Winter Jan 2024 Conference

Registration closed 1/19. Please note: We are unable to do onsite registrations or substitutions the day of the conference. 

MD GFOA invites you to attend the 2024 Winter Conference taking place on Friday, January 26, 2024 at the Hilton BWI Airport in Linthicum, MD! Check-in begins at 8:00 AM and the meeting adjourns at 4:30 PM. See below for our ticket prices and tentative agenda.

Ticket Pricing

$85 Retired Member 

$185 MD GFOA Member 

$225 Govt Employed Non-Member 

$235 Associate Non-Member

Learn More About Our Speakers

Agenda

9:00 am – 9:10 am: Introduction and Welcome

• Speaker: Stephen J. McGibbon, President, MDGFOA

9:10 am – 10:50 am: GASB Update

• Speaker: Joseph Wicklund, Project Manager, Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
• Description: This session covers an update on recent GASB pronouncements and projects.

10:50 am – 11:10 am: Break

11:10 am – 12:00 pm: Federal Legislative Update

• Speaker: Emily Brock, Director, Federal Liaison Center, Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
• Speaker: Jarron Brady, Policy Analyst, GFOA
• Description: This session will examine what the fourth year of President Biden’s administration and the 118^th Congress brings, and how that will impact local government finance officers.

12:00 pm – 12:30 pm: Networking Event

12:30 pm –1:30 pm: Lunch

1:30 pm – 2:20 pm: State Legislative Update

• Speaker: Kevin Kinnally, Legislative Director, Maryland Association of Counties
• Speaker: Angelica Bailey Thupari, Director – Government Relations, Maryland Municipal League
• Description: This session will preview the new Governor’s Administration and what the 2024 Maryland General Assembly holds for government finance officers.

2:20 pm – 2:40 pm: Break

2:40 pm – 3:30 pm: Arbitrage – It’s NOT a Four-Letter Word

• Speaker: Kim Hoyt, President/Owner Bingham Arbitrage Rebates Services, Inc.
• Description: Arbitrage rebate is back in the news! Your tax-exempt financing has been issued...and it is the best investment environment in 20 years - now what? Issuers of tax-exempt bonds are subject to investment or arbitrage limitations under the Internal Revenue Code. Failure to comply with these limitations will result in the bonds being arbitrage bonds and interest on the bonds being taxable. Over the past ten years, it has been almost impossible for an issuer to earn positive arbitrage (i.e., the investment yield exceeds the bond yield) on its tax-exempt bond issues. Now, with short-term taxable rates being greater than 5%, it is now likely that the investment returns on bond proceeds will exceed the yield on the bonds. As a result, issuers must be aware of the available temporary periods and rebate spending exceptions included in the IRS regulations. Participants will gain understanding of issuers' responsibilities while they spend proceeds, and what they need to know to keep all the investment income from investing tax exempt proceeds. Topics covered include recordkeeping, the purpose of the Non-Arbitrage and Tax Certificate document, arbitrage rebate and restriction compliance, exceptions to arbitrage rebate, and how to be prepared when your issue owes an arbitrage rebate payment.

3:30 pm – 4:20 pm: Primary Care Access Through Employer-Sponsored Health Centers Key to Managing Healthcare Costs

• Speaker: Milton Nagel, Executive Director of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE)
• Speaker: Stuart Sutley, Practice Leader of Bolton Innovation Group (Think BIG!)
• Description: Getting timely access to primary care and brain health services is no easy task. Nationally the wait time for a primary care visit is 56 days, and for mental health even greater. The access issue stems from a retirement bubble, many physicians no longer taking insurance (cash only), many leaving practicing medicine to work in more corporate or academic settings, and the fact that people are living longer thus consuming more primary care/mental health capacity. Access will only get more severe over this decade. Poor access leads to people avoiding healthcare or utilizing emergency room and urgent care centers that are costly and not holistic in treatment/care.

-Today’s presenters will discuss the national movement of employers investing in Direct Primary Care Health Centers. This capitated fee model focused on employees and dependents 3+ years old will not only assist employers in recruiting and retention efforts but stabilize healthcare increases and demonstrate attractive returns on the investment.

Adjourn