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Friday May 9, 2014 - CaLBOC Statewide Conference
Citizen's Oversight: Protecting Integrity and Value
Keynote Speaker: John Chiang, State Controller
S U M M A R I E S o f P R E S E N T A T I O N S
Increasing Use of Long Term Debt to Pay for Short Term Costs
Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Proposition 13 limits general property taxes to 1% of assessed value. Local agencies may not increase ad valorem taxes except for general obligation bonds which are to be used for capital items, such as school buildings and jails - assets with long term value. Currently, there are efforts to circumvent Proposition 13's limitation on local government taxing and spending for regular operations by utilizing 55% voter approval school bonds to pay for annual technology budgets. Mr. Coupal will address how this financial shenanigan is nothing more than a legal strategy to circumvent Proposition 13 and additionally, is a costly waste of taxpayer funds, and what concerned citizens can do about it.
Development and Use of a School Debt Toolbox for COEs
Mary Barlow, Assistant Superintendent, Kern County Office of Education
The Kern County Superintendent of Schools is a leader in school business, and the only education agency to support legislative attempts to thwart "pay to play" in school bonds. Dr. Barlow will address the role of a County Superintendent of Schools office and the exemplary effort made by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools to provide training and support of school districts to have responsible school bond programs, providing training and support to school districts in the areas of construction management, procurement, budgeting, legal, and most recently, creating a "Debt Management Toolkit" and providing direct advice and training to school districts on debt management best practices. Dr. Barlow will also discuss her personal experiences as a school district superintendent, Deputy Administrative Office of the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), and currently as Associate Superintendent of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools' office.
Pay-to-Play: What it is, and Why it is Wrong
Lori Raineri, Principal, Government Financial Strategies Inc. Dan Mierzwa, Treasurer, Yuba County
"Pay to play" is a long standing practice of public finance professionals financing or providing local campaigns in favor of bonds in exchange for lucrative work on the sale of those bonds when approved by the electorate. Ms. Raineri will present what "pay to play" is, current legal opinions describing what is illegal about it, her arguments (also presented multiple times to the Legislature) about why it is wrong, and finally, the academic research about what it really costs.
The California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors has been leading the fight against questionable school district bond practices and has made several attempts to get clear legislation illuminating in simple terms that "pay to play" is illegal. The Honorable Dan Mierzwa will share CACTTC's experiences in trying to forward this legislation.
Location: University of California - Sacramento Center
1130 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Individual tickets $50 - Table & Sponsorships Available
Includes Lunch and Refreshments
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Pay-to-Play | Bill Would Amend the Political Reform Act
Sweetwater-Inspired Reform Bill Advances
EXCERPT: A bill that seeks to ban school and community college administrators from soliciting or accepting campaign donations for their elected officials cleared its first hurdle Tuesday, passing the state Assembly's Elections and Redistricting Committee.
The committee voted 5-1 to approve AB 1431, legislation authored by San Diego Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, and inspired by revelations of a "pay-to-play" culture among contractors and South Bay public officials at Southwestern College, the Sweetwater Union High School District and the San Ysidro School District. ...
... "Administrators were improperly acting as political moneymen for board members' campaigns," Gonzalez said in a statement, adding that the practice leaves elected officials "beholden to their own senior employees."
"This bill will stop the conflicts of interest that are perceived by the public in the best case scenario or real in the instances of the unfortunate scandals at our schools in south San Diego County."
If enacted, the bill would amend the Political Reform Act, and those that violate the ban would be subject to penalties levied by the state's Fair Political Practices Commission.
The bill received support from committee Chair Paul Fong of San Jose as well as from fellow Democrats Henry Perea of Fresno, Freddie Rodriquez of Pomona, Isadore Hall of Compton and Kevin Mullin of South San Francisco. Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda, opposed the bill. ...
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Citizen's Oversight: Protecting Integrity and Value
Keynote Speaker: California State Controller John Chiang
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9:30 am - Registration
10:00 Introductory Remarks Michael Day, CaLBOC President 2013-14 10:15 Increasing Use of Long Term Debt to Pay for Short Term Costs - Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
11:00 CaLBOC Anton Jungherr Award for Service to Citizen Oversight - Senator Mark Wyland, Vice Chair, Senate Education Committee - Assembly Member Joan Buchanan, Chair, Assembly Education Committee 11:30 LUNCH, Catered by Plates Catering, an outreach effort of the St. John's Shelter for Homeless Women and Children 12:15 Keynote Address: John Chiang California Controller 1:00 - Break 1:15 Development & Use of a School Debt Toolbox for COEs - Mary Barlow, Assistant Superintendent, Kern County Office of Education 2:00 Pay-to-Play: What it is, and Why it is Wrong - Dan Mierzwa, Treasurer, Yuba County - Lori Raineri, Principal, Government Financial Strategies Inc. 2:45 - Closing Remarks
LIMITED SEATING Register Now!
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Mission Statement
To promote school district accountability by improving the training and resources available to California's Proposition 39 School Bond Oversight Committees and educating the state legislature, local school boards and the public about the oversight and reporting powers these Citizens' Bond Oversight Committees (CBOCs) have, and to advocate on a state level, where appropriate, on issues of common concern to all CBOCs.
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Archived Newsletters
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