https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE Expo
    • Calendar of Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Public Works & Utilities


Article

Keating Report: Mid-year 2016 forecast on government budgets and spending—Part 2

Keating Report: Mid-year 2016 forecast on government budgets and spending—Part 2

Rochester Hills, Mich.’s Mayor Bryan Barnett discusses the city’s efforts to develop a new regional destination, Riverbend Park. Governments are also increasing their investments in geographic information systems.
  • Written by mikekeat
  • 17th August 2016

Rochester Hills, Mich.’s mayor tells GPN that 2016 is shaping up as another year of significant investment in the city’s infrastructure. “However, unlike the past several budgets where our focus has been on roads and sewer projects, we are shifting our attention to advancing many previously tabled green infrastructure projects,” says Mayor Bryan K. Barnett.

The mayor (photo at left) offers an example: “We are developing the city’s first new park, Riverbend Park, in over 20 years. A private million-dollar donation is spearheading development. Parks and green spaces are the top priority of our residents and our budget in 2016 reflects that.”

Funds from parks millage enabled the city to buy the land for the park in the mid-1990s. The city is reaching out to friends, sponsors and foundations to raise monies to develop the park and make it a reality. The photo below on the right displays the natural beauty of Riverbend Park.

“The park is on it’s way to becoming a unique regional destination where residents will be able to enjoy the great outdoors while improving the overall health of our community. Our design team integrated input from our residents with ecological considerations and thoughtful site design to formulate a preliminary program for Riverbend Park,” the mayor tells GPN. Go here to view the Riverbend Park strategic framework plan.

In the second half of 2016, look for more government investments in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). “GIS is becoming a crucial element for government — it is no longer a nice to have, it is a must have,” says Emma Finch, industry marketing manager for Cary, N.C.-based Dude Solutions. The company provides cloud-based operations management software to optimize facilities, assets and workflow.

“Many local governments are already investing in GIS, and that will increase as the visualization offerings become a central hub that everyone taps into and uses to collaborate,” Finch tells GPN. She notes that the data behind the solutions is something that many different departments need for various applications. That data, she adds, helps those departments work together in a more seamless way.

Finch cites this municipal application for GPN: “Police and emergency services need to work with GIS to make connections between seemingly disparate data points. For example, does more crime happen where there are less streetlights? And if that’s the case, does public works need to undergo projects to alter high crime areas to change that behavior?” In a recent report, analysts at Onvia, the government market intelligence firm, named GIS as a hotspot for growth in government contracts in 2016.

Esri, the provider of GIS technology, is empowering local communities to identify, protect and connect nature’s network and available greenspace. The firm has launched the Green Infrastructure for the U.S. initiative. It is a suite of public mapping tools and data to help communities protect the places and natural resources that help people, wildlife, and the economy thrive.

On the budget front, Onvia’s “State & Local Procurement Snapshot – Q2 2016” reports that In the second quarter of 2016, the number of contracting opportunities in the government SLED (State, Local and Education) market decreased slightly. The report notes, however, that budgeting at state agencies and for government technology continue in a growth direction.

Michael Keating is senior editor for American City & County and the GPN web site. Contact: [email protected]

In the video, Rochester Hills, Mich.’s Mayor Barnett discusses future improvements at his city’s Riverbend Park.

_____________

To get connected and stay up-to-date with similar content from American City & County:
Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter
Watch us on Youtube

Tags: Economy Procurement Public Works & Utilities Smart Cities & Technology Article

Most Recent


  • Housing
    Report: Census Bureau data suggests a return to normalcy for residential real estate
    When interest rates suddenly plunged to historic lows during the pandemic, it sparked a nationwide residential real estate migration. Facing stay-at-home orders and the new possibility remote work, many homeowners traded the conveniences of dense city centers for more spacious rural and suburban neighborhoods. Years later, Americans are on the move once again—but for slightly […]
  • Advocacy organizations call for congressional action ahead of looming federal shutdown
    The political spat that’s frozen congressional action on the budget, potentially leading to a government shutdown if an agreement isn’t reached by midnight Saturday, could create ripple effects felt far beyond the jurisdictional lines of the United States Capitol. If a shutdown happens, ‘nonessential’ federal government functions would hault. Federal employees wouldn’t receive paychecks. Benefits […]
  • road maintenance
    Road maintenance is a good place to incorporate sustainable practices; predictive data analysis can help
    One way to achieve sustainability is to work to extend the life of an agency’s existing assets, says Matt Sprague, industry strategy director – local government at Trimble, a technology company that offers a variety of integrated infrastructure solutions. The solutions may enable improved decision-making by connecting the right information with the right administrators and […]
  • water systems
    Compliance clock is ticking: Community water systems have one year to complete a Service Line Inventory
    In about 12 months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will expect all public water systems to have completed a Service Line Inventory, which is a complete accounting of the material of every service connection in the public network that delivers drinking water. The main purpose of the regulation (Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, or LCRR) […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • NLC releases State of Cities 2021 report
  • How local governments can get ahead of the infrastructure wave: Strategies to mitigate risk
  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery
  • Ultrafast electric vehicle charging will propel local governments into the future

White papers


Navigating Today’s Greatest Workplace Challenges

3rd October 2023

7 Resources to Level-up Your Federal Grants Administration and Compliance

5th September 2023

Elevator Phone Line Replacement Strategy | A Guide to Reliable, Code-Compliant Solutions

29th August 2023
view all

Webinars


Grant Preparedness: Unlocking Funding Opportunities for Your Success

10th August 2023

2023 State of Public Sourcing: Taking Local Governments into a Bright Future

1st August 2023

Stop Playing with Fire: How to Manage Infrastructure Asset Risk So You Know You’re Covered

20th June 2023
view all

PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


10 of the leafiest city capitals in the United States

2nd October 2023

10 Safest Cities from Natural Disasters

29th September 2023

Gallery: Hottest temperatures recorded in American cities during July

12th September 2023
view all

Twitter


Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.