California Treasurer Fiona Ma unveiled a new online program to teach local government and school board members about the ins and outs of issuing debt.
The program created through the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, which Ma chairs, has an educational mandate.
“What we are about to unveil will be the first of its kind in California,” Ma said during an online press conference.
The first four modules in a series that will eventually include nine have been uploaded to CDIAC’s website.
The on-demand video presentations incorporate a learning management system that tests the viewer’s knowledge with quizzes sprinkled throughout the presentations, said Robert Berry, CDIAC’s executive director.
“If a local school board, planning commission, or city council is the de facto farm system for a career in politics, then it seems reasonable that we should step up our efforts to educate those players about the complexities — and dangers — of taking on debt on the public’s behalf without a clear understanding of what’s involved,” said Tim Schaefer, deputy treasurer for public finance.
The program was designed to meet the pressing needs of California governments, who are responsible for billions of dollars of infrastructure projects, Ma said.
“These public officials are fiduciaries, many of whom are volunteering their time and putting the needs of agencies and communities before themselves,” Ma said. “But officials come with a broad range of experience, and it often doesn’t involve expertise about issuing debt.”
This way, elected officials won’t have to travel or spend money in order to further their knowledge, she said. The online courses are free.
Module topics include: “Why do public agencies issue debt?”; “What you need to know before issuing debt”; and “Risks of debt financing.”
The treasurer said the series was something she envisioned when she first took office three years ago. The treasurer’s office has been consulting with issuers and municipal finance experts in order to design the kind of content that would be most useful, she said.
The goal of the program is to prepare elected officials with sufficient knowledge to confidently engage with advisors, lawyers, bankers, consultants, and staff, and assist them to make well-informed and prudent decisions regarding their agency’s debt.
“It won’t train them to be financial professionals, but it should give them the knowledge they need in order to ask informed questions,” said Annette Yee, managing director of Montague DeRose and Associates.
Jordan Kaufman, Kern County treasurer and tax collector, and Yee, also a governance consultant and educator for the California School Board Association, were on the steering committee for the project.
“I am also the president of the California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors and our entire membership supports this program,” Kaufman said.
“There are thousands of elected officials in cities, counties and school districts throughout the state,” Kaufman said. “They are all dedicated to their communities and many are donating their time. But most officials don’t have experience in debt financing. It’s a complicated topic. This is to assist them in making decisions for their agencies.”
The online training fills a deep need for learning about California public debt, Yee said.