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| Public Finance |
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Oregon is moving ahead with a plan to tax motorists on the number of miles they drive as opposed to the amount of fuel they consume. The controversial “vehicle-miles-travelled” program, which is expected to launch in 2015, is in response to declining revenues from fuel taxes as driving is becoming less prevalent and vehicles are becoming more fuel-efficient. Under the plan, drivers (5,000 volunteers, initially) would be taxed 1.5 cents per mile driven and provided with GPS units to track their journey and to prevent them from being charged for driving out-of-state or on private roads. Privacy advocates worry that the GPS receiver could be used by the government to track citizens; the current plan, however, would allow drivers to choose to be charged a flat fee in lieu of odometer readings.
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| Economic Development |
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New York has launched Fuzehub to help connect small- and medium-sized manufacturing businesses to the state’s technology resources. The program allows businesses to submit technical expertise requests through an online form. Within 48 hours, a team of technical and manufacturing professionals will respond through real-time discussions to provide assistance and referrals to experts, resources, and workshops as needed. Officials hope the new platform will encourage innovation and drive economic growth and job creation by putting businesses in contact with partners such as New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership programs, universities, economic development organizations, and other state programs.
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| Community Development |
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San Francisco is exposing a wider audience to innovation occurring behind closed doors with Living Innovation Zones. The “Zones” connect partners with the city to exhibit installations that make science and technology discoveries more accessible to the public. The first Zone involves a partnership with the Exploratorium museum and the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District, and is being installed on the local roads of Market Street and Yerba Buena Lane. Each Zone will be continuously prototyped and will adapt to reflect public input. The first Zone will feature an exhibit called “Whispering Dishes,” which consists of two 8-foot-tall parabolic dishes that focus sound so people can hear each other whispering even as they are surrounded by street noise.
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| Policing & Crime Prevention |
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To assist officers on foot patrol, the New York City Police Department is issuing dedicated smartphones that allow the officers to instantaneously look up a person’s criminal history and verify their identification by quickly gaining access to computerized arrest files, open warrants, police photographs, motor vehicle databases, and other records. The device, which cannot make or receive calls, allows officers to enter a building and see which residents have a criminal record or registered firearm, which apartments have a prior domestic incident report, and the location of every video surveillance camera directed towards the building. About 400 of the smartphones have been distributed to officers so far.
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| Recycling |
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The city of Portland, Oregon, advances the twin goals of helping its community and promoting environmentally friendly e-waste disposal by diverting its used computers to schools and nonprofit organizations. By teaming up with Free Geek, a local nonprofit, computers that have reached the end of their life cycle for municipal government are refurbished and then distributed to those places that need them, with a priority given to local schools. Portland donates around 1,000 computers per year to be refurbished.
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| Public-Private Partnerships |
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As part of the US Postal Service’s Retail Partner Expansion Program, the Postal Service will start opening post office retail counters at business locations. Among the first businesses to partner with the Postal Service is Staples, the office supply store, with 84 locations across the country. These sites will offer services and products such as stamps, first-class domestic and international mail and package services, and priority mail services. The financially troubled USPS hopes that the pilot program will both reduce costs and provide increased convenience for customers. However, because the counters will not be staffed with USPS employees, some object to the move.
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| Beyond the Suggestion Box: Government's Crowdsourcing Revolution |
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Crowdsourcing is being embraced by governments far and wide. A new report for the IBM Center for the Business of Government offers guidance on what it can do and how to make it work.
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| A Better Path to Local-Government Regulatory Reform |
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For cities, protecting public health and safety doesn't have to come at the expense of jobs and economic development. By harnessing the vast information they collect, governments can use regulation as a tool to incentivize good behavior and economic growth.
Newsletter produced by: Jessica Engelman, editor; Brendan St. Amant, researcher and writer.
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About the Ash Center
The Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence in governance and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide. Through its research, education, international programs, and government innovations awards, the Center fosters creative and effective problem solving and serves as a catalyst for addressing many of the most pressing needs of the world's citizens. The Ford Foundation is a founding donor of the Center. Additional information about the Ash Center is available at http://ash.harvard.edu.
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