7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Shoreline Foyer and Newport Room

Registration and Networking Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Shoreline Room

Welcome Remarks and Program Overview

• Hon. Pauline Medrano, Dallas County Treasurer, Texas; NALEO President

8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Shoreline Room

Opening Plenary:

Public Officials as Fiduciaries

Elected officials make critical decisions on behalf of the public, including how to spend taxpayer and other public monies to best address the priorities and needs of the community – all while paving a path toward a fiscally sound future. Upon being elected or appointed, public officials have the fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of the public treasury and to actively engage in building stronger communities. Through this opening discussion, seasoned policymakers shared their best practices, and lessons learned, for how to best fulfill this fiduciary responsibility while building and maintaining public trust that advances the needs of the community as a whole.

Chair: Hon. Pauline Medrano, Dallas County Treasurer, Texas; NALEO President

Institute Facilitators:

• Hon. Paul López, Councilmember, City and County of Denver, Colorado; Former NALEO Board Member

• Hon. Michele Martinez, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Santa Ana, California; Past NALEO President

• Hon. Anna Tovar, Mayor, City of Tolleson, Arizona; Former State Senator

9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Shoreline Room

Session I:

Understanding the Budget and Local Government Revenue Sources

Local governments provide numerous vital services to their residents and businesses. These include public safety, road maintenance, and parks and recreation among many others. Knowing and understanding how these needs are funded and how resources are allocated to different priorities is critical to a policymaker’s effectiveness. Public officials need to know their budget and must understand the sources of federal, state, and local tax and nontax revenues that fund their jurisdictions. This session provided participants with an overview and better understanding of the major sources of revenue local governments receive to fund their operations and equipped them with tools to ask the right questions about their own budgets and revenue sources.

Chair: Hon. Michele Martinez, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Santa Ana, California; Past NALEO President

• Mr. John Fishbein, Senior Program Manager, Government Finance Officers Association
PRESENTATION

• Mr. Rick Cole, City Manager, City of Santa Monica, California
PRESENTATION

11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Shoreline Room

Roundtable Discussions

These facilitated roundtable discussions provided participants the opportunity to delve deeper and further discuss the content presented by the experts and from their respective roles as policymakers identify and discuss how they could engage in these issues and make sound fiscal decisions that benefit their communities beyond the life of their political terms.

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Newport Room

Luncheon Presentation:

Census 2020 – Make it Count!

• Ms. Rosalind Gold, Senior Director of Policy, Research and Advocacy, NALEO Educational Fund
PRESENTATION

Additional Resources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |14 | 15 | 16

1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Shoreline Room

Session II:

Local Government Financial Reporting

Elected officials as fiduciaries are ultimately accountable for how taxpayer money and other funds are used. Therefore, policymakers must have a strong command of a jurisdiction’s financial reports and provide the necessary leadership to ensure the right fiscal policies are developed and in place to guide every day decision making by staff. Government financial statements can be intimidating, but these reports, in contrast to budgets, present the revenue collected and amounts spent. They contain critical information that show the current financial state of a government, performance, and how taxpayer money is being spent. This session provided participants with a deeper understanding of key terms, how to make sense of financial statements, and equipped participants with the knowledge needed to ask the right questions to engage in the oversight of their jurisdiction’s financial affairs.

Chair: Hon. Paul Lopez, Councilmember, City and County of Denver, Colorado; Former Board Member, NALEO

• Mr. William C. Statler, Former Director of Finance and Information Technology; Former City Treasurer, City of San Luis Obispo, California
PRESENTATION

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Shoreline Room

Roundtable Discussions

These facilitated roundtable discussions provided participants the opportunity to delve deeper and further discuss the content presented by the experts and from their respective roles as policymakers identify and discuss how they can engage in these issues and make sound fiscal decisions that benefit their communities beyond the life of their political terms.

3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Break

3:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Shoreline Room

Session III:

Financial Forecasting

Understanding financial statements is critical, however they are a picture of what has already occurred. The uncertainty of national, state, and regional economies, and other fiscal stresses, have increasingly required local governments to pay more attention to revenue trends. As a result, more local governments are engaging in financial forecasting, which provides clearer parameters for budget deliberations and planning to better prepare their jurisdictions for the future. This session provided participants with a better understanding of how multi-year financial forecasting is an important tool for strong fiscal stewardship. The discussion also explored how policymakers should consider the role new or disruptive technology will play in affecting future local government revenue streams on which they have come to rely.

Chair: Hon. Sarah Benatar, Treasurer, Coconino County, Arizona; NALEO Board Member

• Mr. John Fishbein, Senior Program Manager, Government Finance Officers Association
PRESENTATION

• Mr. Mike Townsend, Deputy County Manager, Coconino County, Arizona
PRESENTATION

4:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Shoreline Room

Roundtable Discussions

These facilitated roundtable discussions provided participants the opportunity to delve deeper and further discuss the content presented by the experts and from their respective roles as policymakers identify and discuss how they can engage in these issues and make sound fiscal decisions that benefit their communities beyond the life of their political terms.

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Huntington Room

Opening Reception

Host:
Wells Fargo

Co-host:
Peter G. Peterson Foundation

Opening Reception Supporters:
Cabrera Capital Markets, LLC

Garcia Hamilton & Associates

Opening Reception Donor:
Ramirez & Co., Inc.

Opening Reception Friend:
UMB Bank

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Shoreline Foyer and Newport Room

Registration and Networking Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
Shoreline Room

Session IV:

An Overview of the State of Fiscal Affairs and Pensions

A number of factors affect the current state of fiscal affairs for local and state governments. State and local pensions continue to attract a considerable amount of attention from policymakers at all levels of office. Large investment losses during the Great Recession and inadequate past contributions have left pension plans underfunded by possibly as much as $5 trillion. Pension payments and health care costs account for a significant portion of total government spending, adding more stress to the fiscal pressures already facing local government. This session provided participants with an overview of the current state of fiscal health for local government, pensions, and how these will affect short and long-term fiscal health.

Chair: Hon. Paul Lopez, Councilmember, City and County of Denver, Colorado; Former Board Member, NALEO

• Ms. Natalie R. Cohen, Managing Director, Municipal Securities Research, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
PRESENTATION | Resource: 1

9:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Shoreline Room

Session V:

Latinos and Pension Fund Systems: Why does it Matter?

State pension fund systems make critical decisions on how their resources are invested and managed. At the moment, there are not enough opportunities for Latino owned firms and emerging managers, and as a result, there is a lack of investment into Latino communities through Fixed Income, Equity, Real Estate, and Private Equity managers. This session featured how various industries across different states, including university systems, are looking to increase opportunities for pension fund allocations to Latino owned firms, who understand the importance of investing back in our communities. Participants were equipped with tools for advocating for more Latinos to be appointed to pension fund boards, senior staff positions, and for creating more opportunities to allocate assets to emerging managers and diverse firms. Participants deepened their understanding on why this should be an important issue for participants and the various stakeholders in the pension fund system.

Chair: Hon. Philip T. Kingston, Councilmember, City of Dallas; Texas

• Mr. Martin Cabrera, Jr., Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cabrera Capital Markets, LLC

• Hon. Nilza Serrano, Commissioner, Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System (LACERS)

• Mr. Edgar Hernandez, Assistant Director, Strategic Initiatives Department, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Shoreline Room

Roundtable Discussions

These facilitated roundtable discussions provided participants the opportunity to delve deeper and further discuss the content presented by the experts and from their respective roles as policymakers identify and discuss how they can engage in these issues and make sound fiscal decisions that benefit their communities beyond the life of their political terms.

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Newport Room

Networking Luncheon

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Shoreline Room

Session VI:

Municipal Bonds

Local governments are besieged by taxpayers’ unlimited demands coupled with limited, and in many cases, shrinking tax revenues. However, one demand that is critical to a region’s long-term economic competitiveness and vitality is its infrastructure. Cities and states sell municipal bonds when they need to raise money for infrastructure and other critical services. Without bonds to finance these projects in a timely way, these projects would come to a halt. This session equipped policymakers with the knowledge and tools to better engage and provide the right level of oversight as their jurisdictions issue bonds for projects. This discussion also provided an overview of local government credit ratings and what they mean for borrowing money, and highlighted the immediate and long term impact the Tax Bill and proposed Infrastructure Plan will have on states and local governments’ cost to finance critical infrastructure and services.

Chair: Hon. Pauline Medrano, Treasurer, Dallas County, Texas; NALEO President

• Mr. Charles Peck, Managing Director, West and Midwest Regions, Public Finance Wells Fargo Government and Institutional Banking, Wells Fargo
PRESENTATION

• Mr. Scott Gorzeman, Director, Public Finance West Region, Wells Fargo Securities

• Ms. Lori Trevino, Analyst, Moody’s Investors Service
PRESENTATION

• Ms. Leslie Kassahn, Shareholder and Founder, Kassahn & Ortiz
PRESENTATION

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Shoreline Room

Open Floor Discussion Strategy Wrap Up

Participating policymakers shared their fiscal policy accomplishments and challenges, what they learned during the Policy Institute, and the policies and strategies they may now want to implement to enhance the fiscal strength of their jurisdictions.

4:00 p.m. – 4:05 p.m.
Shoreline Room

Evaluations

4:05 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Shoreline Room

Closing Remarks