Our special guest speaker on Friday, April 25th was our State Treasurer, Mike Pellicciotti. He was elected in 2020 as the 24th Treasurer of Washington. As the Chief Financial Officer, Mike Pellicciotti is dedicated to increasing government transparency, protecting Washington's financial health and to reduce financial barriers for Washingtonians. This was his 83rd Rotary presentation.
The role of the State Treasurer is to manage $35 billion dollars of state government operating cash and local government surpluses (cities, school districts, counties and other local government districts) through the Local Government Investment Pool. The Treasurer manages state debt from legislatively approved bond sales that finance local infrastructure, major state capital and transportation projects. Cash flow amounts to billions of dollars annually involving most state deposits, withdrawals and transfers.
The objective is to manage money in and money out, be responsible for the management of the Capital budget and the Transportation budget. He commented that bonds are a acceptable form of debt and works to get the best rates available for the bonds with $21 billion in bond debt which he indicated is very manageable.
Last year, Treasurer Pellicciotti was selected as a Rodel Fellow, the bipartisan recognition of America's 24 most promising elected leaders. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and received his Master's Degree in Rural Development as a United States Fulbright Scholar. His law degree is from Gonzaga University where he is a lifelong fan of Gonzaga Basketball.