A series of free webinars designed to help Georgia communities plan their recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will be offered by the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

The Navigating Fiscal Crisis webinars will help local government officials and economic development professionals learn how to make ends meet during revenue shortfalls and will provide tools for budgeting and analyzing the economy, planning for cashflow, short-term funding strategies and communicating difficult financial decisions.

“We know that cities and counties across the state — both in urban and rural areas — are going to struggle with this unprecedented impact on their communities,” said Laura Meadows, director of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. “Our faculty experts can help them address their immediate financial woes and use models to prepare for future years of economic recovery and success.”

The series begins on May 28 with a 90-minute overview of the tools produced by the Vinson Institute to help communities understand the impact of the fiscal crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic and Budgeting Tools for Local Governments will discuss:

Georgiadata.org and how to access unemployment and sales tax data as well as other information.

A custom economic impact model that can produce model estimates of job loss at the county level, compensation decrease, and decrease to gross regional product based on estimated job losses in up to 40 industries.

A budgeting tool to help local governments look at a best case, worst case and likely case for their budgets and run scenario planning on each.

Upcoming webinars include financial topics of interest to communities, including cashflow, short-term funding strategies and communicating about fiscal challenges in difficult times.

The series is free and all sessions will be hosted by Institute of Government faculty members, who have a combined 75 years of experience in local government finance and economic development.

Upcoming Webinars:

Navigating Fiscal Crisis: Economic and Budgeting Tools for Local Governments
May 28, 1 p.m.
Free
Register now

Navigating Fiscal Crisis: Easy Access to Economic Data (Georgiadata.org)
June 4, 10 a.m.
Free
Register now

Navigating Fiscal Crisis: Managing Cash Flow
June 9, 10 a.m.
Free
Register now

Navigating Fiscal Crisis: Short-Term Funding Strategies
June 16, 10 a.m.
Free
Register now

Navigating Fiscal Crisis: Communicating the New Normal
June 23, 10 a.m.
Free
Register now