Events in Detroit, Stockton, Flint, and Puerto Rico highlight the severe challenges related to fiscal systems that support public services and the continued stress they face given local governments’ shrinking revenue streams.

Whether you want to better understand public-private partnerships, new approaches to debt and municipal securities, or leading land-based finance strategies to finance infrastructure projects, this Professional Certificate in Municipal Finance will give you the skills and insights you need as you advance your career in urban planning, real estate, treasury, or economic development.

Overview

Created by Harris Public Policy’s Center for Municipal Finance and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, this three day program provides a thorough foundation in municipal finance with a focus on urban planning and economic development. It will be led by Michael Belsky, Executive Director, of the Center for Municipal Finance and Lourdes German, Director of International and Institute-wide Initiatives at the Lincoln Institute.

This course will include modules on the following topics:

• Urban Economics and Growth
• Intergovernmental Fiscal Frameworks, Revenues, Budgeting
• Capital Budgeting/Accounting and Infrastructure Maintenance
• Debt/Municipal Securities
• Land-Based Finance/Land Value Capture
• Public-Private Partnerships
• Cost Benefit Analysis – Across Public Finance Instruments
• Fiscal Impact Analysis

Participants will learn how to effectively apply tools of financial analysis to make strategic decisions and gain an improved understanding about the interplay among finance, urban economics and public policy as it relates to urban planning and economic development.

Upon completion of the program, participants will receive a Certificate in Municipal Finance.

Who Should Attend

Those with the following experience will be given preference for admission:

• New to senior-level urban planners who work in both the private and public sectors as well as individuals in the treasury, economic development, and land development industry at large. Relevant job titles include:
  • Urban Planners
  • Community and Economic Development staff
  • Developers and real estate professionals
  • Real Estate Attorneys
  • Treasury and Finance professionals

The operation of fiscal federalism in Argentina has resulted in new reform initiatives that are intended to reduce the imbalances between own-source revenues and expenditures at the central and sub-national government levels. In this presentation, experts Cynthia Goytia, Chair of the Urban Policy and Housing Research Center at Torcuato Di Tella University in Buenos Aires, and Marcela Cristini, researcher Urban Policy and Housing Research Center at Torcuato Di Tella, will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of decentralizing the organization and collection of the Urban Property and Land Tax from the provincial governments to the medium sized cities of Argentina. Their presentation will explore strategies that are being implemented to increase revenues, improve local government accountability, and create a larger fiscal space for local management of urban development.

Speakers:

Cynthia Goytia

Head of the Master of Science in Urban Economics and Chair of the Urban Policy and Housing Research Center at Torcuato Di Tella University

Marcela Cristini

Researcher and Council member at the Urban Policy and Housing Research Center and Professor at Torcuato Di Tella University

Participant Outcomes:

• Gain insight on the political and fiscal organization of Argentina.
• Learn about the operation of the urban property tax and land tax in Argentina.
• Learn about the institutional and political issues linked to the decentralization of the property tax in Argentina and other Latin American regions.
• Learn about the critical factors affecting the performance of the property tax in Argentina, in the context of changing fiscal decentralization strategies.

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