Scarcity

If you don't have it, you can't bill for it. If there weren't enough for businesses to worry about these days, here is another threat: water scarcity. Companies in industries from technology to agriculture to apparel are vulnerable to the risks posed by a falling supply of available water, according to a report released Feb. 26 by the Boston-based investor coalition Ceres and the Oakland (Calif.)-based Pacific Institute.

Decreasing water availability, declining water quality, and increasing water demand are creating major new challenges for businesses and investors who have historically taken clean cheap water for granted, says the report. It warns of water shortages in many areas of the world in the coming decades and urges companies and investors to examine business's exposure to water scarcity risks to prevent them from eating into revenues and harming corporate reputations.

"This report makes clear that companies and investors can no longer take water for granted," says Anne Stausboll, chief executive of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest U.S. public pension fund, with approximately $170 billion in assets. CalPERS is a member of Ceres. "For many years, CalPERS has advocated for corporate disclosure of environmental risks, and it's clear that this disclosure must include water-related risks and opportunities."

Saving money

America's love affair with locking people up is butting its head against the recession. State of Michigan officials said Friday that the state is closing three prisons and five prison camps in hopes of narrowing a $1.4 billion budget gap for fiscal 2010. The state, which has been hammered by the auto industry meltdown, estimates that it will save $120 million by shuttering the eight facilities. None of the 4,149 prisoners in the facilities will be released early, but up to 1,000 workers may lose their jobs. The State is targeting the correctional system because it takes up 22% of the state's general fund budget, the largest component. (Education is funded separately.) The state must close the $1.4 billion gap before its fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

Michigan is not alone in turning to its prison system for savings. Some 25 states cut spending on corrections in fiscal 2009 and another 25 are proposing to do so in fiscal 2010, as they struggle to address massive budget shortfalls. "It's a trend we'll be seeing more and more of in coming months given the dire revenue situation states are in," said Sujit CanagaRetna, senior fiscal analyst at the Council of State Governments, a research group.

Recycling. What recycling?

Cities that manage their own trash collections and get their citizens to pay via their property taxes or utility bills apparently may not be doing so well these days, according to CNN. When Lynn Heinisch and her neighbors in Atlanta's Lake Claire neighborhood take their recycling to the curb for pickup each Thursday, they cross their fingers and hope for the best. Accusing city collectors of unreliable pickups, Heinisch and the others have resorted to stockpiling recyclable materials in their garages.

"It's frustrating," Heinisch said. "People are trying to recycle, and it's not easy. I wish it was easy to do what we all feel strongly about." When she has to, Heinisch drives her recycling 4 miles to a dropoff center in the town of Decatur.

The recession has trashed the nation's booming recycling industry in just a few months, and cities are straining to keep their programs alive. Demand for commodities such as cardboard, paper and glass has taken a nose dive, and prices for those materials have gone south since last fall. In August, a recycler in Georgia could expect to receive about $160 a ton for curbside recyclables. Now the average is about $37 a ton.

User Pays

In the Australian state of South Australia, government-set water charges will rise substantially to cover the cost of a new de-salination plant. The state capital city, Adelaide, is almost wholly dependant on water from the River Murray, a resource they share with irrigation-based farmers further up the river. A record $2.1 billion will be provided over four years for a range of initiatives to secure South Australia's water supplies. Adelaide's desalination plant, stormwater harvesting, treated wastewater recycling and infrastructure upgrades all received money from the Budget. Work to protect and improve the health of the River Murray will also receive almost $260 million.

State Premier Mike Rann said the "heart of this Budget is water ... and the heart of that is the desalination plant". State Treasurer Kevin Foley said the investment would give certainty that the state would not run out of water during severe droughts. "There is a huge amount of construction on water infrastructure projects occurring all over Adelaide – not in years to come, it is happening right now," he said. Mr Foley expects about 2000 jobs in the construction industry will be supported by the investment in water security.

In a nutshell

Property tax billing software must convert a property assessment into a billing statement. The Tax Bill is then issued to the taxpayer or to the Mortgage company often via some form of integration. Well-designed tax billing software enjoys dynamic calculation flexibility, which allows it to operate in the US and internationally.

State intervention

Two Australian states have recently announced a restructure of their water industry. Queensland's restructure was announced in 2008 and is now underway. Tasmania's is more recent. The Tasmanian Government has now withdrawn its offer to guarantee revenue to councils during the transition to a new water and sewerage system.

The Treasurer announced the decision last night, pending further discussions with councils about the rebate scheme for pensioners. Michael Aird offered the revenue guarantee last week after councils expressed doubts about adequate financial returns under the water and sewerage changes.

But councils are also worried about having to foot the bill for the rebate scheme for pensioners, instead of the State Government. Hobart's Lord Mayor Rob Valentine says it is sensible to withdraw the revenue guarantee while the issue's resolved. "The government's to be applauded for pulling it to be quite honest," he said. Mr Aird now wants to discuss the issue with the Local Government Association. "It gives some time for further discussions to be had without this letter being on the table."

The water and sewerage changes are due to take effect from July 1.

The dead have their uses

Four people are accused of using tax breaks for their dead relatives to avoid paying property taxes on their homes says the Miami Herald. For 18 years, Julian Grande received a special tax break for disabled homeowners from the Miami-Dade property appraiser. But Grande was more than disabled. He's been dead since 1990.

Grande's daughter, Maria, is one of four people now facing criminal charges for allegedly exploiting property-tax breaks meant for relatives long dead. According to investigators with Miami-Dade's inspector general and the state attorney's office, the four people continued to file property-tax records indicating their disabled relatives were alive -- forging signatures, in some cases. Along with Maria Grande, those arrested were: Dane Taylor, 60, of Palmetto Bay; Philip Espinosa, 50, of Miami; and Telenia Piedra, 59, of Miami.

Investigators say the four wrongly benefited from a special tax exemption for quadriplegics and others with profound disabilities and low incomes. Beneficiaries of the tax break must submit medical records to qualify, and in some cases they must file financial information annually to prove eligibility. In 2007, 729 homes in Miami-Dade were untaxed under this exemption.