Lincoln Institute of Land Policy International Conference

The Volcker Alliance's Senior Vice President and Director, State and Local Initiatives, William Glasgall, served on the conference host committee for Lincoln Institute of Land Policy's 2018 International Conference on Municipal Fiscal Health. The conference was held from May 21-23, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. This conference brought together around 200 participants, including leading experts, scholars, and practitioners, for an international dialogue to further elevate municipal fiscal health as an issue of global importance. The event was part of the Lincoln Institute's Municipal Fiscal Health Campaign launched in 2015 to help equip policymakers and local government officials with the tools to address their communities’ fiscal challenges.

Mr. Glasgall moderated a panel at the conference that was titled "Decline and Regeneration: The Challenges and Opportunities of Fiscally Distressed Cities." The panel speakers included CFO Jeffrey DeWitt from the District of Columbia; CFO Matt Paulin from the City of Stockton, California; and Richard Ravitch, Former Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York and a member of the Volcker Alliance's Board of Directors. These leaders shared success stories and discussed lessons learned from their experiences in cities that have emerged from fiscal distress and municipal bankruptcy. They explored how cities have charted a path to financial stability.

Additional speakers at the conference included:

• John Hill, Chief Financial Officer, City of Detroit, MI
• Brendan Hanlon, Deputy Mayor, City of Denver, CO
• Sock-Yong Phang, Celia Moh Chair Professor of Economics, Singapore Management University
• Vitor Puppi, Secretary of Planning, Finance and Budget, City of Curitiba, Brazil
• Paolo Veneri, Head of Territorial Analysis and Statistics Unit, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• Edgar Mora Altamirano, Mayor, City of Curridabat, Costa Rica