Public officials in every major city in America are dealing with responsibilities related to mental health issues of a portion of its citizens.  County leaders in heavily populated regions are also dealing with the same problems.  Their issues and challenges related to mental health and substance abuse impact public safety, homelessness and healthcare resources. The costs are extremely high at a time when local officials are stretched for funding as well as the required resources. The dilemma has, however, forced some visionary thinking and innovative solutions.  It has also pro ..read more

Sustainability has been a global goal for over five decades, but today’s conversations about sustainability are more robust than ever. Government leaders everywhere are launching initiatives that preserve systems, structures, safety and the planet. There are so many funding programs for sustainability projects it’s difficult to list them all. A few agencies with large amounts of funding available to support initiatives that meet sustainability guidelines include: Environmental Protection Agency: The EPA funds sustainability projects focused on environmental conservation, pollution prevent ..read more

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that $3 billion funding is available to replace old water distribution pipelines to ensure safe public drinking water throughout the U.S. Congress allocated the revenue to protect citizens from the harmful effects of lead-infested water on public health. Lead contaminants are all too common when pipelines are old and nearing their anticipated lifespan. Even a small amount of lead can negatively impact brain development in children, and repeated small doses of lead are dangerous to individuals of any age. The funding currently availab ..read more

American ports are extremely large contributors to the nation’s GDP and critical components of the country’s global competitiveness. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress several years ago was designed to support all types of infrastructure upgrades, and ports were a primary focus. Billions were allocated for port upgrades and expansions, which has spurred massive activity at U.S. ports. The efforts now being launched weekly will bring immediate benefit to all Americans and future generations. Not only are ports critical to America’s global competitiveness, but the same is true ..read more

Approximately $14.4 billion is spent yearly to repair, rehabilitate or replace bridges in America. However, that yearly amount has increased and will continue to increase because the backlog of critically needed bridge repairs is estimated to be $125 billion. With about 50,000 bridges with very significant issues awaiting attention, an estimated 40% of them can be rehabilitated, but at least 35% will require a complete replacement. Many of the bridges in America were constructed about the same time during the bridge-building boom of the 1950s. That correlated with the country’s expansion of su ..read more

April has been a big month for airport infrastructure funding. Two separate announcements of new funding awards were made. The first announcement, on April 5, was for $148 million. On April 25, the second announcement allocated another $76 million to support airport projects. In April alone, $224 million was made available for initiatives to construct new terminals and expand older ones, upgrade runways, add gate capacity and improve airports. When Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law several years ago, $15 billion was earmarked for airport infrastructure.  Funding announceme ..read more

A notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is an announcement that allows eligible entities to know when there is an opening to submit funding applications. A NOFO not only announces the availability but also provides timelines and guidance for making funding requests. Federal programs are often designed to pass funds through state-level agencies, but not always. Local officials and private firms may apply for funding directly in some programs. Because it is not always easy to follow NOFO alerts, this column provides information about funding opportunities that are currently available. These activ ..read more

Economic development initiatives have always focused on boosting local economies, but now they are commonly designed to deliver revenue to budget-restrained cities and counties. Attracting tourists and visitors is still a key focus of economic development efforts, but doing that in ways that impact a city’s revenue is becoming the norm. Before the pandemic, tourism revenue represented nearly 3% of America’s national gross domestic product (GDP). That share dropped to a historic low of about 1.7% in 2020 as the effects of the pandemic set in. However, tourism revenue has been recovering rapidly ..read more

Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a long-awaited report on water quality standards outlining the maximum contaminant levels for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contaminants in drinking water. This marks the first time national standards for a new contaminant have been added to the Safe Drinking Water Act since 1996. It represents, without doubt, an ominous alert that should be noted. The new standard coincided with an announcement of $1 billion in federal funding in 2024 for projects designed to remediate PFAS from drinking water. Additionally, the Bipart ..read more

If the U.S. government marketplace is the largest market in the world, surely one should expect it to be competitive and somewhat challenging. A company’s size does not measure success with a good offering; it is almost always measured by understanding the basics — the culture, process and people. Sooner or later, most companies realize that ignoring the multi-trillion government marketplace is not an option, and a decision must be made to enter it. I have often cautioned company executives to carefully consider what will be required. It is worth the effort, but it is impossible to be successf ..read more