Hola! Serving as your Kansas State Treasurer provides many opportunities for which I am always grateful. A recent example occurred in January. I was honored to be invited to Mexico City, representing Kansas to a group of Mexico State Treasurers and financial officials. I had the pleasure of meeting with US Embassy officials, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mexico executives and Mexican government representatives. They gave me a tour of historic Mexico City and taught me about their rich culture. The food was delicious and the weather was ideal.
I traveled to Mexico on invitation from the United States Embassy and USAID in Mexico Jan. 23 to 25 to speak at the Public Finance Breakfast Series. The trip, financed by the US Embassy, was an idea and policy sharing exercise for Mexico's finance officials that highlighted the public finance efforts and best practices in Kansas.
I presented an overview of what is required in my position as one of Kansas' five state-wide elected officials, how state revenues are collected and spent, and how Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS), Pooled Money Investment Board (PMIB) and Municipal Investment Pool (MIP) investments are managed. Specific to Kansas, I shared with them our financial literacy efforts, the Agricultural Deposit Loan Deposit Program, and Bond Services of the State Treasurer's office.
The group was very interested in how the State of Kansas manages its Bond Services when compared with other states in our country. Many states allow private banks and businesses to manage their bonds whereas Kansas has made the State Treasurer's office responsible for the registration of all municipal bonds issued in Kansas. At the end of last fiscal year more than $11.5 billion in municipal bonds were managed by the State Treasurer's office.
Another area the group was especially interested in was our financial literacy efforts. When elected to be your State Treasurer, I made a commitment to help Kansans of all ages understand money. Whether talking to grade school kids about why it is important to save, or older citizens about retirement, financial literacy is important for people of all ages. As a result, a number of free educational programs are offered to Kansans. Information is available on-line at our website, www.KansasStateTreasurer.com.
I was the fourth State Treasurer from the United States to participate in the series. State Treasurers from Arizona, Maine and Maryland have also spoken to the group.
Thanks for the opportunity to represent this great state to the world . . . and thanks for allowing me to serve as your State Treasurer. Adios and Gracious!
