California State Treasurer Fiona Ma announced that she is kicking off “National Financial Literacy Month” a few days early with the launch of a financial training video designed to inform and empower elected officials.
“As a former local elected official I know that issuing and administering public debt can be daunting,” said Treasurer Ma. “That is why we have created this first video in a series to introduce the principles, concepts, and processes required to effectively make wise decisions about investing in infrastructure and economic development.”
The online and on-demand educational courseware video was produced by the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC), which is chaired by Treasurer Ma. CDIAC will deliver the videos through a custom website that tracks a learner’s registration, progress, knowledge gained, and certification of completion.
In support of its efforts to educate public officials, the State Treasurer’s Office has formed a steering committee composed of public finance professional organizations, including cities, counties, school districts and special district finance staff. The role of the steering committee is two-fold. It provides insight into the roles and responsibilities of elected officials and will publicize the video program to elected officials.
By 2021, Treasurer Ma anticipates that a total of nine videos will be available. The first video that was released today is titled “What You Need to Know Before Issuing Debt.” It can be viewed here: https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cdiac/debtpilot.asp
Treasurer Ma thanked the following local agencies and organizations for assisting in the project:
- The League of California Cities,
- California State Association of Counties,
- California Special Districts Association,
- California Association of School Business Officials,
- Community College League of California,
- California Society of Municipal Finance Officers,
- California Municipal Treasurers Association,
- California School Boards Association,
- Association of California School Administrators,
- California Charter Schools Association,
- California Municipal Utilities Association,
- Association of California Water Agencies,
- California Association of Sanitation Agencies,
- California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors.
This article was released by the California State Treasurer‘s Office.