Local Government Insights

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.

COVID-19 Impact on Kalamazoo County, MI with Thomas Whitener

Thomas Whitener recently unseated a 13-year incumbent in a tight election that was fueled by promises of change and cultural shift that was highly sought after across the county. Thomas is licensed Real Estate Agent, entrepreneur, and former interactive systems and balance designer who is making a big impact on Kalamazoo County. He has built his career on openness and transparency and plans to establish a culture of accountability and fairness to all constituents.
Thomas joined us to discuss many of the challenges that local government leaders are facing and highlight some of the best insights across the industry.
Here's a sneak peek of the episode:
· What it was like to run a people focused campaign during the pandemic
· The roles and responsibilities of county treasurer
· The Delinquent Tax Responsibility and how that was affected by COVID
· Resources that helped constituents avoid foreclosure
· Budget shortfalls
· What recovery look like for Kalamazoo County as we climb out of the pandemic
Resources from today’s episode:
· Host Brennan Middleton, Director of Marketing at Avenu
· Avenu Insights & Analytics

This discussion with Thomas Whitener 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.

COVID-19 Impact on City of Eastvale, CA: The City That Never Stopped

Bryan was appointed as the City Manager of Eastvale, CA in 2018. Under his leadership the city has risen to new heights and become one of the Top 20 Best Places to Live in the country. In recent months amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Eastvale has seen immense growth across various industries including:
· 32.26% increase in new business applications and renewals
· 5.95% increase in property taxes
· 7.69% increase in sales & use tax
· 6.49 % increase in franchise fees
Learn the principles that made this city a success story during COVID!
This discussion 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 ApplePodcasts or Spotify, you can find every episode here.

ARPA Key Considerations for State & Local Governments

With the American Rescue Plan Act, state and local governments are seeing opportunities to address some of the challenges they are facing brought on by the pandemic. Learn what this meansyou’re your jurisdiction.
Mark Funkhouser, is the president of Funkhouser & Associates and the former mayor of Kansas City. He walks us through key considerations about the ARPA including:
· The “eligible use cases” that were released and the intent behind some of the areas addressed
· What governments be taking a look at when determining their overall strategy for spending
· Reporting requirements
· How to prioritize key areas
This discussion 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.

An Essential Task: Taking Records Digital w/ John Buckley

As technology advances, there comes the strenuous task of updating old documents into the new systems. Without these updates, older documents might become lost in the transition.
John Buckley, Plymouth County Register of Deeds, walks us through the digital transformation of records:
A brief look at John’s career
A history of Plymouth’s legacy
Insight into transitioning old documents to digital
Perspective on the digital shift
This discussion with John Buckley 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.

COVID-19 Impact on City of Pasadena, CA

COVID tested localities in new in challenging ways. While we are coming out of the pandemic, we can learn from different jurisdictions as we prepare for the future.
Matt Hawkesworth, Finance Director for the City of Pasadena, CA about the different areas of impact COVID-19 has had on the City and how his team has shifted priorities to help balance ever increasing budget deficits.
In this show we discuss:
· Top areas the City of Pasadena was affected over the past 12-18 months
· The approach to using reserves during the process
· The impact of restaurant closures in a city with one of the largest number percapita
· The American Rescue Plan
· The importance of resiliency
This discussion with Matt Hawkesworth 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.