Local Government Insights

E28: The Mayor Married Who?

In this episode host Brennan Middleton speaks with Tim Casey, a veteran City Manager and author of the book “The Mayor Married Who?, A look at the lighter side of a 40 year career in City Management." Tim shares his experiences and insights on local government, offers strategic advice for those aspiring to become City Managers.
The discussion covers a range of topics including Tim's motivation for writing the book, his experiences as an intern in Manhattan Beach, and his advice for aspiring City Managers. Tim also touches on the ICMA's Range Rider program and the common problems cities have been facing in recent years.

E27: Informing Policy Decisions Through Opinion Research

Opinion research is a powerful tool often overlooked outside of elections. Learn how opinion research can help form policy decisions in this short podcast featuring Adam Probolsky, an opinion researcher who has worked with local governments across the nation.

How to Manage a City

Managing a city is filled with complexities regardless of its size…unless you get tips from an expert. This episode features Ronald Olson who shares some of his key takeaways that have helped him successfully be a City Manager for 35 years in over 7 cities of varying sizes, including Corpus Christi, Texas.

National Economic Outlook for 2022

On this episode, we are joined by Dr. Leo Feler, an Economist with the UCLA Anderson Forecast for an economic outlook for 2022.
Dr. Feler produces the UCLA Anderson Forecast U.S. macroeconomic forecast. He is an accomplished economist who received his Ph.D. in economics from Brown University; his M.A. in international policy from Stanford University; and his B.A. in economics and international relations from Stanford University.
His update includes the GDP, inflation, unemployment, manufacturing, housing trends, tourism and more. His insight into markets across the country provides a helpful tool for local governments to understand what these economic indicators mean for them.

E24: Lessons in Public Administration from the Legendary Merrett Stierheim

Merrett Stierheim started as a government intern and rose to become the Manager of what was the largest Commission/Manager government in the United States, not once but twice. As the County Manager for Miami Dade County he was responsible for running a $6 billion government with 27,000 employees.
In this episode, we find out how he did it, what advice he has for those interested in rising in the ranks of local government, and what he sees as the biggest challenges facing anyone today who serves in public administration. This episode includes his encounters with three U.S. Presidents and the Queen of England and much more.

How should local governments better prepare a Disaster Financial Management Plan

On this episode, we are joined by Robert Pesapane of FEMA. Robert is an Emergency Management professional with over 10 years of state and federal government experience. He currently serves as the Director of the Recovery Division for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) where he is responsible for providing guidance, leadership and oversight to state and local governments in an effort to help them recover from all disasters.
He provides valuable insight on what it looks like for a jurisdiction to prepare for, face, and recover from a disaster.

How El Paso identified over 3M in additional Hotel Tax Revenue

The City of El Paso, TX adjusted its approach to Hotel Tax compliance that resulted in the discovery and recovery of over $3M in additional Occupancy Tax Revenue. Today we’re going to discuss what this journey looked like for El Paso, and key takeaways for other jurisdictions.
Edmundo Calderon is the Chief Internal Auditor for El Paso and brings over 29 years of experience as an auditor across diverse industries including financial services, higher education, and local government.
Together we discussed:
• Current tax levies on hotels in El Paso
• The challenges faced, and the process for developing a plan to address them
• What additional revenue helped El Paso accomplish
• Key takeaways
This discussion with Edmundo Calderon was taken from our show Local Government Insights: Modernizing Government Leadership. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
If you don’t use Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can find every episode here.

How Monroe County Executed Its Paperless Initiative

Monroe County was established in 1821 and the amount of papers that was accumulating from the span of 200 years was exponential…leading the County to embark on the Paperless Initiative. Today we’re going to discuss what drove thecounty to venture towards this initiative and the steps they’re taking to achieve it.
As the County Archivist, Kelly Smith , is responsible for managing the long-term storage and preservation of official records and ensuring that the public has access to them.
Together we discussed:
· The situation storing 200 years worth of paper.
· Top factors to consider when looking for a vendor to help go paperless.
· Understanding state record retention rules
· Workflow for digitizing a large collection of records
· Changes in storing, and retrieving documents.
This discussion with Kelly Smith was taken from our show Local Government Insights: Modernizing Government Leadership. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
If you don’t use Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can find every episode here.

How Lake Havasu City Dealt w/ Tourism in a Pandemic w/ Jess Knudson

If you work in government in a tourism town, the pandemic was a nightmare come true.
But what happens when the tourists don’t stop coming?
That’s exactly the situation Jess Knudson, a City Manager from Lake Havasu, AZ, found himself in last year. He joined the show to share how he tackled the issue.
We discuss:
The initial dropoff and later surge of tourism in Lake Havasu
How Jess helped navigate budgeting and allocating resources to tackle the problem
The challenge of navigating government financial support in the wake of the pandemic
This discussion with Jess Knudson was taken from our show Local Government Insights: Modernizing Government Leadership. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
If you don’t use Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can find every episode here.

How Florence, Alabama Found Millions in Sales Tax Revenue

With just over 40,000 residents, Florence is Alabama’s 11th largest city. Home to the University of North Alabama, this vibrant and welcoming town also hosts the state’s most popular renaissance festival, held annually each October.
Bob Leyde, beloved City Clerk for the City of Florence, Alabama, is a pillar of the local community as well as a talented and innovative administrator. He wisely utilized Avenu’s vast capabilities to generate up-to-the-minute analytics for more accurate projections of sales tax revenue during the COVID pandemic and increase the efficiency of his administration staff.
Here's a sneak peek:
Detailed reporting helped Bob overcome budgeting challenges and increase compliance.
Accurate and real-time information about current business opportunities and revenue collection is crucial to his decision-making process.
Avenu streamlined the city’s tax administration with a laser-focused audit process.
Bob encourages leaders of cities of any size to see how Avenu’s technology can optimize operations and maximize revenue generation.
Resources from today’s episode:
Host Brennan Middleton, Director of Marketing at Avenu
Avenu Insights & Analytics
This discussion with Bob Leyde was taken from our show, Local Government Insights: Modernizing Government Leadership. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
If you don’t use Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can find every episode here.