Claim OwnershipPublic Money Pod
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Each year state and local governments spend $4 trillion dollars. Where does that money come from? Where does it go? Who manages it? And what do citizens and taxpayers have to show for it? In this podcast we explore the budgets, bonds, and bureaucrats at the heart of state and local public finance. The Public Money Pod is a production of the University of Chicago's Center for Municipal Finance. It is co-hosted by Liz Farmer and Justin Marlowe.
122 Episodes
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In the ninth episode of the Public Money Pod, we talk to the Inspector General for the City of Chicago, Deborah Witzburg about keeping public agencies accountable to the tax payers. Previously, she served as the City’s Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety, overseeing independent, objective evaluations and reviews of Chicago’s police and police accountability agencies, and also served as OIG’s chief investigator for the Public Safety section, leading efforts to screen and review closed police disciplinary cases, as well as OIG’s Associate General Counsel for Public Safety
Ricky Hernandez is the Chief Financial Officer for the Tucson Unified School District and In this episode we look at ESSER funding as well as ESAs or "Empowerment Scholarship Accounts". We examine the implications of the school vouchers, which came about after the pandemic, on city budgets.
In our latest episode we discuss property taxes with Professor Christopher Berry from Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. The differences between the levy and rate systems and how data analytics can be used to improve accuracy in property valuations.
This week Jordan Haedtler discusses FIAR plans as an insurance tool against events caused by the climate crisis. We examine how FAIR plans are used in different states over the years and how new legislation may affect them. Recommendations from the report "Insurers of Last Resort: Why Today's FAIR Plans Need a Redesign to Address the Home Insurance Crisis." show how FAIR plans can be better regulated to keep up with the changing scope of how they may be used.
In episode 5 of PMP we interview Tom Kozlik, Head of Public Policy and Municipal Strategy at Hilltop Securities where we discuss the results of the Public Finance Leaders' Survey and the consequences of AI on Muni Bonds - from yields to infrastructure.
In episode 4 our guest is Andrew Kim who is a Director at PTMA Financial. We discuss financing state and local debt through bond issuance, delve deeper in to negotiated and competitive sales, and underappreciated and overemphasized credit risks by rating agencies. We also discuss financial challenges local governments would face in the coming decade.
In episode 3 of Public Money Pod, we interview Mark McAvoy, city administrator of Liberty Lake, Washington. A young city but old problems persist. In the interview we discuss how Liberty Lake is using the "Readiness Assessment" tool to approach its budgeting and planning as it approaches its first major infrastructure replacement cycle. The episode also explores the using surveys to get feedback from constituents in the quality of services provided by Liberty Lake.
In our second episode of season 4, we're in DC for the at the GFOA conference. We discuss topics in cyber risk in state and local governments and effects on the muni bond market. We are here with our guest David Erdman, who is managing director of Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, LLC and been on the public finance industry for more than three decades. David is an active advocate and leader for municipalities in the municipal bond market and was a past member of the GFOA's Committee on Governmental Debt Management,
In our season 4 premier, we're in DC for the at the GFOA conference. In this episode we discuss challenges and opportunities around performance budgeting, cost allocation, getting buy-in for some of the challenging issues. Joined by panelists Laura Larsen who became Baltimore’s Budget Director in September 2022 leading a fifteen-member team responsible for developing and implementing Baltimore’s $3.3 billion operating budget and currently serving on the Budget Committee for the Government Finance Officers Association. Michael Mastrobuoni, the current Budget Director for the City of Somerville, Massachusetts responsible or managing the city's annual operating budget and works. Karen Rhodes-Whitley director of budget & research, City of Plano, Texas leading the City of Plano's $1.2 billion operating and capital budget and serves as chair of GFOA's Committee on Retirement and Benefits Administration. And Richard Greene, principal of Barrett and Greene, Inc. who was also the moderator of the panel.
In our Season 3 finale, we're speaking with Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg. We asked Treasurer Goldberg about some of her state's programs to address economic mobility, including the Office of Economic Empowerment, which Treasurer Goldberg founded. We also talked about how financial education is being taught statewide, how the current interest rate environment affects her approach to investing and reserve funds, and of course, we hear about some of the Treasurer's best unclaimed property stories, including one involving a Red Sox legend! In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss a story about efforts in Jackson, Mich. to replace lead pipes, and how states and localities around the country are funding programs like these.
This week, we're joined by Ben Keys, Professor of Real Estate and Finance at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania (and former faculty at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy). We spoke with Ben about a wide variety of issues surrounding the intersection of housing policy, insurance markets, and climate change, including how volatile weather is changing insurer behavior, the role of reinsurance, and what current and future federal policy might mean for state and local markets. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss a pair of stories investigating areas with too-low home insurance prices and how that is leading some insurers to leave markets where the risk of climate-related home damage is particularly acute.
This week, we welcome back Jennifer Johnston, Senior Vice President and Director of Municipal Bond Research at Franklin Templeton. We wanted to get a sense for the causes and conditions behind municipal market volatility, including what affects issuer and investor behavior on both the retail and institutional sides of the market. We also talk about how today's volatility compares historically with times such as the Great Recession and Covid, the role of technology in servicing funds, and what makes the muni market unique in Jennifer's home state of California. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss how current tax reform is sitting with investors and issuers, and how public finance professionals decide when to go to market.
This week, we're joined by David Dubrow, Partner at ArentFox Schiff. With the uncertainty surrounding tariffs in recent weeks, how should issuers prepare for contingencies, and what effects might we expect on prices, trade, and economic growth? David talks to us about all of this and more, including how mutual funds have been impacted, as well as stagflation and which sectors of the muni market are especially vulnerable to this phenomenon. In Ripped from the Headlines, we break down the US trade deficit and why forecasting for imports has become particularly tricky.
This week, we're speaking with Angela Rollins, Director of Financial Empowerment for the City of Rochester, NY. As someone who is working at the intersection of personal finance and public finance, we wanted to ask Angela about how individual-focused financial empowerment programs help both resident economic mobility as well as the overall financial health of the city. We learn about some of the programs in place to help residents attain financial freedom such as the Summer of Opportunity Program and Kiva loans for small businesses, among others. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss a study that surveyed how different generations are feeling about their financial outlooks and levels of financial anxiety.
Climate change is a reality of our world, but are we thinking effectively about addressing our challenges? To find out, we sat down with Spencer Glendon, Founder of Probable Futures. We asked Spencer to tell us about what we often get wrong when thinking about climate adaptation, mitigating financial risk tied to high-risk weather events, and what kinds of public infrastructure investments we should expect to see in the future. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss an article that surveyed Americans about their perceptions and anxiety levels surrounding climate change. Probable Futures is a non-profit climate literacy initiative that makes climate science accessible and understandable so that everyone, everywhere can think about climate change in practical ways and prepare for what's to come. The goal is for climate considerations to become an integral part of the decisions people make every day—at home, at work, and in their communities. You can read Spencer Glendon's seasonal essays here and can check out the maps that show local climate change impacts here.To learn more about MMA's "Climate Risk and Municipal Finance" course that we mentioned in today's episode, click here.
When severe weather moves in, having accurate, real-time data is crucial. This extends to the muni market, where up-to-date analytics can help localities understand the exposure risks of their assets to extreme weather events. We sat down this week with Larry Lawrence, Head of ICE Climate, and Phoebe Devries, Senior Manager at ICE Climate, to better understand the methodology and technology behind monitoring and predicting the impact of severe weather on municipals, and how this helps localities conduct better risk management. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss a recent newsletter from our very own Liz Farmer (Long Story Short) that talks about the importance of communication in building trust in local government public finance.
On this week's episode, we're live at the ICMA conference in Milwaukee, Wis., where we spoke to David Schmiedicke, Finance Director for the City of Madison, Wis.; and William Jones, City Administrator of Mequon, Wis. With a conference focus on reimagining local government, we wanted to get Dave and Will's thoughts on financial resilience, building community trust, what the future looks like for local governments, and so much more.
What do James Earl Jones and free verse poetry have to do with a sewer district in Ohio? Sewage and stormwater fans might know we're talking about the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD). Their social media pages feature some next-level public utility memes, but perhaps there's a deeper purpose here? Join us as we talk to John Gonzalez, Senior Manager of Communications at NEORSD, about the importance of effective communication by public utility providers and the ways in which his team has connected with local communities.
In this week's episode, we're talking to Dr. Marguerite Roza, Professor and Director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy. We asked Dr. Roza to help distill the complex state-level funding formulas that determine where and how education dollars are directed, and the highly localized decisions that school districts make in spending the funds they receive. We also talked about post-pandemic trends in education, including an imbalance in staffing and enrollment, challenges to improving reading instruction, and the role of the federal government in education finance. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss a school funding formula change in New Mexico and shed some light on why these formula changes are so rare.
This week, we spoke with Caitlin Lewis, Executive Director of Work for America. Amid large-scale reductions in the federal workforce, we asked about what state and local governments are doing to attract these talented public servants, and how programs like Civic Match are helping these workers find new positions. We also discuss the true extent of the federal workforce across all facets of life, and what is lost when we privatize the public sector. In Ripped from the Headlines, we talk about how cuts to the federal workforce have impacted the local financial outlook of the District of Columbia.
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