No City Should Rely Primarily on a Sales Tax for Funding

At a glance, the sales tax is a nearly invisible revenue source that is also a cash cow. Yet, for local governments, it is the most distorting of taxes. Here’s why.

Marohn, Transparent Accounting, Top StoryCharles MarohnMay 1, 2023sales tax, Transparent Local Accounting, tax revenue, local government, city government, municipal finance, finance, financial solvency, local finance

Redlining Maps Were Burned—But the Fundamentals Are Still Taught

Why is this official course from the International Association of Assessing Officers still teaching outdated redlining practices to categorize neighborhoods?

Transparent Accounting, Top StorySeairra SheppardApril 25, 2023redlining, Transparent Local Accounting, race, Race, Neighborhoods, Assessments, Just Accounting for Health

Wealthy Homeowners Are Getting a 45% Discount on Property Taxes

Data from North Carolina points to a nationwide problem: that services may be going unfunded in your community because of flawed processes, sloppy math, and lack of respect for the law in the property tax system.

Transparent Accounting, News, Top StoryJoe MinicozziApril 24, 2023Just Accounting for Health, Transparent Local Accounting, property tax, poverty, Poverty, local finance, public finance, North Carolina

Flushing Success Down the Toilet

This public toilet in Winnipeg, MB, is a case study in why city governments need to pay attention to the power of small bets.

Local Government, Transparent Accounting, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodMarch 24, 2023city government, canada, Canada, public space, homelessness, Homelessness, small bets, little bets, local government, Transparent Local Accounting

What Algorithms Get Wrong About Taxes (and What Humans Fail To Fix)

In Buncombe, NC, flawed computer formulas are being used to generate thousands of dollars in "tax breaks" for owners of larger, more expensive homes.

Transparent Accounting, Top StorySeairra SheppardMarch 15, 2023Just Accounting for Health, Transparent Local Accounting, property tax, North Carolina, local finance

The Largest Mistake of Our Generation

The proposed annual budget for Winnipeg, MB, reveals the true cost of the Suburban Experiment, and the vibrancy that the city (and so many others like it) has sacrificed in many of its neighborhoods.

Transparent Accounting, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodFebruary 22, 2023Transparent Local Accounting, suburban experiment, canada, Canada, suburban development pattern, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, budget, finance, public finance, Growth Ponzi Scheme, transportation, transportation spending

Colorado Development Scheme Yields Billion-Dollar Debt

The town council in Castle Rock, CO, received a shocking briefing at a recent meeting: that their single, mid-sized region within a single, mid-sized state has accrued almost a billion dollars of debt. But how?

Transparent Accounting, News, Top StoryBen AbramsonFebruary 22, 2023colorado, debt, Municipal Debt, Infrastructure, Ponzi Scheme, Growth Ponzi Scheme, Transparent Local Accounting, finance, suburban development pattern

The Property Tax System is Broken—Regrid Works on Tools to Help Fix It

Alex Alsup comes back to the Strong Towns Podcast to talk about property taxes and assessments in Detroit—and a useful tool that homeowners, assessors, and nonprofits can use in balancing this imbalanced system.

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Transparent Accounting, Top StoryStrong TownsFebruary 20, 2023Podcast, podcast, Transparent Local Accounting, property tax, maps

Cities Shouldn't Buy Blue Check Marks

Strong communities don't need (costly) external validation.

Member Post, Transparent Accounting, Top StoryMichael NatelliFebruary 9, 2023subsidies, local government, cities, big box stores, tourism, member story, Transparent Local Accounting

Appeals Court Gives Group Second Chance To Fight Florida Development

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida has done the math on a proposed development in rural Collier County, FL, and what they discovered enabled them to take a large-scale developer to court.

Transparent Accounting, News, Success Story, Top StoryBen AbramsonFebruary 3, 2023Transparent Local Accounting, Florida, developers, Development, development, suburban development pattern, Urban3, financial solvency, success, success stories

What’s Behind PBOT’s $4.4 Billion Street Maintenance Backlog Excuse?

The maintenance backlog excuse should not be the end of the conversation—it should be the start of a new one.

Infrastructure, Safe & Productive Streets, Transparent Accounting, Top StoryJonathan MausFebruary 2, 2023maintenance, Maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, street repair, Transparent Local Accounting, Safe and Productive Streets, Oregon

Buncombe County Has the Conversation No One Wants to Have: Property Taxes

All over the U.S., studies have shed light on how much residents in lower-valued homes are being overassessed on property taxes. Now, Buncombe County, NC, is offering residents a space to appeal their assessments.

Sheppard, Transparent Accounting, Urban3, Top Story, NewsSeairra SheppardFebruary 2, 2023finance, tax revenue, tax exemption, property tax, Transparent Local Accounting, Urban3, Just Accounting for Health

Financial Outlook for 2023 and Beyond

What kind of financial challenges can our cities and towns expect to face in the new year?

Infrastructure, Marohn, Transparent Accounting, Top Story 2Charles MarohnJanuary 2, 2023financial solvency, Transparent Local Accounting, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure bill, infrastructure cost

2022: The Year in Maps and Charts From Urban3

Our friends over at Urban3 share some of their favorite visuals from 2022—each of which tells a mathematical truth about the places we choose to develop and inhabit.

Transparent Accounting, Urban3, Top StoryUrban3December 15, 2022Urban3, Value Per Acre, Development, Transparent Local Accounting

Christmas Cookie Inflation Index, 2022 Update

The Christmas Cookie Inflation Index has risen 12.0% in the last year. This is compared to the official inflation rate of 7.7%.

Marohn, Top Story, Transparent AccountingCharles MarohnDecember 5, 2022Inflation, economics, Economy, poverty, Poverty

Northside Neighborhood in NC Reduced Property Tax Values by $7 Million

Neighbors in Chapel Hill, NC, mobilized to raise awareness of property tax inequities within their community…and ultimately brought about a $7-million reduction in home assessed values.

#DotheMath, Finance, Sheppard, Top Story, News, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardNovember 29, 2022local finance, property tax, Just Accounting for Health, Transparent Local Accounting, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, North Carolina, #DoTheMath

Your City May Be Illegally Assessing You for Routine Infrastructure Maintenance

Part of having transparent local accounting is ensuring that the people living in a community know and understand the public costs associated with their homes and businesses. Right now, that isn’t the case in most places.

#DotheMath, Infrastructure, Marohn, Finance, Top Story, Transparent AccountingCharles MarohnNovember 28, 2022Transparent Local Accounting, local finance, public finance, maintenance, Maintenance, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, infrastructure maintenance, financial solvency, #DoTheMath

Water System Crises and Solutions

What are the origins of our current water systems, and how should we think about them, going forward?

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Infrastructure, Top Story, Transparent AccountingStrong TownsNovember 7, 2022Podcast, podcast, water, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, history, History

Check Your Temperature—You Might Have an Assessment Fever

This new interactive map shows homeowners how their home assessment compares to other properties nearby—and has exposed that many homes of similar value are being overassessed.