As part of “Cascadia Rising”—a series of exercises from June 13 to 16 to test Washington and Oregon's response and recovery capabilities to catastrophic earthquakes—SAO has compiled some steps governments can take to financially prepare for potentially large earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Did you know that Washington state has the largest locally controlled port system in the world? And not all of those ports are on the water. Ports also operate airports, railroads, business parks and industrial sites.
In this latest addition to SAO's #Gov 101 series, we explore Washington's 80 port districts, including how they're governed, how they finance their operations, and how you can participate at your local port district.
Originally published June 2, 2022. Updated August 9, 2023.
As local governments experience staffing shortages, such as for law enforcement, correction officers, paramedics, utility linemen and many others, existing employees may work increased overtime. Monitoring overtime is important, so we’re republishing this article that provides you with tools to do it.
Originally published May 26, 2022
Updated September 6, 2023
Local governments track many assets with multiple objectives in mind. Whether your objective is accurate and complete financial reporting or safeguarding public assets, tracking all of your government's assets can quickly become a pain.
Spring has sprung, and it's time to start cleaning up your financial records from years' past! Why not tackle the messy buildup in your vendor master file? This database file containing information about your government's vendors needs a periodic scrubbing.
Piggybacking is the ability to use another government's bid award without going through your own competitive process. It can be complicated, which is why we have updated our guide—Piggybacking under Washington State Law—to address your most common questions and alert you to changes in our guidance.
Before you go to the grocery store, do you make a list to ensure you purchase everything you need?
Washington's governments encountered special audit circumstances this year when it came to preparing the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA). School districts were no different—and many of
you found yourselves facing a federal audit for the first time because the funding you received related
to the COVID-19 pandemic met or exceeded the federal government's threshold to require an audit.
We're firing up our #Gov101 series again! This time, we're featuring public utility districts, also known as PUDs.
For the next few weeks, we'll tell you all about these special purpose districts: how they're governed, how they get and spend public dollars, and how you can participate at your local PUD.
Our first video covers the types of services Washington's 28 PUDs provide to their communities and their governing structure.