Going Public — This Week's Insight “How do you think new and better schools will be built? Because they are desperately needed? Because it’s a good idea? Because the honchos at the Board of Education wake up in the morning and decide to do the right thing? Because the city is appalled by the chronic...Continue reading
Going Public — This Week's Insight "We forget or deny that the appetite to relate is fundamental, and that the willingness to relate is nearly universal. People who have ideas and drive are on every street, in every project, every workplace and school, waiting in the wings, ready to be discovered. Someone has to reach...Continue reading
If you are not yet subscribed to the Jersey City Times, I encourage you to make the investment. Because, as I detail below, we need the press on a very basic level when it comes to civics. Action 1: Jersey City Together’s public action at Christ the King R.C. Church in Greenville On April 27th,...Continue reading
Going Public — This Week's Insight "I am an organizer. Not a consultant to so-called faith-based programs. Not a facilitator. Not an advisor. Not a service provider or do-gooder. Not an ideologue. Not a political operative. Not a pundit. Not a progressive. Not an activist...I won't begin to make sense unless I follow the advice...Continue reading
I'm trying something new on Civic Parent - video tutorials with accompanying interactive Tableau visualizations. I've been told my in-person and on-screen explanations are helpful - I do this with clients, in my volunteer work, and I've done it in public spaces with organizations like Jersey City Together. So what I'm trying to do here...Continue reading
Reminder: Civic Parent is for general teaching and educational purposes. Nothing on Civic Parent should be considered tax, accounting, or legal advice. Always consult a professional and come to agreed-upon terms if you need help with your specific facts and circumstances. With property tax appeals in particular, attorneys and real estate agents are licensed professionals...Continue reading
This post is part of a Civic Parent’s series, Take Your Seat at the Table: A Taxpayer’s Guide to Decoding Your City Budget. This series is a plain-language walk through New Jersey’s Municipal User Friendly Budget (UFB). In my previous post I looked at the idea of structural imbalance. In this post I want to dig...Continue reading
This post is part of a Civic Parent’s series, Take Your Seat at the Table: A Taxpayer’s Guide to Decoding Your City Budget. This series is a plain-language walk through New Jersey’s Municipal User Friendly Budget (UFB). In my last post, I wrote “Where the Money Goes: Local Government is Mostly People Cost” which pointed to structural...Continue reading
Last night reminded me that the best talks aren’t always the most polished — they’re the most personal. I had about ten minutes to prepare before stepping up to the microphone in Saint Peter’s University’s Sky Room, speaking to a room of two distinct audiences: CPAs and college students. It was an event I’d helped organize for months with Carl Specht, president...Continue reading
CTE stands for “Career and Technical Education” and it is a 100-year old workforce development paradigm that aims to connect high school students to industries that have demand for local, homegrown talent. In NJ, CTE programming is supported by multiple state agencies, including the NJ Department of Education and the NJ Department of Labor. A key...Continue reading
Employment demand for accountants is expected to increase by four percent between 2022 and 2032 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet current CPA firms currently face a dire talent shortage, resulting in firms turning down client work and/or relying on non-American labor forces for help completing audits and tax returns. The Wall Street Journal reported in January...Continue reading
Students who have been exposed to accounting before college have a clear advantage on Day 1. I experienced this while teaching accounting in the college classroom. Accounting is often called "the language of business" because it requires mastering new terms, new rules, and understanding how it all fits together. Students who obtain a head start...Continue reading