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Executive Summary
Pages 1-10

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From page 1...
... The data collected in the division's quinquennial Census of Governments and annual and quarterly surveys serve two major user communities: (1) federal agencies that produce key economic time series, such as the contribution of state and local governments to the gross domestic product, and the many public and private sector decision makers and analysts who use these time series and (2)
From page 2...
... Furthermore, the Economic Directorate should continue to strengthen its efforts to bring modern survey design, data processing, and statistical estimation methods to all of its programs, including the state and local government statistics program. The statistical methods underpinning state and local government surveys require continuous attention and the commitment of scarce human, technological, and financial resources.
From page 3...
... • Adding value to the data that are released on the division's website through the addition of explanatory and analytical materials and other means. • A two-track strategic planning process, in which one track postu lates continued constrained resources and the other track outlines a path to build support for the state and local government statistics program that, over time, will enable it to serve the full range of user needs.
From page 4...
... • The data are necessary for comparative research and policy analy sis of levels and trends on a wide range of important topics, such as the changing nature of local and regional government institu tions, including the emergence of new forms of local governance; intergovernmental grants and transfers of funds; the layering of governmental functions among types of governmental units; the effects of changes in the economy on revenues, expenditures, and government borrowing and indebtedness; and the burdens of prop erty and other taxes. • The data are essential for economic time series that are widely used for public- and private-sector decision making, such as the national income and product accounts, the regional accounts, the flow of funds accounts, and the national health expenditure accounts.
From page 5...
... Recommendation 3-2: The Governments Division should give priority to maintaining basic time series on state and local government finances and employment. It should avoid gaps and interruptions in basic time series, which undermine the ability of users to make consistent com parisons over time and across jurisdictions.
From page 6...
... The division should also facilitate wider dissemination of its data by regularly issuing press releases that include statistical comparisons with previous data. Strategic Planning Conclusion 6-1: The current strategic planning for the Census Bureau's Economic Directorate is predicated on the likelihood of continued constrained budget resources and the need to give highest priority to providing data to support the national income and product accounts and other key economic time series.
From page 7...
... • The importance of close coordination with the increasingly impor tant work of the Government Accounting Standards Board. Taxable Property Values Recommendation 3-4: In view of the importance of consistent, com parable, objective data on property tax valuation and other features of property taxation by state and local governments, the Governments Division should carry out a program of research and testing to explore conceptually sound and cost-effective means of collecting these data, which could be in conjunction with, or independent from, the Census of Governments.
From page 8...
... • The utilization of the redesign of the quarterly tax survey as a test bed for developing a probability sample of local governments based
From page 9...
... Data Dissemination and Analysis Summary of recommendations: In addition to Recommendation 5-3 on adding value to the data that are released on the Governments Division website, the panel recommends that the division should continue to give high priority to the redesign and continuous improvement of its website and provides specific suggestions for desirable features to be added. Working with Users and Standards-Setting Bodies Conclusion 6-2: The Governments Division lacks vehicles for obtaining continued input from data users and methodological researchers with relevant experience and expertise.


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