| Sunday, May 19 |
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| 2:00 – 6:00 pm |
Registration Opens |
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| 3:00 – 3:50 pm |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Foundations of Governmental Accounting – Part 1 |
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New to governmental accounting or want a governmental accounting refresher? This is the session for you to learn all you wanted to know of basic governmental accounting concepts! The presenter will also discuss how to apply governmental accounting, including practical journal entries needed to produce governmental financial statements. |
Jenn CruverKibi, Maher Duessel |
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Wheatland Borough and Hermitage City Municipal Merger |
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The presentation outlines the three-phases that Wheatland borough underwent to improve its fiscal health and complete a rare municipal merger. The Pennsylvania Economy League assisted with each phase. |
Lynne Shedlock, PA Economy League |
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| 4:00 – 4:50 pm |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Foundations of Governmental Accounting – Part 2 |
Jenn CruverKibi, Maher Duessel |
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Show Me the Money! Fees and the MPC |
John Trant, Strategic Solutions |
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The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code empowers local governments to charge transportation impact fees, recreation fees, inspections fees, and more. Some of these tools are under-utilized and some are misunderstood. This session will explore all the ways municipalities can exclaim “Show me the money”, how to implement and charge these fees correctly, and some best practices for collecting and managing the fees. |
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| 5:00 – 5:30 pm |
First Time Attendee and New Member Reception |
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| 5:30 – 6:00 pm |
Welcome Reception with Exhibitors |
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| Monday, May 20 |
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| 7:00 am – 5:00 pm |
Registration |
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| 7:30 am – 6:30 pm |
Exhibit Hall Open |
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| 7:30 am – 8:15 am |
Breakfast with Exhibitors |
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| 8:20 – 8:30 am |
Welcome |
Mark Romito |
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GFOA-PA President |
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| 8:30 – 9:30 am |
Re-Imagining Your Positive Workforce Culture for the NEW Work Environment |
Andy Masters |
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As the world emerges from the Great Resignation, staffing shortages, and low morale–the time to create a positive work environment and make the workplace FUN again has never been more important.
The incredible impacts of a positive work environment include improved recruiting, less stress, higher morale, lower turnover, greater teamwork, creativity, innovation, and even increased service levels–accomplished with LITTLE or NO costs! |
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| 9:30 – 9:45 am |
Break with Exhibitors |
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| 9:45 – 10:35 am |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Re-Imagining Your Positive Workforce Culture for the NEW Work Environment Breakout Session |
Andy Masters |
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Budget and Bargaining – Using Your Budget to Navigate Labor Negotiations |
Joshua C. Hausman, Esq., Campbell Durant |
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Labor costs are a public employer’s largest expenditure, yet employers all too often fail to appreciate how benefits contained in collective bargaining agreements impact public coffers on a dollars-and-cents basis. By understanding those costs and measuring their true impact on municipal budgets, employers can gain a “leg up” in bargaining. |
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| 10:45 – 11:35 am |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Supporting Electeds, Executives, and Departments Through Improved Forecasting, Communications, and Reporting |
Scott Coble, OpenGov |
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Everything comes down to the Budget and Finance Office. Whether it’s mediating disagreements among elected officials, educating the public on the real-world impact of policy decisions, or bearing the brunt of helping departments navigate the disparity between aspirations and resources, it is not easy getting squeezed from all sides. No matter how you currently run your budget process, there are ways to invest a little time now to save a lot of time later on when the crucible of budgeting really starts to heat up. |
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Finance Cooperatives |
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The Borough of Dormont had a problem in 2022. They needed to retool their finance function. In this presentation, the presenters will highlight the synthesis of the cooperative concept, the execution of creating an intermunicipal finance cooperative, including navigating the politics of doing so, and the successes and opportunities that have accompanied this endeavor. |
Krista M. Watt, Finance Director, Township of Moon; Andrew McCreery, Finance Director, Mt. Lebanon Municipality |
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| 11:35 am – 12:35 pm |
Lunch with Exhibitors |
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| 12:45 – 1:35 pm |
Concurrent Sessions |
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The Evolving Landscape of Fraud Prevention: Latest Insights and Strategies |
Mike Doerr & Sierre Lindgren, Paymerang |
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Did you know that There were 493+ million ransomware attacks globally in 2022? In an era where cybercriminals lurk around every digital corner, protecting your business from payments fraud is paramount. Join us for an insightful presentation where we will expose the intricate web of deception used by fraudsters, including the menacing threats of Business Email Compromise (BEC) and Vendor Impersonation. Gain invaluable insights into the tactics employed by cybercriminals and discover battle-tested strategies to fortify your defenses. Are you truly prepared to thwart the insidious schemes that could compromise your organization? Challenge your assumptions, strengthen your security posture, and emerge empowered to defend your business against the shadows of cybercrime. |
Sierre Lindgren, Fraud Prevention Manager and Michael Doerr, VP of Business Development for Public Sector, Paymerang |
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Funding Post-Retirement Medical with Retiree Medical Trusts |
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Retiree medical benefits continues to be a popular topic. This presentation will provide an overview of how to fund post-retirement medical benefits with Retiree Medical Trust. These trusts are a cost-effective and flexible alternative to help employees save for future retiree medical expenses, during their active employment. |
Rich Ritzer, Mike Glackin, Shana Saichek, CBIZ |
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| 1:45 – 2:35 pm |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Four Letter Words Frequently Entering the Pension Conversation Plus Other Trends |
Amy Crouse and Bob Hazy, Acrisure |
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QDRO, DROP, COLA, ASOP – the list goes on. Actuarial experts present an uncensored look at a variety of pension topics and emerging trends. It’ll be good—we swear! |
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How to “Bake” a Bond Issue: Have Your Cake and Eat It Too When You Learn the Recipe for Bond Financing |
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“We’ll use the analogy of baking a cake to undertaking a bond issue with the following learning objectives:
1. Determine the type of cake you want to make (Identify the project); 2. Find the recipe (Identify the financing team to lay out the process); 3. Gather the ingredients (Prepare financing documents and due diligence); 4. Mix the batter (Market and price the Bonds, legal authorization); 5. Bake in the oven (File with DCED if necessary, prepare closing documents); 6. Timer goes off (Bond closing, funds are wired); 7. Cut the cake (Divide up the slices for issuance costs and project costs)
*Sheet cake can be served with this presentation.” |
Jennifer Caron, Esq., Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC , Chris Hoffert, Director, Stifel Public Finance , Scott Shearer, PFM Financial Advisors LLC |
| 2:35 – 3:00 pm |
Break with Exhibitors |
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| 3:10 – 4:00 pm |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Capital Budgeting Best Practices |
Thomas Skoch, ClearGov |
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Discover the key to unlocking a more efficient, collaborative, and transparent approach to Capital Improvement Planning. This session will guide you through best practices to create dynamic, multi-year capital plans that are not only up-to-date but pivotal for the financial health of your organization. Join us to learn how to enhance service delivery to citizens and businesses by integrating innovative strategies into your planning process. |
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Navigating the Complexities of Arbitrage Rebate Compliance |
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The session will provide an overview of arbitrage including a basic understanding of arbitrage regulations, continuing compliance, and required filings. Additionally, insight will be provided from the panel of presenters regarding changing market conditions leading to possible rebate and resulting considerations. |
Jennifer Caron, Esq.,Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC; Jon Cox, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellot, LLC; Dustin Starr, Maher Duessel; Alisha Reesh Henry, PNC |
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| 4:10 – 5:00 pm |
Concurrent Sessions |
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The Secret to Successfully Collecting Delinquent Accounts |
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Under Pennsylvania law, municipalities and taxing districts are provided with the ability to create incentives to prompt the payment of delinquent accounts. This session will provide attendees with a thorough understanding of the legal options available, along with proven strategies that will help maximize the collection of their delinquent accounts. |
Jason Leininger, Esq., Kevin Buraks, Esq., Portnoff Law Associates, Ltd. |
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How to Prepare for an Audit |
Kevin Stouffer, Krista Gardner, SEK |
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Practical considerations on how to appropriately prepare for an audit. This session will include an overview of what information will be needed for your audit and how to make the process be as smooth as possible. |
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| 5:30 – 6:15 pm |
Reception with Exhibitors |
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| 6:15 – 9:00 pm |
Dinner and Entertainment |
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| Tuesday, May 21 |
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| 7:45 – 8:45 am |
Continental Breakfast with Exhibitors |
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| 8:45 – 9:15 am |
Annual Membership Meeting |
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| 9:15 – 10:15 am |
GFOA Federal Initiative Update |
Emily Brock |
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The mission of the GFOA’s Federal Liaison Center is to inform GFOA members about federal legislation, regulations, judicial actions, and policies that affect public finance functions and to represent the interests of GFOA in Washington, DC. This session will update attendees on the Center’s recent efforts and will identify federal legislation that may impact the financial position of local governments. |
GFOA Federal Liaison Center |
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| 10:30 – 11:20 am |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Four Pillars of Local Government Investing |
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You’ve heard of the Four Pillars of Investing, but have you considered them through a local government lens? This session will focus on four areas of investing for local governments, including short-term investments, long-term investments, permitted investments, and bond proceeds. We will also explore strategies for borrowings, investments and planning for arbitrage rebate. |
Brian Sanker, PLGIT; Jamie Schlesinger, PFM Financial Advisors; Amy Rothdeutsch, PLIGIT |
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The Ethics Act: A Short Guide on Staying Out of the News |
Mary Fox |
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Public servants do their best to avoid running afoul of the law. However, sometimes personal interests conflict with public obligations. In this presentation, learn what the Ethics Commission is and what they do, review some of the Ethics Act provisions that are most frequently violated by public officials and employees, and discover available tools to help stay on the right side of the Ethics Act. |
Executive Director, PA State Ethics Commission |
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| 11:20 – 12:30 pm |
Lunch with Exhibitors |
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| 12:40 – 1:30 pm |
Concurrent Sessions |
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All Things Pension |
Susan Trout, Mockenhaupt |
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This presentation discusses all things that affect PA municipal pension plans including proper management of State aid, MMOs, employee contributions, as well as a review of understanding your actuarial valuation report and strategies to decrease costs. The presentation will also touch on pension plan mergers, DROs and Secure Act changes. |
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Advantages to Automating Challenging Public Safety Scheduling & Pay Rules |
Steven Usarzewicz , Primepoint |
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In this session we will dive into the challenges of manpower based scheduling needs, FLSA Overtime rules that may span several pay periods and the resulting administrative and reporting efficiencies created from an integrated Human Capital Management System (HR/Payroll/TLM/Scheduling/Leave of Absence Management). |
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| 1:40 – 2:30 pm |
Concurrent Sessions |
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How to Recognize and Stop Financial Fraudsters |
John Callahan and Jesse Adams, M&T Bank |
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In today’s digital age, the internet has become an invaluable resource for businesses and financial institutions, offering convenience and efficiency. However, with these advancements, a new breed of criminal has emerged: the cyber thief. To safeguard your local government’s online financial security, education and proactive measures are essential. Preventing fraud has never been more crucial. As financial crime continues to grow, financial institutions are bolstering their fraud divisions every year. Criminals are cunningly exploiting the situation, attempting to gain your trust and access to your data or funds. Can you differentiate these common schemes from legitimate transactions? |
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How To Navigate the Credit Rating Process |
Zach Willard and Garrett Moore |
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This presentation is to help familiarize those who are responsible for having credit rating calls for their municipality and what to expect. Topics included will be credit rating basics, preparing for a call, components of the rating, and how to improve your rating and other strategy related to ratings. |
PFM Financial Advisors LLC |
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| 2:30 – 2:45 pm |
Break |
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| 2:45 – 3:35 pm |
GASB Update |
Amy C. Lewis, CPA |
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This session will provide an overview of the GASB standards that become effective in the coming years. Find out what is in progress, on the GASB Board agenda, and scheduled for future consideration. |
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Economic Update |
PSDLAF |
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| 3:45 – 4:35 pm |
ABCs of Liquid Fuels Tax Funds |
Kristen Sims |
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This session will provide an overview of liquid fuels tax funds, including how they are allocated, the rules and regulations for using them, allowable expenditures, reporting requirements, and common audit findings. It will also explain the resources available at PennDOT for government officials related to liquid fuels tax funds. |
Audit Manager, PA Department of Transportation |
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| 3:45 – 4:35 pm |
COSTARS Matchmaking – Which Supplier Is Right for You? |
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In the world of government procurement, finding the perfect supplier can be a daunting task. The COSTARS program offers a wide array of suppliers, each with their unique offerings. But how do you know which one is right for you? This workshop will teach participants how to search, vet, and ultimately select a COSTARS-authorized supplier based on their specific organizational needs, thus saving time and, more important, money! |
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| 5:00 PM |
Open Evening & Dine Around |
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| Wednesday, May 22 |
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| 7:45 -8:30 am |
Continental Breakfast |
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| 8:30 – 9:20 am |
Career Trends in Local Government Management |
Joe Turner, President and Founder, American Association of Municipal Executives (AAME) |
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Joe Turner is the President and Founder of the American Association of Municipal Executives (AAME), host of the influential City Manager Unfiltered podcast, and has cultivated the largest and most engaged audience of public sector executives on any social media platform. Turner’s reporting on local government management news has gained a large LinkedIn following within our profession over the last 18 months. In this conversation-style presentation, we will hear Turner’s observations on the executive career landscape in local government and gain an awareness of recruitment and retention trends that are important for anyone who is currently — or is aspiring to be — a manager, assistant manager, or finance director. |
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| 9:20 – 9:35 am |
Break |
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| 9:35 – 10:25 am |
PA Legislative Update |
Amy Sturges |
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This session will include an update on the latest issues concerning the state legislation that could impact the fiscal well-being of Pennsylvania’s communities. |
Deputy Executive Director for Advocacy, Pennsylvania Municipal League |
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| 10:25 – 11:15 am |
The Positive Path: Improving Your E.T.A. |
Larry Weaver |
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Are you ready to infuse energy, positivity, and laughter into your professional and personal life? Join
keynote speaker and renowned comedian Larry Weaver in this can’t miss session. Larry’s unique blend
of clean humor and heartwarming stories creates a captivating atmosphere that resonates deeply. Prepare to laugh, learn, and leave not just entertained, but equipped with the tools to become more
positive and effective in every aspect of your life. This session is a must-attend for anyone seeking to elevate their personal and professional journey. Join us and transform the way you view work and life! |
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| 11:15 – 11:30 am |
Closing and Door Prizes |
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