Supervisors set the tone for the team. Getting it right involves self-awareness, discipline, and training. But who has time to focus on personal growth when faced with the day-to-day challenges that come with the local government profession? Enter the newly reimagined Effective Supervisory Practices Training Series. Based on the new 6th edition of ICMA’s bestselling Effective Supervisory Practices book, (print and digital) this six-part...

Ever since the issuance of Executive Order 14028, issued in May 2021 to improve cybersecurity across the entire government by implementing a zero trust architecture, federal agencies have been hard at work to meet the requirement. Then, in October 2023 – less than 18 months later – a new executive order, 14110, was released on the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.” These are...

An Overview of FERS & Different Types of Retirement Types of service used for determining eligibility to retire under FERS Employee and agency contributions to FERS Military service and temporary time The FERS annuity computation Minimum age and service requirements Early retirement Deferred retirement and “postponed” retirement Understanding the Annuity Computation Amount of an annuity Length of service and unused sick leave H...

Agencies increasingly rely on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms such as Salesforce for mission-critical functions, which offers them numerous benefits including flexibility, reducing upfront IT resource costs and delegating upgrades and patches to the provider. Using Salesforce does not remove the agencies’ responsibility for cybersecurity, however, and SaaS applications face their own risks, including misconfigurations, poor access...

An Overview of How Federal Benefits are Taxed FERS Annuity CSRS Annuity TSP Withdrawals from both Traditional and Roth TSP accounts Survivor Benefits Ed reviews how the IRS treats each of these items for Federal Employees. Other Tax Planning Topics to Consider The taxation of Social Security Benefits, how much the state you live in impacts your net amount of income, and which states have the highest and lowest property tax rates The 2017 Tax L...

When FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks publicly about the cyberthreat posed by the Chinese government to U.S. critical infrastructure, it is past time to take the danger seriously. “The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has made it clear that it considers every sector that makes our society run as fair game in its bid to dominate on the world stage, and that its plan is to land low blows against civilian infrastructure to try to...

In the realm of federal cybersecurity, Zero Trust principles are essential for resilience. This panel discussion delves into the intricacies of integrating ZT principles into established architectures, fostering a culture of trustworthiness and resilience at the agency level. Insights will be shared on navigating implementation processes such as FedRAMP compliance, Software as a Service (SaaS) adoption, and other complexities inherent in the t...

Government today faces a long list of imperatives in serving and defending its constituents while supporting and empowering its workforce. Constituents must trust that their need for essential services can be met with transparency, without sacrificing their privacy and security. Agencies and customers alike must feel safe from internal and external threats, including cyberattacks that could cripple infrastructure and disrupt vital services. Em...

The Basic Steps to Estate Planning What information to gather and analyze, what decisions need to be made (plus suggestions to help your choices), and how and when to review periodically. Why An Estate Plan is Needed What happens to an estate post-mortem? Information about trusts, probate, the titling of property Tax implications ... plus more information about estate planning specifically for federal employees.