N a Ip Fa N O T a B L E N E
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ANNUAL CONFERENCE NEWSLETTER F A L L 2 0 1 3 President’s Message Since our last conference in our nation’s Capital, there have been several new develop- ments in the Municipal world. We have witnessed the declaration of bankruptcy by one of the largest cities in our nation, efforts to eliminate or limit the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, and possibility the end to record low interest rates. On September 20, the SEC released the long awaited Municipal Advisor definition. Most of our members have been working diligently with clients on refunding bond issues, in addition to answering questions about what lead to Detroit’s bankruptcy declaration and how our clients can avoid such a situation. In addition, many members have been contacting their representatives to stress the importance of maintaining the tax- exemption of municipal bonds. Despite your busy schedules, many of you have worked tirelessly with NAIPFA to pro- mote the interest of our members, but most importantly to represent municipal issuers and taxpay- ers’ across the Country. For that, I offer my sincere thanks for your participation and contributions to NAIPFA. I believe that it has made and will continue to make a significant difference. Terri Heaton and the Conference Planning Committee have been busy planning for our upcoming conference in Nashville, Foundations for the Future. We are excited for a wonderful com- plement of speakers from the MSRB, SEC, the rating agencies, attorneys and others who will be providing us with the latest information regarding important municipal advisory topics. Learning from these experts is very important for us to plan for how the regulatory arena will impact our firms and the future of public finance. NAIPFA continued to be extremely active this year. We are excited to announce that our new website will be going live September 30, 2013! Our Public Affairs Committee has been very busy this year and now with the release of the MA definition by the SEC and the expectation of nu- merous MSRB releases, we expect to continue to be very busy. Larry Kidwell is the Committee Chair and does an excellent job updating the membership with his newsletter articles. NAIPFA has prepared numerous comment letters to the MSRB and SEC regarding specific rule releases and other matters. Steve Apfel- bacher has also worked tirelessly in seeing that NAIPFA’s voice was heard on numerous issues regarding municipal advisory regulation. Na- than Howard has assisted us so capably in preparing our comments and offering his perspective from a public finance legal standpoint. Jeanine Rodgers-Caruso, CIPFA 2013 NAIPFA President ...CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 In This Issue: President’s Message 1,3 Board Member Spotlight: Larry Kidwell 9 Thank You to Corporate Sponsors 2 Nashville, Tennessee, Q & A Fun Facts 10 Who is NAIPFA 3 Something For Everyone In Nashville, TN 11 Message From the Executive Director 5,7 NAIPFA Public Affairs Report 13-23 National Association of Independent public finance advisors NAIPFA Board of Directors 5 Current NAIPFA Members & Associates 23 naipfa NOTABLE news Annual Conference Schedule 6-7 Next Year’s Conference Dates 25 1 N 2 Who is naipfa? The National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors (NAIPFA) is a professional organization limited to firms that specialize in providing financial advice on bond sales and fi- nancial planning on public projects of public agencies. NAIPFA member firms must be com- pletely independent of the underwriting of municipal securities by banks and securities dealers. Member firms must also be structured such that financial advice is not Incidental to any other service. The purpose of the Association is to promote the common interests of independent advisory firm members. Initially, efforts will build credibility and recognition by implementing a public relations and marketing plan to champion the professional, independent image of the member firms. The Association will speak to those issues of common interest to its membership which can best be addressed by a third party, and will seek to improve our effectiveness in influencing leg- islative matters of interest to our industry and clients. The Association will seek to unify the member firms to develop and promote rigid ethical and professional standards for firms and their employees, to review compliance with those stand- ards, to provide educational materials describing the role of the independent advisor and to respond to legislative needs on behalf of the member firms and the public agencies they serve. President’s message continued…. NAIPFA continues to serve as the “voice” for independent financial advisors. We have attended MSRB round table meetings in both January and June of this year. We have also had several meetings in Washington D.C. as we met with SEC Commissioners and staff, MSRB staff, and GFOA representatives to discuss municipal advisory regulation and its im- plications. NAIPFA members are also actively participating in meetings with the MSRB in developing the framework for the test that will be required for municipal advisors. The Communications Committee under the leadership of Maggie Burger continues to do an excellent job with the monthly newsletter and has worked tirelessly to develop the new web site. Lori Raineri, as Chair of the Membership Committee, continues to pursue new members for NAIPFA, and we believe the benefits of being a member of NAIPFA continue to be recognized. We would like to welcome the new members of NAIPFA! The Standards, Ethics and Certifica- tion Committee will be administering the CIPFA exam during the Conference and we wish you all luck! The Organiza- tional Structure Committee has been eagerly awaiting the release of the Municipal Advisor definition so that they can de- termine their final recommendations to the membership. The Committee has developed proposed By-law changes that would support their recommendations. There are many exciting topics to discover at the upcoming conference! A big thank you goes to the Conference Planning Committee and Roseanne Hoban. The Welcome Reception this year will take place in the Tennessee Capitol Legislative Chambers. The Annual Dinner will be held at the Country Music Hall of Fame! We are hopeful that you will join us in Nashville for our 24th NAIPFA Conference “Foundations for the Future.” I look forward to seeing you all! 3 4 A Message from the executive director…. Roseanne Hoban Welcome to Music City! Before anything more is said, a NAIPFA Executive tremendous thank you must be extended to the 2013 Conference Director Committee comprised of Shelley Aronson, Steven Bittel, Jean Buckley, Larry Burger, Pam Clary, Colette Irwin-Knott, Larry Be sure to mark your calendar for the 2014 NAIPFA Kidwell, Bruce Kimmel, Jim Mann, Jonathan Millard, Lori Rain- Annual Conference, October 8-10, 2014 in Portland, Oregon. eri, Jeanine Rodgers Caruso, Mike Sudsina, and chaired by Terri I will be visiting the city shortly to finalize all of the conference Heaton. With all of the rapid changes in the industry, it has been details and am so excited for the event to be there! Portland is a challenge to keep the program topics timely and many altera- beautifully lush boasting numerous waterfalls but doesn’t fall tions were made along the way. The conference committee is short on culture or cuisine. If you are interested in helping mold confident that the final product will keep you captivated. We the conference programming consider becoming a conference have some historical and interesting locations for our social committee member. Please contact me or any of the committee events; the Welcome Reception will be at the Tennessee Capitol members and we will be happy to discuss the details with you. and the Annual Dinner is taking place at The Country Music Hall This year there has been quite a bit of committee activ- of Fame. The dinner includes a tour of the museum. And, back ity. The Conference Committee, as mentioned above, creates by popular demand is the Friday Night “Dine in Nashville”. The the schedule of events for the conference and solicits sponsors. success of Dine in Denver and Dine in Alexandria continues to The Public Affairs Committee has not rested, and with the new grow! The mix of great conversation, amazing food and restau- definition revealed the committee will continue at full speed. rants only found here remains the same and closes the conference The Organizational Restructuring Committee has been in style. waiting in the wings but again, now that a definition has been We are constantly trying to raise the bar and make the made public, the committee will soon be very active. The Com- conference more beneficial to all; with the ultimate goal of mak- munications Committee is quite engaged continuing to produce ing the NAIPFA Annual Conference the one event you MUST a monthly newsletter and is very excited for the reveal of the attend year after year. Be sure to participate in the Annual new NAIPFA website. These are just a few ways to become Meeting of the membership on Thursday when important issues more involved in NAIPFA. Remember many hands make light including the vote on the new Board members will take place. work! ...CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 naipfa board of Directors 2012-2013 President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Jeanine Rodgers Caruso, CIPFA, Terri Heaton, CIPFA Bruce Kimmel, CIPFA Michael Sudsina, CIPFA Fiscal Advisors & Marketing, Inc. Springsted Incorporated Ehlers Sudsina & Associates Western Zone Director Midwestern Zone Director Eastern Zone Director Jean Buckley, CIPFA Larry Kidwell, CIPFA Jeff Smith, CIPFA Tamalpais Advisors, Inc. Kidwell & Company Municipal Solutions, Inc. Director At Large Director At Large Shelley Aronson, CIPFA Robert J. Bendzinski, CIPFA First River Advisory Bendzinski & Co.M.F.A. Immediate Past President Executive Director Colette Irwin-Knott, CIPFA Roseanne M.