Moderators:
Kathleen Brown, Partner, Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips, LLP
Speakers:
George Hawkins, General Manager, DC Water and Sewer Authority
Lisa Mowery, Chief Financial Officer, City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
Peter Taylor, Former CFO, University of California
Emilio Cruz, Assistant General Manager, SFPUC
Today, America’s infrastructure is woefully underfunded and its condition is severely degraded. Our infrastructure is the backbone of America’s economy and a significant determinant of the quality of life in local communities. If not for the United States’ networks of roads and bridges, its waterways and sanitation systems, its power plants and electric grids, and its airports and harbors, our economic preeminence would vanish. The golden age of American infrastructure investment was during the post-World War II era. For California, the heyday of infrastructure investment was in the 1960’s with the advance of the California Water Project, the California highway system and the huge investment in higher education facilities. Forecasts suggest that our nation’s infrastructure investment shortfall will be $1.1 trillion by 2020, increasing to $4.7 trillion by 2040. The bottom line, managing in this tight fiscal climate, is one of our state and our nation’s greatest challenges. This distinguished panel will explore innovative ways that local leaders have navigated this difficult environment to repair, update, and replace their community’s crucial infrastructure.