State and Municipal Finance Academy

Program Overview

The State and Municipal Finance Academy (SMFA) aims to address workforce shortages in the public finance sector by creating skills development and career advancement pathways for state and municipal employees. A collaboration between the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, URI’s Office of Strategic Initiatives, and the University of Rhode Island Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, this program is designed to tackle the ongoing shortage of public finance professionals in Rhode Island’s state agencies, municipalities, and school districts.

This non-credit, professional development program is open to all, and is ideal for state, municipal, and school district employees. The program covers foundational principles of public finance, such as state and municipal budgeting, tax assessment, government accounting, political structure, state reporting requirements, and negotiations.

Benefits and Outcomes

Career Advancement: Training that opens pathways to high-paying positions in state and municipal finance offices.

Certification: A certificate of completion from the University of Rhode Island.

Customization and Flexibility

The SMFA can be offered in various formats and modalities to accommodate a wide variety of industries, cohort sizes, and schedules, with flexibility in timing for both asynchronous and synchronous hybrid and virtual formats.

Program Implementation

The SMFA is a 7-week summer program consisting of seven 3-hour Zoom sessions.
Program duration and pricing varies depending on level of commitment and customization.

Why Choose This Program

The SMFA is unique due to its targeted approach to addressing the specific workforce needs in Rhode Island’s public finance sector, its partnership with reputable institutions, and the tangible career and educational benefits it offers to participants.

Partner with us

We believe in the power of collaboration. By partnering with OSI, you’ll receive customized solutions tailored to your unique needs. From initial consultation to implementation and evaluation, we’re with you every step of the way.

Discover how our programs can transform your organization and unlock new opportunities for growth.

Contact our team

Meet Your Facilitator

Stephen E. Coleman Jr. is Chief of the Division of Municipal Finance within the Rhode Island Department of Revenue. The Division is responsible for calculations that impact the distributions of over $1.4 billion in state local aid programs, the administration of the Municipal Transparency Portal, issuing local government reporting/guidance on to fiscal and property tax matters, centralized tangible personal property taxation of public service corporations, tracking and analyzing state legislation affecting municipalities, as well as staffing state oversight entities under the Fiscal Stability Act. He has been affiliated with local government operations for years during his time in the Division. He is a board member of the Rhode Island Governmental Finance Officer Association, has served the Municipal Resiliency Tax Force, and was a chairperson of the Asset Management Commission of Smithfield. He has conducted an annual training seminar for municipal finance directors and school business mangers held jointly between the Division of Municipal Finance and the Office of the Auditor General and is a presenter at the League of Cities and Towns biennial seminar for new local officials. He holds an associate degree from the community college of Rhode Island, a bachelor’s degree from Bryant University with a dual major in finance and economics, and a master’s degree in business administration with a master’s level certificate in finance from Providence College.