Jim Watts

Trustees of the Sedgwick County Unified School District 260 have called an election on April 3 for bonds to finance system-wide upgrades.

Arkansas tax collections totaled $481.3 million in December, the highest amount for any December and an increase of almost 10% from December 2010.

Voters in Little Rock will decide March 13 on a revenue bond issue for up to $32 million to expand the Central Arkansas Library System.

Oklahoma tax collections could reach pre-recession levels by mid-2012, Treasurer Ken Miller said Wednesday, as the state economy builds on gains achieved in 2011. "We saw a quickened pace of the recovery for 2011," he said.

Dallas voters can expect a November election for a general obligation bond package of up to $550 million that was outlined Wednesday to the City Council.

North Little Rock School District No. 1 of Pulaski County is asking for a little love from voters on Valentine's Day in the form of a property tax increase to support bonds for a $265.6 million facilities improvement program.

Louisiana Attorney General James Caldwell filed a federal suit last week in the District of Columbia to overturn a change in offshore oil royalty rules that could require the state to repay royalties and cut its anticipated future royalties.

The New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board last week adopted a capital improvement plan that calls for more than $3 billion of projects through 2021.

A coalition of 63 Texas school districts, including some of the largest in the state, filed a lawsuit Dec. 22 contending the current system for financing public education is unconstitutional.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said last week that the state must repair and maintain its capitol building in Oklahoma City despite the outlook for a flat general fund budget in fiscal 2013.

The Oklahoma Board of Equalization last week adopted an official revenue estimate for fiscal 2013 that will give budget writers $400 million more than was available for the fiscal 2012 budget.

Leaders of the Democratic minority in the Kansas Legislature have proposed a 14-point job growth plan that would be financed with gambling revenue rather than the general fund.

Pulaski Technical College officials decided last week to build a new bond-financed culinary school at an existing site rather than a location in downtown Little Rock, Ark., promoted by Mayor Mark Stodola and a coalition of 48 businesses and organizations.

El Mirage, Ariz., officials filed a formal response last week to allegations that the city improperly financed a campaign to sway voters in favor of an $8.5 million general obligation bond election.

A Texas oversight agency has turned down an oil refinery's request for a tax break that could have cost local governments and school districts millions of dollars in refunds and lost property tax revenue.

Louisiana’s chief legislative economist, Greg Albrecht, told the Baton Rouge Press Club this week that more revenue problems could lie ahead.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal issued an executive order Dec. 16 to reduce general fund spending by $251 million through fiscal 2012.

Austin's 15-member bond advisory committee will meet in early January to begin trimming an initial $1.3 billion project list for a general obligation bond package expected to go to city voters next November.

A forecast released last week by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs predicts that an expanding economy will generate an unexpected $1.6 billion for state coffers over the next two years.

General fund revenues in November exceeded November 2011 collections by 22.6% thanks to increased oil exploration and production, Oklahoma finance director Preston Doerflinger said last week.