Spring 2011

Does your jurisdiction provide any fringe benefits (i.e., health care, dental, vision, life insurance, etc) to new hires?

Does your jurisdiction have one or more special taxing authorities, such as a Downtown Development Authority (DDA), a Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, or another similar authority?

In your opinion, are your jurisdiction's pension obligations a significant problem, somewhat of a problem, not much of a problem, or not a problem at all for your jurisdiction's fiscal health? (Among those jurisdictions which reported offering retirement income benefits and having fiscal obligations as a result of pensions)

In your opinion, how likely is it that one or more of your special taxing authorities will have serious difficulty repaying their current debt? (Among those jurisdictions that reported having one or more special tax authorities)

In your opinion, are the special taxing authorities' debt obligations a significant fiscal problem, somewhat of a problem, not much of a problem, or not a problem at all for your jurisdiction's fiscal health? (Among those jurisdictions that reported having one or more special tax authorities and did not report them having no debt)

Overall, do you consider your jurisdiction's pay rate(s) for new hires to be too high, about right, or too low?

In your opinion, overall, have your DDA and/or other special taxing authorities been an asset, a liability, or neither to your jurisdiction's fiscal health to date? (Among those jurisdictions that reported having one or more special tax authorities)

Do you anticipate that your jurisdiction will have property tax charge-backs from your county government in the upcoming fiscal year?

Do you anticipate that your jurisdiction will have property tax charge-backs from your county government in the current fiscal year?

In your opinion, is your jurisdiction's cash flow and its ability to pay bills in a timely manner a significant fiscal problem, somewhat of a problem, not much of a problem, or not a problem at all?

Thinking about your jurisdiction's fiscal needs, overall, do you consider your jurisdiction's unreserved general fund balance to be too high, about right, or too low?

Different local jurisdictions manage their unreserved general fund balances in different ways depending on their specific circumstances. Despite these differences, we're interested in tracking overall changes in these balances over time. Approximately what was your jurisdiction's unreserved general fund balance as a percentage of general fund expenditures at the end of its last fiscal year?

In your current fiscal year, has your jurisdiction had to make any significant mid-year adjustments due to an inaccurate budget forecast?

How likely is it that your jurisdiction will adopt formal multi-year budgeting in the next 12 months? (Among those jurisdictions reporting using single-year budgets)

Do you not anticipate that your jurisdiction will have property tax charge-backs from your county government in the current or upcoming fiscal year?

Overall, do you consider your jurisdiction's pay rate(s) for current employees to be too high, about right, or too low?

Does your jurisdiction provide any fringe benefits (i.e., health care, dental, vision, life insurance, etc) to current employees?

Overall, do you consider your jurisdiction's fringe benefits package(s) for new hires to be too generous, about right, or not generous enough? (Among those jurisdictions that reported providing fringe benefits to new hires)

Overall, do you consider your jurisdiction's fringe benefits package(s) for current employees to be too generous, about right, or not generous enough? (Among those jurisdictions that reported providing fringe benefits to current employees)

Overall, do you consider the contributions (i.e., co-pays, deductibles, or share of premiums) your jurisdiction's new hires make toward their health care benefits to be too high, about right, or too low? (Among those jurisdictions that reported providing fringe benefits to new hires)

Overall, do you consider the contributions (i.e., co-pays, deductibles, or share of premiums) your jurisdiction's current employees make toward their health care benefits to be too high, about right, or too low? (Among those jurisdictions that reported providing fringe benefits to current employees)

Does your jurisdiction offer any kind of retirement income benefits (defined benefit pensions, defined contribution plans, etc.) to new hires?

Does your jurisdiction offer any kind of retirement income benefits (defined benefit pensions, defined contribution plans, etc.) to current employees?

Does your jurisdiction offer any kind of retirement income benefits (defined benefit pensions, defined contribution plans, etc.) to current retirees?

Does your jurisdiction offer employees and/or current retirees only a defined benefit plan (i.e., a traditional pension)? (Among those jurisdictions that reported providing retirement income benefits)

Does your jurisdiction offer employees and/or current retirees only a defined contribution plan (i.e., a 401K-type plan)? (Among those jurisdictions that reported providing retirement income benefits)

Does your jurisdiction offer employees and/or current retirees both plans (i.e., defined benefit plans for some employees, defined contribution for others)? (Among those jurisdictions that reported providing retirement income benefits)

Does your jurisdiction offer employees and/or current retirees a hybrid plan (i.e., plans that combine features of both defined benefit and defined contribution plans for an individual employee)? (Among those jurisdictions that reported providing retirement income benefits)

If currently offering only a defined benefit plan, how likely is it that your jurisdiction will introduce either a defined contribution plan or a hybrid plan for its employees and/or new hires within the next 12 months?

Thinking specifically about defined benefit plans (i.e., traditional pensions), does your jurisdiction have fiscal obligations as a result of providing retirement pensions? (Among those jurisdictions which reported offering retirement income benefits)