Government

So for businesses, cash flow is very important.

On the government side, cash flow, we don't call it cash flow.

It's the expenditure rate, right? Government folks are held to certain expenditure rates.

You have to spend your money or they take it back.

And we've talked about that on other episodes as well.

It sounds really easy in theory.

Government contracts don't operate on theory, though.

They operate on contract words, and they're filled with all kinds of steps, tasks, submittals, reports, requirements.

That's what makes them so thick.

I'm your host, Ibrahim Hassan.

Today, we're talking about freedom of information and transparency and how they really work inside government, not just in theory, but in practice.

Before we continue, click the follow button to ensure you never miss an episode.

In the UK, freedom of information laws are now more than 20 years old.

If you want to understand how they have actually impacted the way government operates, you just have to read the news headlines over the last few years.

The COVID inquiry gave us an extraordinary insight into how ministers and officials communicated during the pandemic, including the extensive use of WhatsApp.

The Peter Anderson affair raised questions about the vetting of ministers and civil servants, and more broadly, about what the public is entitled to know about the people exercising public power.

And internationally, the release of the Epstein files has once again demonstrated the enormous public interest in information held by powerful institutions and the political consequences when it's withheld or released.

Mickey and Matt, yeah, they're crankin' it up Jumpin' down theories like a hyperactive pup Rambo, Joe lit the fuse, Dave said, take control Now we're broadcastin' live above the rabbit hole Ancient aliens, lizard kings Government plots and shadowy things Laughin' while they're chasin' the truth in the dark Are we crazy? Sure, but that's the spark.

So smash that like button.

Buckle in tight.

We love you.

Adios.

Yeah, uh, Mickey and Matt, yeah, they're cranking it up Joking down theories like a hyperactive pup Rambo, Joe lit the fuse, Dave said take control Now we're broadcasting live above the rabbit hole Ancient aliens, lizard kings Government plots and shadowy things Laughing while they're chasing the truth in the dark Are we crazy? Sure, but that's the spark So

smash that like button Buckled and

tight, we're going down deeper than a queue drive tonight.

Grants operate somewhat similarly.

Those don't come from individuals, but they may come from a Government source, local government, state, federal government can make grants to nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofits may apply for those, get the grant.

There are also grant-making organizations out there that are large nonprofits that make grants of their own.

Taking on hosting duties for this episode are Mike McFarlane and John Valente, two Tyler appraisal experts who work closely with assessing agencies across the country.

Together, they explore Chris' vision for the future of appraisal and tax administration, including the role of AI, cloud technology, and client-focused innovation in helping government agencies modernize while continuing to serve residents effectively.

So without further ado, here's Chris, Mike, and John.

So Chris, we're gonna kick it off and just go through a series of questions that we worked up.

Well, I've always admired Tyler from, from a little bit afar.

I've been in the public sector my entire career, so I've been in public sector for 30-plus years.

I've been kind of all over public sector as an elected official in Howard County, Maryland, later became a government CIO, but I've also always been in the, uh, vendor space, mostly in, in systems integration.

So for the last 10 years, I've been with, uh, NTT Data, where I was their group president overseeing all their federal, state, and local government business, as well as some international business.

And this shift was supercharged by mining money, made fast by a generation of men who spent it in public, in a town small enough that everyone knew everyone, and far enough from the eastern states that nobody was paying too much attention.

Within a decade, there would be a royal commission into how business and government had conducted themselves in exactly those years.

But for a short while, it felt like nothing could stop Perth.

It was a very good city in which to be bold.