Matt teaches courses in public fiscal management and local government budgeting in the MPA program. He brings a lot of experience in public finance administration in Minnesota, having served as state Commissioner of Revenue, director of finance for the City of Saint Paul and for Dakota County, and even a short stint with the federal government. He currently serves as Deputy County Manager at Dakota County, and is an active participant in a variety of cross-jurisdictional projects and committees. He received his BA (History) and MS (Agricultural Economics) degrees from the University of Minnesota.
Matt’s hope for the students in his classes is that they will appreciate the importance of good public fiscal management (and how to tell good from bad), and what that means in both concept and practice. He tries to expose them to a wide variety of resources, perspectives, and practical examples in state and local government finance.
“I know that the vast majority of my students have no great desire to become a finance or budget director, but as public managers they will still hold a lot of responsibility for fiscal management. I want to help de-mystify government finance and budget processes for them so they can play their future roles effectively.”
-Matt Smith
