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Informing Policy Decisions Through Opinion Research

Opinion research is a powerful tool often overlooked outside of elections. Learn how opinion research can help form policy decisions in this short podcast featuring Adam Probolsky, an opinion researcher who has worked with local governments across the nation.

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This discussion with Ronald Olson was taken from our show Local Government Insights: Modernizing Government Leadership. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you don’t use Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can find every episode here.

How To Manage A City

Managing a city is filled with complexities regardless of its size…unless you get tips from an expert. This episode features Ronald Olson who shares some of his key takeaways that have helped him successfully be a City Manager for 35 years in over 7 cities of varying sizes, including Corpus Christi, Texas.

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This discussion with Ronald Olson was taken from our show Local Government Insights: Modernizing Government Leadership. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you don’t use Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can find every episode here.

COVID Impact on Tourism Leads to Investment Opportunity

If you work in government in a tourism town, the pandemic was a nightmare come true.

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But what happens when the tourists don’t stop coming?

That’s exactly the situation Jess Knudson, a City Manager from Lake Havasu, AZ, found himself in last year. He joined the show to share how he tackled the issue.

We discuss:

  • The initial dropoff and later surge of tourism in Lake Havasu
  • How Jess helped navigate budgeting and allocating resources to tackle the problem
  • The challenge of navigating government financial support in the wake of the pandemic
This discussion with Jess Knudson was taken from our show Local Government Insights: Modernizing Government Leadership. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

 

If you don’t use Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can find every episode here.

How Florence, Alabama Found Millions in Sales Tax Revenue

With just over 40,000 residents, Florence is Alabama’s 11th largest city. Home to the University of North Alabama, this vibrant and welcoming town also hosts the state’s most popular renaissance festival, held annually each October.

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Bob Leyde, beloved City Clerk for the City of Florence, Alabama, is a pillar of the local community as well as a talented and innovative administrator. He wisely utilized Avenu’s vast capabilities to generate up-to-the-minute analytics for more accurate projections of sales tax revenue during the COVID pandemic and increase the efficiency of his administration staff.
Here’s a sneak peek:
  • Detailed reporting helped Bob overcome budgeting challenges and increase compliance.
  • Accurate and real-time information about current business opportunities and revenue collection is crucial to his decision-making process.
  • Avenu streamlined the city’s tax administration with a laser-focused audit process.
  • Bob encourages leaders of cities of any size to see how Avenu’s technology can optimize operations and maximize revenue generation.

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

UCLA Anderson Forecast July Economic Outlook

Avenu in partnership with the UCLA Anderson Forecast collaborates to provide both micro and macro level views of the economic health of California at the state and local levels. The following economic information has been provided by our colleagues at UCLA Anderson Forecast. We’ve also attached our recent sales tax forecast assumptions.

Read the full July Economic Forecast Here.

Sales Tax Forecast Assumptions

COVID-19 Impact on City of Pasadena, CA

COVID tested localities in new in challenging ways. While we are coming out of the pandemic, we can learn from different jurisdictions as we prepare for the future.

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Matt Hawkesworth, Finance Director for the City of Pasadena, CA about the different areas of impact COVID-19 has had on the City and how his team has shifted priorities to help balance ever increasing budget deficits.

In this show we discuss:

  • Top areas the City of Pasadena was affected over the past 12-18 months
  • The approach to using reserves during the process
  • The impact of restaurant closures in a city with one of the largest number per capita
  • The American Rescue Plan
  • The importance of resiliency

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

Local Governments Today Have an Opportunity to Build Trust: Smarter Digital Transformation is Key

When government doesn’t deliver the same level of digital services citizens have come to expect from their private-sector interactions, they lose an opportunity to build trust in their communities.

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In this episode, we talk with Lou Schiavone, Chief Customer Officer at Avenu Insights and Analytics. For the past 20 years, he has focused on serving state and local governments nationwide, leading the sales, development and delivery of a diverse set of innovative solutions. Our discussion delves into:

  • How governments can instill trust in their communities through digital transformation
  • Government’s overreliance on paper driven processes
  • Tax collection processes that are efficient, digitized, and automated
  • Ways government can improve communication and build trust
  • Key takeaways for government leaders looking to instill trust in their community

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

How Local Governments Can Navigate Budget Shortfalls

Local governments are working harder than ever over the last year to manage budget shortfalls. Changes in revenue can impact key services for the community. Accurate forecasting and revenue maximization is key during these uncertain times.

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In this episode, we talk with Paul Colangelo, the CEO of Avenu Insights and Analytics. He brings a wealth of experience to the conversation having over two decades of experience working with local governments. Our discussion delves into:

  • Untapped revenue for local governments during the economic downturn
  • Conducting a business license discovery and recovery review and how it helps with revenue enhancement
  • Preparing for fluctuations in revenue streams as the economy recovers
  • The long term impacts of the COVID pandemic.

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

How Digital Technology is Giving Old Documents New Life

For local governments, moving beyond fear of digitalization is essential to making their products and services more accessible for constituents.

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In this episode, I talk with Alfredo Frauenfelder, Client Executive at Avenu Insights & Analytics, about how digital technology can give old documents new life and what that process looks like for local governments.

What we discussed:

  • Why preservation of documentation for future generations is critical
  • How to capture, store, and publish handwritten documents
  • The current state of historical documents for most governments
  • What challenges Local Governments face starting these projects
  • How digitalization can actually pay for itself over time

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

Budgeting Sales Tax Revenue

Local governments can fine-tune their budget forecasts by understanding the tremendous impacts that and state and federal programs have had on Sales Tax Revenue over the past year.

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In this episode, we talk with Mark Bryson, Senior Economic Analyst at Avenu, who works with California jurisdictions and is an expert in helping them navigate the changes COVID has brought to revenue forecasts. Our discussion delves into:

  • Key concepts relevant to understanding and properly budgeting for future Sales Tax Revenues
  • Why these basic Sales Tax concepts are important to the budgeting process
  • 5 things that occurred in California that have never happened before that impact Sales Tax Revenue
  • What jurisdictions throughout the country should be thinking about when they are budgeting Sales Tax Revenue these days

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.