Keating Report: Government Budgets & Spending Outlook, 2nd half 2009
Back in January, the Government Product News forecast on government budgets and spending was delivered amid a backdrop of bailouts and proposed stimulus packages, and unprecedented pressure on the government to resuscitate the nation's critically wounded economy....
Time to upgrade your office?
Despite tight budgets, some local governments have discovered that upgrading office technology — from multifunction devices to computers — has helped improve efficiency. In this Govpro Special Report, IT leaders from Washtenaw County, Mich.; Bellevue and Seattle, Wash.; and Winston-Salem, N.C.; share their creative strategies for updating office equipment in a down economy....
Expert: “Federal buying season” can be a revenue-booster to vendors
Uncle Sam is a major buyer of goods and services. According to a July 2009 forecast from St. Louis-based consultants Macroeconomic Advisers (MA), the value of government purchases of goods and services could reach $3.02 trillion this year, with federal purchases (consumption and gross investment) accounting for almost 40 percent of total government purchases. Federal purchases, according to MA, could rise 8 percent in 2009 over 2008 levels. ...
Group names the year's most playful communities
KaBOOM! has recognized 93 communities for taking innovative approaches to providing playgrounds and recreation opportunities to the youths of their area....
Pennsylvania state buildings generate 30 percent energy savings through efficiency upgrades, solar panel array
Even older buildings can produce sizable energy efficiencies when properly retrofitted, based on a recent project in the Keystone State....
Solar America cities spread the wealth
The Solar America Cities (SAC) program, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiative that promotes the adoption of solar power into city energy planning, zoning and city facilities, is intended only for municipalities. However, some of the 25 SAC-designated cities are working with counties and other smaller cities to apply the initiative's grants and technical assistance to support local and regional solar planning....
Study: Job hunters prefer government positions
Federal, state and local government jobs are in demand, according to a survey of 2,900 workers by Chicago-based CareerBuilder.com. Eighty-eight percent of the survey respondents said they were interested in jobs in the public sector, with 47 percent saying they were interested in state or local government jobs....
New York sports fields get a makeover
The project, which covers 1.1 million square feet, will boost the number of sports fields in Manhattan by 30 percent....
Experts: Vendors, be prepared for spike in demand during ‘federal buying season’
Businesses that sell to federal agencies know that the government market is nothing to sneeze at. After all, federal government purchases of goods and services should reach $1.11 trillion in 2009, rising to $1.12 trillion in 2010, according to a January Government Product News forecast. More importantly, the federal government’s fiscal year ends September 30, and that means loads of selling opportunities for savvy government marketers between now and September 30....
EPA clarifies ARRA's 'Buy American' provision
In a June Webcast, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave guidelines for how water utilities should apply the "Buy American" provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The clarifications included statements on enforcement of the provision and which products fall under the provision....
DOE approves 16 state energy-spending plans
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved plans by 16 states for how they will spend money from the State Energy Program, which is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The 16 State Energy Offices that submitted the plans will receive a total of $508 million....
Report: States not spending stimulus money effectively
States are not making as much progress as possible in spending funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), according to a report by Washington-based Smart Growth America (SGA). Not enough of the $26 billion in ARRA funding for transportation projects has gone to repairing existing roads and bridges or to fund public transportation, the report says....
Putting stimulus funds to work on roof repairs
State and local government facility managers should investigate all available sources for roof repair funding....
NACE launches "Local Roads Matter" campaign
State and federal funding policies are denying local governments the resources they need to maintain roads in their jurisdictions, according to the Washington-based National Association of County Engineers (NACE). In response, NACE has launched a "Local Roads Matter" campaign to highlight the importance of local roads....
Summer lawn care tips for government grounds maintenance managers
TruGreen, the Memphis, Tenn.-based lawn care services provider, has issued a series of suggestions for environmentally responsible lawn care. The company calls them “Your Square Care” tips, referring to grounds managers’ “little square of the Earth.”...
Company seeks 25 cities to test solar street lighting
Springfield, Ill.-based Eco Alternative Solutions is looking for 25 cities to participate in a 90-day free trial of its Integrated Solar Series (ISS) LED street light system. Mounted atop standard 30-foot tall utility poles, the ISS lights use solar power to recharge two recyclable sealed lead acid batteries that power the white or yellow LEDs for 10 hours a night for up to three consecutive nights on one charge. Eco Alternatives will conduct field tests in different ambient conditions during the trial period....
Clean-energy plant powers up California county buildings
Starting in spring 2010, Sonoma County, Calif., (2008 population: 466,741) will rely on a Direct Fuelcell DFC1500 power plant to generate 1.4 megawatts of electricity to supply 100 percent of the baseload electricity needed to operate its jail and county office buildings in Santa Rosa. ...
Nation’s capital scores tops in health and community fitness
The Washington, D.C., metro area is the fittest of America's 50 most populous metropolitan areas according to the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) American Fitness Index (AFI)....
Census Bureau releases county/state data
Six more counties became majority-minority — in which more than 50 percent of the residents are other than single-race, non-Hispanic whites — in 2008, according to data released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau. Along with the information on majority-minority counties, the data breaks down the United States population by age and sex to define trends before the 2010 Census....
Comments invited for proposed hand sanitizers standard
The EcoLogo Program, a third-party eco-labeling organization based in Ottawa, Ontario, has started developing a new environmental standard for hand sanitizers, and it wants government leaders’ input on its draft standard. The proposed standard will allow purchasers to select hand sanitizing products with reduced environmental and health effects....
GSA opens electronic marketplace to non-federal agencies
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has opened its e-Buy online request service to state and local governments. Non-federal agencies now have faster and more direct access to many of the same vendors for products and services that federal agencies use, according to the GSA....
APWA names Top 10 public works professionals in North America
The Kansas City, Mo.-based American Public Works Association (APWA) has named the Top 10 Public Works Leaders of the Year for 2009. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the award....
Making public facilities sustainable
Editor’s note: For this Government Product News Special Report, we spoke with Susan Haifleigh, director of sustainability solutions at Boston-based VFA (www.vfa.com), a provider of solutions for facilities capital planning and asset management, about some ways to incorporate green initiatives into facilities planning....
Cooperative purchasing pact may speed IT stimulus spending
Herndon, Va.-based GTSI Corp. has won a seven-year (four base years and three option years) U.S. Communities Technology Services and Solutions Contract. Fairfax County, Va., awarded the contract, through which 90,000 state and local government agencies in the United States can buy GTSI products and services in the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance....
Governments: prime customers for roofing materials and roof repairs
Editor’s note: No question about it, local, state and federal governments are major consumers of roofing materials. A quick check on the BidNet bid library (www.bidnet.com) shows a total of 432 bid solicitations over the past three months from local, state and federal government agencies in the United States that are seeking bids on roofing materials or roof repair, replacement, sealing, renovation and other roof construction projects. BidNet is an online bid notification and market intelligence service based in Albany, N.Y. ...
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