Expert Insights

Returning from a July 4 break, members of Congress found themselves facing a number of high-priority issues with no quick resolutions. With an omnibus funding bill still in limbo, lawmakers are now trying to pass individual funding bills. The consensus in Washington...

Public officials at all levels of government struggle with funding needs that are spiraling out of control.  Yet, the prevailing trend is to cut funding at the state and local levels of government even more. Revenue shortfalls and the ever-growing critical needs at...

Last week, President Trump unveiled a sweeping plan to reorganize the agency structure of the federal government. Administration officials say that many provisions don’t require congressional approval so some aspects of the reorganization plan will be rolled out...

Look! Up in the sky… It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s – a gondola??? Facing the dilemma of monstrous traffic congestion and horrific cost projections for expansion and maintenance of roadways, some municipal officials are looking to the skies for relief.  City leaders...

There’s a huge new marketplace emerging and it’s definitely worthy of watching.  The Internet of Things (IoT) is coming on strong…so strong, in fact, that the IoT marketplace is expected to exceed $130 billion by 2024. Here’s what the experts say to expect - by 2020 –...

Surrounded by advancing lava flows from the erupting Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, one terrified but fortunate islander’s life was saved by an improbable rescuer - a drone. The drone was utilized in the emergency response to the disaster and was used to lead the trapped...

Every region wants an airport and the larger the better. Airports stimulate the economic vitality of any area and long-term economic sustainability is difficult without an adequate airport facility.  But, airport ownership has become challenging and that challenge is...

A federal Infrastructure Plan still languishes a year and a half after it was touted as “coming very soon” by the Trump administration.  However, one key segment of the plan got a boost this week from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A final rule was issued...

Artificial Intelligence or AI technology is destined to change the way we work, live, travel, entertain ourselves and stay healthy. It will also change public safety and almost every other aspect of government. Many recent changes will impact the use of AI. Last fall,...

Outdated, technologically challenged and overcrowded – that pretty much describes the majority of airports in the U.S. But change is imminent and a huge new airport expansion marketplace is evolving. To make critical upgrades and much-needed expansions, airports are...

All indicators point to a strong year for the construction industry.  Most projections are that the growth will continue through 2021. However, there could be a glitch…and it could come from the public sector – the local levels of government, to be more specific....

Over the last 10 years, wildfires and extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods, droughts and hurricanes cost America more than $350 billion, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. And these costs don’t include three major hurricanes and...

Over the past week, the U.S. experienced three school shootings. National attention has again been painfully drawn to protecting the country’s school campuses, workplaces and churches. The #1 question is what to do. How can officials prevent and contain active...

One hundred forty-two Americans die every day in America from drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  Overshadowing that staggering statistic, however, is perhaps a greater revelation. State and local government officials are allocating...

Ready or not, autonomous cars are on our streets.  New and disruptive automotive technology is destined to change lives, laws, industries and major sectors of our economy. But first…self-driven cars must be tested and that’s the stage we are experiencing now. Concerns...

After 17 people – most of them students – died in a mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school campus, the state legislature acted quickly. In less than a month, Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a bill that requires qualified law enforcement officers to be...

Hard to believe…but it is true!  Procurement officials report that many government solicitations are receiving insignificant interest or no interest at all from government contractors. Because competitive bidding is essential to public procurement, that’s a huge...

Who would have thought that a reservoir of water could play a role in producing energy?  Not many people would…but it’s happening elsewhere and it could soon be trending in America. A Los Angeles city councilman is floating - literally - a proposal for the city to...

In March, the city of Atlanta, Georgia, was given an ultimatum - pay unknown hackers $51,000 or lose access to all internal files. There are a couple of lessons to learn from this unfortunate situation.  Hackers look for networks with critical, time-sensitive data and...

A lockbox containing $1.5 billion in federal funding for surface transportation projects has just opened up to communities across the United States. The funding comes from a new program called the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant...

It’s harder to manage cities, counties and state governments today than it was in the past. In fact, government leadership is a grueling job and citizen input has never been more important than it is today. Competition for global leadership, advancements in...

Eighty-three bridges in 16 counties in Mississippi were ordered closed last week. The governor said the bridges were “unsafe for the traveling public” and that keeping them open would constitute “an unnecessary risk to public safety.” That’s shocking…but, not nearly...

President Trump has promised to shorten the time it takes for federal agencies to approve environmental reviews and issue permits for large public projects. Many have scoffed at the Administration’s claims.  But maybe – just maybe – change is in the wind. Last week,...

The voting environment in America has been forever changed!  That’s because the significant vulnerability of the country’s election systems and fear of election “interference” by foreign or domestic operatives – are genuine. With midterm elections only seven months...

There’s been so much sensational news in the last few days, it’s very easy to overlook other important news.  That can be dangerous…and here’s a good example of something we should not overlook. Last month, the Trump administration released a report detailing a...

Who would have thought that counties invest more than $122 billion each year to build infrastructure and maintain and operate public works? Very few! That statistic however, comes straight from the National Association of Counties (NAC) so the numbers are real. The...

Cyber breaches are destructive, costly and horrific incidents.  Government agencies, hospitals and big retailers are primary targets because of the massive data they hold.  They are especially attractive to cyber sleuths because that data is critical to ongoing...

President Trump, without any fanfare this week, again declared that it is “Infrastructure Week.”  Who knows why he did that since official activities planned for Infrastructure Week are scheduled for May. There are other significant unanswered questions. If Trump...

One important issue is missing from the national conversation about the country’s infrastructure needs. Most of the recent attention has been focused on roads, bridges, electric grids and water - but looming large is the absence of funding for public facilities....

“Innovation” could be municipal government’s middle name. When it comes to creativity and resourcefulness – city leaders take a backseat to no one. Local public officials don’t have the luxury of living on the periphery of problems.  Instead, they live in the middle...

America’s power grids have been vulnerable to physical and cyberattacks for a very long time. But now, the very frightening possibility of losing power because of a security breach is getting an abundance of attention. This threat should receive attention – it is long...

Just two days after releasing details of his $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan, President Trump made a surprise announcement. During a meeting with congressional leaders, the President offered a shocker – saying he now favors a 25-cent increase in the federal gas tax...