Solutions for tough times.

• Author: Kinney, Anne Spray
• Position: From the editor - Editorial

There are few things everyone will agree on, except, perhaps, that local governments are facing tough economic circumstances At times like these, minor problems can threaten to quickly become a financial crisis, and unsustainable solutions can look like the only answer. This issue of Government Finance Review provides a wealth of techniques to help finance officers steer their organizations through the storm.

In Fiscal First Aid, Shayne Kavanagh and Melanie Purcell outline strategies and tactics for stabilizing the financial condition in preparation for more in-depth rehabilitation. Governments that are in a stable position can also use these concepts to head off a crisis before it occurs.

Consolidated municipal operations and shared-service arrangements are a time-tested and cost-effective service delivery alternative. In Consolidation and Shared Services, Christine Smith, Ed Henschel, and Rob Lefeber discuss who can benefit, the kinds of challenges consolidation efforts face, and ways to overcome them.

Tough fiscal times test all organizations, but at the same time, they present opportunities to make important changes. In Stability in a Time of Uncertainty, Lisa Calise Signori discusses what the City of Boston is doing to meet the challenges it faces.

In Making an Argument for Police Enforcement Costs: The St. Paul Fee Study Experience, Scott Cordes and Bob Winthrop present results from the City of St. Paul's 2007 fee study, which measured the costs resulting from increased police response to...