of the decade. Most of the problem results from public officials having to balance short-term and long-term priorities at a time when governmental budgets are stretched to the breaking point.

Whatever the cause - municipal bankruptcies are detrimental to the entire country. Citizens, public employees, retirees, taxpayers and debt holders are all negatively impacted. The bankruptcies add millions more in debt and set ominous precedents.

More than a million private-sector firms file for bankruptcy each year, but financial meltdowns are rare in government. That doesn't mean it never happens though, and currently, municipal bankruptcy is at its highest level since the Great Depression. .

[more]

Strategic Partnerships, Inc. provides opportunity

identification for all 50 states.

Click here for more information.

House proposal would allocate $597 million for construction, maintenance

Aging facilities and growing student populations are common on most campuses in Florida. Hand-in-hand with that problem is the fact that the Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) budget that funds construction and maintenance of educational facilities has been on the decline. In fact, prior to the Great Recession, PECO funds were more than $1 billion per year. Today, they have been slashed to about $300 million per year.

At the University of Florida alone, officials are seeking additional funding to refurbish a more than 70-year-old chemistry building and critical maintenance needs elsewhere on campus that total $60 million.

Lawmakers are constantly looking for ways to increase the PECO funding, and are currently studying a proposal to reduce the sales tax businesses pay on their electricity use and then upping the gross receipts tax by that same amount. That would help the state replenish the gross receipts tax on utilities and communications services, the main source of funding for PECO. By law, the state must pay off PECO bonds from previous years. That debt currently is more than $900 million per year.

House Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel (pictured) said the goal is to figure out a way to fund both construction and maintenance needs on campuses.

The problem, according to Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who first came up with the funding proposal, is that the current funding system is not sustainable. The House, counting on that additional funding, is trying to push through a $597 million PECO budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year. That figure includes more than $300 million for school maintenance and state colleges and universities. The figure also includes funding to continue some projects that have been put on hold and $27 million in additional funding for rural schools with limited tax bases and thus limited funding.

The proposal would also need the backing of the Senate, which initially offered a much lower proposed PECO budget of $321 million.

Pennsylvania's Rapid Bridge Replacement Project to start next summer

The stage is set for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's receipt of proposals for its Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. The project, a public-private partnership, will lead to a single contract that will replace at least 500 bridges throughout the state. The first step toward the project was the recent naming of the four teams that have been invited to submit proposals.

PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch (pictured) said that because the bridge replacements will be under one contract and similarly designed and constructed, there should be a cost savings. He also noted that because of the size of the project, it should open up multiple contracting opportunities for local companies to work for the team selected to manage the projects.

The four teams chosen to submit proposals include:

• Pennsylvania Crossings - including the team of Meridiam, Lane Construction, AECOM, Trumbull, Wagman Companies and Cofiroute;
• Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners - including the team of Plenary Group, The Walsh Group, Granite Construction Company, HDR Engineering, HNTB Corporation and Infrastructure Corporation of America;
• Keystone Bridge Partners - including the team of InfraRed Capital Partners, Kiewit, Parsons, The Allan A. Myers family of companies, DBi and American Infrastructure; and
• Commonwealth Bridge Partners - including the team of John Laing Investments, Fluor, American Bridge Company, Traylor Bros. Inc., Joseph B. Fay Co., STV Incorporated and Infrastructure and Industrial Constructors.

Among the criteria for selection were each team's ability financially to complete the project, their background and experience in managing comparable projects and their understanding of the project. The teams will be given further project details and requirements this summer and a preferred proposal chosen next fall. Construction is expected to begin next summer.

The team finally chosen will manage the design, construction and maintenance of the bridges for an undetermined number of years. The team will finance the project and PennDOT will make payments to the team of private firms based on performance to contract terms. The bridges will remain the property of the state and PennDOT will be responsible for routine maintenance. 

Legislation, headed to governor's desk, includes some oversight, regulations

The Kentucky Legislature recently approved a measure that would provide for public-private partnerships (P3s), but with oversight and regulation. The bill, HB 407, is headed to the governor's desk for his signature. It provides both state and local governments in the commonwealth to partner with private-sector firms for infrastructure, transportation and other projects. All proposed P3 projects must be approved by the Finance Cabinet, and be overseen by the Capitol Projects and Bond Oversight Committee.

University of Toledo planning new 492-bed campus dormitory

Plans to develop a 492-bed dormitory on the University of Toledo main campus are moving forward. The bond financing for the new student housing was approved by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority board of directors. The funding package, which totals about $45 million, includes tax-exempt and taxable revenue bonds. Those bonds will be used to finance a loan to CHF-Toledo, LLC, part of the Collegiate Housing Foundation, an Alabama-based nonprofit. Land on which the new dorm will be built will be leased from the university. Use of the bonds will be a pass-through transaction, according to port board officials, and thus will not cost the port authority anything. Plans were accepted, but a construction schedule was not discussed. 

Texas ISD looking at 2015 bond election to build new schools

Citing the need to build a new high school, an elementary school and an intermediate school in the next five years, Superintendent Jim Cain (pictured) of the Klein (Texas) Independent School District recently urged the board of trustees to schedule a bond election in 2015. The bond proposal ranges from $224 million to $646 million to pay for new facilities and upgrades to infrastructure. A bond election in 2015 is critical because a high school would take at least two and one-half years to build, Cain said. To maintain quality education, the district also needs bond funding to pay for upgrades to technology, security and safety, buy new buses, repair and renovate campus facilities and possibly build a second childcare center, he added. While the district most likely will need three new elementary schools within five years, Cain included plans for only one new elementary school in this bond proposal. District officials this month began a series of meetings with community and business leaders along with stakeholders and plan two conferences to receive community feedback and educate voters about the needs of the district. Members of a bond steering committee will use the data collected during these meetings to prioritize projects to include in a bond proposal no later than November 2015, Cain said.

School project means abundance of subcontracting, vendor contracts

A $22.5 million high school renovation project in Pelham, New Hampshire, will result in about $17 million in projects that will go out for bids to subcontractors and vendors. The design, engineering and construction management firms have been secured. The project will include a two-story addition that will increase the total square footage of the high school from 88,000 square feet to 130,000 square feet. It will increase the number of classrooms, increase the size of existing classrooms, add a new performing arts space, provide upgrades to the cafeteria and gym and add parking. Several playing fields will be moved to allow for construction of the new facility. Officials are hoping for a summer 2016 completion date. The first phase will begin this spring and summer and include site and septic work.

Funding announced for new wastewater treatment plant in New Mexico

A new wastewater treatment plant will be building in Chama, New Mexico, after $8 million in funding was announced by New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. The project will promote ecologically sound land management and is being praised by environmentalists interested in preserving the health of the watershed. They note that the new wastewater treatment plant will not only provide clean water to the people and land of northern New Mexico, but also to downstream users of water in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Others note that high-quality water is also a boon to fishing-related businesses from Chama to Albuquerque. "This is a very exciting accomplishment in the San Juan - Chama Watershed Partnership and shows the real value of what can happen when private landowners and communities work together," said Lesli Allison, executive director of the Western Landowners Alliance.

Louisiana parks, trails could see funding of $73 million over next decade

Community parks and trails in the Baton Rouge Parish in Louisiana will benefit from a 10-year, $73 million construction budget recently approved by BREC, a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana that operates public park and recreation facilities and programs throughout East Baton Rouge Parish. The construction funds will lead to constructing or enhancing large community parks and trails. The budget allocation is contingent on the renewal of a two mill property tax that has been renewed every decade since 1964. The issue will be on the April 5 ballot. The tax produces about $7.3 million per year for parks improvements. Almost a third of the proposed budget will go toward 12 large community parks that would receive $24.8 million in funding. Another $19.3 million is set aside for special use facilities such as the zoo and golf courses. Approximately $14.2 million will be spread across the system for a variety of needs. "The number one request we have heard at every community meeting, in every survey and from our online forum, MindMixer, has been for BREC to develop more trails across the Parish," BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight (pictured) said. The funding will also be used for other projects that include technology improvements, conservation projects and new community park development in the south part of the parish.

Check out these recent awards: 

Public-private partnership brings mixed-use development to Meriden

Thanks to a public-private partnership, the city of Meriden, Connecticut, is making plans for a new mixed-use development in the city. The four-story development will feature 11,000 square feet of commercial space and more than 63 units of mixed income housing. The partnership is between developer Westmount Development Group, the state Department of Transportation, Meriden Housing Authority and the city. The public partners assisted Westmount with acquiring funding for the project. This will be the first new, private development for the downtown area in four decades. City Manager Lawrence Kendzior (pictured) said all parties were pleased that the CHFA tax credit program approval to get the project under way. "This represents the first new private development project in the city center in nearly 40 years. It's a great start to what we believe will be significant private investment in the city center area in the next several years." The project will also include a 273-space parking garage for use by residents of the facility. A 14-acre park will be created nearby and traffic improvements in the area are also planned. The project is funded in part through the federal CHFA Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program that provides incentives for developers to acquire, rehab and/or build low- or mixed-income housing using federal tax credits that can be sold to private entities or investor groups to raise funding for a project.

P3s under consideration in Hawaii to deal with state corrections system facilities

The state of Hawaii is hoping the private sector can help either upgrade or replace its seven aging correctional facilities. And, to that end, State Sen. Will Espero (pictured) has filed a resolution that would allow public-private partnerships for jails, prisons and other correctional facilities. "The state wouldn't have to come up with the down payment or the money up front or float a bond. What we would do is, just like purchasing a home, we would pay back the company that built the facility over 20 or 30 years," said Espero, in explaining his legislation before a legislative committee. The Department of Public Safety supports the resolution as a way to ease overcrowding and cut agency costs. Espero's resolution would allow private-sector partners only in the planning, construction and financing of facilities. The state would still run the facilities. Officials called the current facilities old and poorly designed, which leads to more overtime costs for adequate numbers of personnel as well as having to turn away visitors due to short staffing. 

Lewisville paves path for new Denton County government center

Lewisville (Texas) City Council members recently approved variances to allow Denton County officials to build the new Lee Walker Government Center in that city. Current plans are to complete the government center project in two phases, with the first phase calling for construction of a 40,700-square-foot building in the northwest corner of the intersection of Valley Parkway and Civic Circle. The second phase calls for building a 26,450-square-foot facility on the southwest corner of that intersection. The new government center is designed to house officials of Precinct 3 and offices of the county health department and the tax-assessor collector.

 Are you a government official who has moved into a new position or to a new agency? Did you recently retire? Were you recently named to an executive-level position at a state-supported college, university or community college? Have you secured a new job as superintendent of a public school? If so, we'd like to hear from you - and so would your friends and colleagues - for our "Where Are They Now" column. Just drop us a line at editor@spartnerships.com and let us know about your previous job and where you are now. This week we feature Meria Joel Carstarphen. 

Meria Joel Carstarphen (pictured) has been named the lone finalist for the superintendent job at the Atlanta (Georgia) Public Schools. Carstarphen will exit her role as superintendent of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District after a tenure of five years in that Central Texas school district. In Atlanta, Carstarphen will take over a district still suffering latent effects of the nation's largest test cheating scandal. A native of Alabama, Carstarphen began her public education career in that state as a classroom teacher after earning her bachelor's degree from Tulane University. She later earned master's degrees from Auburn University and Harvard University. The soon-to-be Atlanta superintendent earned her doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a former superintendent of the Saint Paul Public Schools in Minnesota and held executive-level positions in public school systems in the District of Columbia, Kingsport, Tennessee, and Columbus, Ohio.

Kent A. Kern (top left), interim leader of San Juan Unified schools in California and former assistant superintendent of operations and school support, was recently named superintendent, replacing Superintendent Glynn Thompson. who was placed on paid administrative leave. Karl R. Thompson (top center), a counselor to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, has been selected by the Obama administration as acting head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. Greg Lucas (top right), a former political reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and a senior editor for the Sacramento website Capitol Weekly, which covers California politics, has been appointed California State Librarian. Martell Menlove, superintendent of the Utah public schools since 2012, has announced he will retire as soon as the state board of education can find his replacement. Joe Lyons, who has served as interim fire chief in Westfield, Indiana, since January, was officially named chief recently after a career with the department he has been a part of since 1996. James Riker, who has served as city planning director for the city of Duluth, Minnesota, has been chosen to take over the position of city manager. Jonathan Fielding (bottom right), head of the Los Angeles County public health department and the agency's first head since 2006, has announced he is retiring after a career that began there in 1983. David Samson (bottom center), chair of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has resigned his post following the scandal over lane closings at the George Washington Bridge that has been linked to the Chris Christie administration. Christie Holly (bottom right), former Tishomingo County Director of Curriculum and Testing, was recently elected new Superintendent of Education, replacing retiring Superintendent Ben McClung. Dave Panzer Jr., interim chief of the city of Pierre, South Dakota, Police Department and a 25-year veteran of the force, has been named police chief. Eric Knost, superintendent of the Mehlville School District, which he has served for 12 years, has been named superintendent of the district. Daniel Heimmermann, the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Mississippi University for Women, has been chosen provost and vice president of The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, replacing William Fannin, who served in that post since 1996.