Is GFOA Getting Political?

• Author: Morrill, Christopher P.
• Position: FROM THE CEO

GFOA is known for its research, reports, educational sessions, and online resources on current issues that affect local government finance professionals and the communities that they serve. Recently, a few of these topics, like police budgeting, have been part of a wide-ranging cultural discussion that includes strong opinions on both sides of the issue. The divide is often associated with political ideology, which has led a handful of members to ask if GFOA is "getting political."

It's a reasonable question. Political polarization is one of the leading issues of our time and many facets of our society have become politicized--which is why we wanted to comment publicly. GFOA is conducting research on some of the topics that have become political talking points, and while we do work in Washington, D.C. to support local government interests--in the municipal bond market, favoring retirement security, advocating against additional, burdensome reporting from GASB, or working to sustain funding for infrastructure or COVID relief--our nonpartisan position remains extremely important. We serve all communities, and the people who live in them.

That said, the political polarization we're seeing at all levels of government is a threat to the financial sustainability for our member governments. That's why GFOA has been addressing issues like fairness, equity in budgeting, sustainability of local government revenue, fragmentation and consolidation of local governments, and environmental or social considerations for procurement, capital planning, and budgeting--because many of our members are confronting these issues. Some of our members have called GFOA "the R&D department for local government finance," and as such, we must help governments work with these topics and encourage debate about the issues affecting the public finance profession. We believe that all members benefit from the ability to exchange ideas, discuss topics, and learn about practices that have been successful (or not) from their peers.

GFOA's guidance on these issues is based on solid research and evidence, rather than political ideology. We believe that all members should be free to have discussions in an...