Winter Meeting yields 6 recommended practices, 2 public policy statements.(News & Numbers)

Nearly 200 members of six GFOA standing committees gathered in Washington, D.C., January 27-28 for the annual Winter Meeting. In addition to the committee and subcommittee meetings, committee members were treated to an engaging presentation by Frank Shafroth about the revenue implications for state and local governments of various issues under consideration by Congress.

Committee Meetings.

Over the two-day Winter Meeting, the standing committees produced six new or revised recommended practices, which were approved by the GFOA Executive Board at its meeting in March. The approved recommended practices include the following:

* Recommended Budget Practice on the Establishment of Strategic Plans (new)

* Evaluating the Use of Pension Obligation Bonds (revised)

* Use of Cash Flow Forecasts in Operations (new)

* Procurement of Banking Services (revised)

* Electronic Commerce and Cash Management (revised)

* Auditor Association with Financial Statements Included in Offering Statements or Posted on Web sites (new)

In addition to the recommended practices, the Committee on Retirement and Benefits Administration approved a new public policy statement on corporate governance and the Committee on Governmental Debt Management approved a revised version of an existing public policy statement on preserving the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. These public policy statements will be presented to the GFOA membership during the annual business meeting, which will be held Tuesday, June 28, in San Antonio in conjunction with the annual conference.

All of the newly approved recommended practices and proposed public policy statements are available at www.gfoa.org.

Many of the committees hosted guest speakers, who addressed members on a variety of issues. The Committee on Cash Management heard from Arlington County Treasurer Frank O'Leary, who discussed some of the innovative things the county is doing to enhance its revenue base and promoted a new Association of Public Treasurers study on state and local revenue collection practices. Martha Mahan Haines, chief of the Municipal Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission, told the debt committee that the SEC looks forward to enhanced use of the Central Post Office--the one-stop filing center for issuer disclosure materials--and that her office is considering many issues of interest to GFOA members, including the possible inclusion of health care, pension, water-quality, and other costs in disclosure documents. The Committee on Economic Development and Capital Planning invited Jeff Stone, vice president of the International Economic Development Council, to help members better understand economic developers and to explore the potential for collaboration between GFOA and IEDC in professional development and other areas.

Keynote Address. Shafroth, legislative liaison for Arlington County, Virginia, and an adjunct professor of public policy at George Mason University, outlined a congressional agenda that touches many areas affecting state and local governments--from tax and communications reform to Medicaid and the increasingly heated debate about the future of Social Security. He also gave an overview of the national and global economies, and the growing problems all levels of government will face if the deficit continues to grow and the dollar continues to lose value.

Shafroth became acquainted with GFOA when he was legislative director for the National Governor's Association and the National League of Cities, where he worked closely with GFOA members on communications tax reform. Throughout his remarks, Shafroth stressed the essential role of finance officers in helping elected officials at the federal level to understand the impact of national policy decisions on state and local governments. He urged GFOA members to step up their advocacy efforts to preserve local taxing authority over Internet-based telephone services and to develop a system that will provide for the collection of taxes on remote sales.

Shafroth spoke at length about Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. While he urged GFOA members to follow the debate over the privatization of Social Security, particularly as it pertains to mandatory coverage for state and local government employees, Shafroth said Medicare is much more vulnerable. He also emphasized that Medicaid now accounts for a larger share of most state budgets than education and questioned the deep cuts in federal Medicaid funding included in the president's budget proposal. Shafroth urged GFOA members to educate their congressional delegations about the dangers of shifting costs down to the state and local levels, and the impact of such cost shifting on essential municipal services.

Women's Network and Black Caucus. Led by co-chairs Denise Bell and Carla Sledge, the Women's Public Finance Network held its semi-annual business meeting in conjunction with the Winter Meeting. The group discussed the mission of the Women's Network and ideas on enhancing communications and outreach activities. There was also extensive discussion regarding the agenda and platform for the June meeting and possible new social events that will be offered by the group in conjunction with the Texas GFOA's Women's Network.

Rodney Jenkins, chair of the Black Caucus, led a spirited meeting that discussed ways of growing the organization. Jenkins and other leaders discussed a survey of Black Caucus members and the creation of a mentoring program and newsletter for African-American finance officers. Members also made plans for meeting and events in conjunction with the annual conference in June.

Additional information about the Women's Network and the Black Caucus can be found under the committee section of GFOA's Web site.

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