Public Money Pod

We continue our conversations with state treasurers, this time with Delaware Treasurer Colleen Davis. She tells us about her work in expanding the state’s 529 program, how she’s addressing banking deserts, and the highs and lows of being a AAA credit state, among many other topics. In Ripped from the Headlines, we look into some surprising trends in higher education enrollments and investments with an article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

We talk to Omid Rahmani from Fitch Ratings about the intersection of cybersecurity and public finance. He describes the many types of cyber risks governments face, how to budget for digital infrastructure, why cyber risk is a national security concern, and why Sly Stallone is a cybersecurity expert. We continue to the discussion about the impact of cyber attacks in Ripped from the Headlines with a report from Blackberry's Cyber Security Report.

Liz talks to Max Behkle, Deputy Executive Director for the Institute for State Policy Leaders, about South Dakota v. Wayfair, the Supreme Court that allowed states to collect sales taxes on remote sales. Max worked for the National Conference of State Legislatures at the time and was instrumental in the case as well as remote sales tax policy across the country. Max also shares what he's currently working on at the Institute for State Policy Leaders. There is no Ripped from the Headlines segment, and Justin is on vacation. 

We visit with Josh Weimer from the Turlock (CA) Irrigation District about the challenges and opportunities of water infrastructure. We focus the discussion on Project Nexus, a plan to cover canals with solar panels. He shares how this is a project with many co-benefits and the potential for other water and irrigation districts across the country and the world. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss a Route 50 article about the federal government's investment in the new Arizona-California-Nevada deal to conserve Colorado River water.

We talk to Jennifer Becker, Director of Financial Services for the City of Burbank, about how the actors and writers strike is affecting finances in Burbank, the highs and lows of being an industry town, Southern California's economic challenges, and how she'd fix California's Proposition 13. In Ripped from the Headlines, we take a deeper dive into the economic impact of the strike.

We visit with Yale law professor David Schleicher about his new book, In a Bad State: Responding to State and Local Fiscal Crises. We talk about why the tradeoffs when cities address fiscal distress, how the Chapter 9 process could be improved, and why Arkansas is the American Argentina. In Ripped from the Headlines, Liz talks about her reporting on Chester, Pennsylvania's receivership and the political fallout of a municipality declaring bankruptcy.

We talk to state budgeting expert (and Public Money Pod fan!) Lucy Dadayan from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center about all things state revenues. She explains the wide variation in revenue trends across sources and states; the many challenges of inflation; and her best predictions for FY24 and beyond, among many other topics. In the Ripped from the Headlines segment, we take a closer look at how states are managing their debt.

We talk to Mitchell Smith, Director of Government and External Affairs for the Council of Development Finance Agencies. We cover the history and development of Community Development Finance Institutions; how CDFIs finance everything from tractors to solar panels; how new finance tools are a lot like old finance tools; and exciting pending legislation that would expand opportunities for CDFIs. In Ripped from the Headlines, we talk about new studies showing inequalities in urban heat stress and its impact.

We kick off season 2 with Glen Lee, the CFO of Washington D.C. We talk about the federal government’s role in D.C’s finances, the challenge of reviving D.C’s downtown and transit system, and why D.C is similar and different to other cities we’ve heard about. We again revisit the transit discussion in Ripped from the Headlines to learn more about the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WAMATA's) future.

In our second episode recorded live at the Government Finance Officers Association 2023 annual conference in Portland, OR - and our final episode of Season 1 - we visit with Katie Johnston, Budget Manager for the City of Tacoma, WA and Professor Matthew Stitt, Director and National Lead for Equitable Recovery and Strategic Financial Initiatives at PFM. We discuss why financial sustainability is an equity issue, how Covid changed citizen expectations for community engagement in budgeting, and the challenges of measuring how resource allocation affects equitable outcomes, among many other topics.