PROVIDENCE – More than 70 municipal finance officials, local agency leaders and industry professionals gathered on Oct. 29 for a statewide training conference hosted by General Treasurer James A. Diossa.
Held at New England Institute of Technology’s East Greenwich campus, the event, titled 2025 Municipal Training & Education Conference, featured panels on emerging issues in public finance, such as artificial intelligence, data transparency and cybersecurity, along with a municipal-markets discussion led by the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns.
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The keynote speaker was Wendy J. Schiller, who is the Howard R. Swearer interim director of the Thomas J. Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs, the Alison S. Ressler professor in political science, professor of international and public affairs, and director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy at Brown University.
“Ensuring that our cities and towns have the tools and information necessary to maintain fiscal stability is a priority for our team,” Diossa said. “From running the Public Finance Management Board to assessing the health of locally run municipal pension plans, Treasury aims to be a resource for local government officials across Rhode Island.”
The conference was coordinated by the R.I. Office of the General Treasurer and the R.I. Office of Debt Management.
Panel discussions included: “How to Use AI to Improve Productivity and Efficiency”; “Financial Data Transparency Act – Getting Ready Now”; “RI Leage of Cities and Towns, Financial Advisors & Municipal Market Update”; and two separate panels addressing cybersecurity.
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
