Caleb Bell
Pairing TIFs with Special Assessments to Spur Retail Revitalization
Tuesday December 3 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Partner
Bricker Graydon
Caleb Bell is chair of Bricker & Eckler’s Public Finance practice group with a regional practice that emphasizes public finance and economic development matters. He has served as bond counsel in a wide variety of transactions. His clients include Ohio governments, private developers, and property owners. Caleb has broad experience in infrastructure finance, development finance, project finance, and energy finance, and is well known for his representation of special purpose financing entities. Caleb is a graduate of Otterbein University and Georgetown Law.
Tyler Bridge
Financing Green Energy with PACE and Special Assessments
Tuesday September 10 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Attorney
Bricker Graydon
Todd Castellini
Revitalizing Brownfields with TIFs and Special Assessments
Tuesday April 9 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Senior Vice President of Public Finance and Capital Strategy
The Port - Cincinnati, Ohio
Todd Castellini has led The Port’s Public Finance work since 2016, expanding the organization’s expertise and relationships within the Greater Cincinnati business community. He was promoted to Vice President of Public Finance in 2017 and was selected to lead The Port’s Industrial Development strategy in November 2021, effectively merging the two practices of The Port’s work under Todd’s leadership to draw upon their natural synergies and connections. This was a critical step to enable the organization to accelerate its industrial work. Todd’s efforts have been instrumental in furthering The Port’s Industrial Development Practice to prepare underutilized sites to attract advanced manufacturing operations to create jobs.
In his current role as Senior Vice President of Public Finance and Capital Strategy, Todd spearheads The Port’s nationally recognized public finance program to support transformative economic and community development efforts in Cincinnati and Hamilton County. He is also responsible for the development, leadership, and execution of The Port’s strategies for capital fundraising and investment, including ESG (environmental, social, and governance).
Before joining The Port, Todd was a vice president at Fifth Third Bank for 16 years in various client-focused financial management and commercial banking positions, acquiring and range of experience, including commercial real estate, government banking, and institutional custody.
Todd holds a BS in marketing from Xavier University. He has a long-standing commitment to civic engagement, including board positions at the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, where he serves on the finance committee. Todd also serves on the Artswave Community Campaign Cabinet and has helped achieve fundraising cabinet goals for five consecutive years.
Todd was elected Secretary of the Ohio Council of Port Authorities (OCPA) for a two-year term at the October 2018 meeting of the members. His term began in January 2019. OCPA is an association representing the 58 port authorities established under Chapter 4582 of the Ohio Revised Code with the mission to “foster and encourage the participation of private enterprise in the development of port authority facilities to the fullest extent it considers feasible.” Todd is a member of Leadership Cincinnati, Class 43.
Price Finley
Revitalizing Brownfields with TIFs and Special Assessments
Tuesday April 9 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Catalyzing Transformative Redevelopment with TIF
Tuesday June 11 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Financing Green Energy with PACE and Special Assessments
Tuesday September 10 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Pairing TIFs with Special Assessments to Spur Retail Revitalization
Tuesday December 3 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Partner
Bricker Graydon
Price Finley has been practicing law at Bricker Graydon since he started his legal career in 1990, all of those focused on public finance. Price has experience in all areas of public finance, including local government, economic development finance, port authority financings, and other structured and project financings. He has substantial experience in the use of various economic development tools, including frequent use of tax increment finance (TIF). Price has also created and served as counsel for Ohio’s new community authority financings (also known as community development authorities or CDAs). In addition, Price’s practice includes assisting local governments and developers in negotiating and documenting development agreements for infrastructure finance and tax incentive arrangements, including community reinvestment areas (CRA), enterprise zones (EZ), and job creation tax credits (JCTC). Price has also created joint economic development districts and zones (JEDD), special improvement districts (SIDs), and he has represented port authorities across Ohio.
Price is a member of the Council of Development Finance Agencies and a member of its Board of Directors, the Ohio Economic Development Association, and the National Association of Bond Lawyers. He received his undergraduate degree from Capital University and his JD/MBA from The Ohio State University. Price received the CDFA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.
John Flis
Revitalizing Brownfields with TIFs and Special Assessments
Tuesday April 9 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Attorney
Bricker Graydon
With a background in business and taxation law, John Flis is a public finance attorney who partners with public and private entities to accomplish their project finance goals. Specifically, John manages bond and economic development matters. Ensuring that financial transactions occur both smoothly and with all legal considerations addressed, John is familiar with each stage of funding for all types of projects and has been involved in large, complex transactions. He helps both experienced and inexperienced clients fully understand and make informed decisions regarding the details of their matters, from inception to close. John has vast knowledge of public law, especially related to legal research, document management, administrative hearings and litigation. He has longstanding relationships within Ohio’s state tax department. John is a former attorney with the Ohio Department of Taxation and has also held legal positions within the State of Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Jeffry Harris
Revitalizing Brownfields with TIFs and Special Assessments
Tuesday April 9 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Partner
Bricker Graydon
Jeffry Harris’ practice spans the experience gained during his career working in Ohio’s economic development. Grant administration, financial incentives modeling and negotiations, nonprofit board governance, Ohio Sunshine Laws, abandoned property redevelopment, and handling federal funds all were touch points gleaned from his positions in state, county, and municipal government work in Ohio. Jeffry now advises clients – in both the public and private sectors – in the legal aspects of running programs, accessing funds, and implementing financial tools.
As a public finance attorney in the firm, Jeffry is counsel to local governments, county land banks, private developers, and nonprofit organizations. Jeffry is helping lead the firm’s efforts to compile and direct clients to public incentives and funding tools for housing rehabilitation and construction in their communities.
Jeffry especially enjoys helping clients understand the quantitative effects of legal concepts in public finance settings. A fan of multi-tabbed spreadsheets, he works with others at the firm to model real property tax exemption mechanisms, such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Enterprise Zone and CRA tax abatements. Jeffry strives to help clients determine if the “juice is worth the squeeze” when considering various public development incentives; are the upsides (filling gaps in capital stacks) worth the downsides (reporting, contractual obligations, prevailing wage, and procurement requirements) in using government funding.
Colin Kalvas
Financing Green Energy with PACE and Special Assessments
Tuesday September 10 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Partner
Bricker Graydon
Colin Kalvas practices public finance and economic development law. Colin serves political subdivisions, financial institutions, developers and special purpose districts such as special improvement districts and new community authorities in many different capacities. He regularly represents clients in matters related to the issuance of bonds, securities law, federal income tax law, contracts, real property acquisition, development, and governmental revenues.
Colin has been at the forefront of developing property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing in Ohio. His PACE efforts include serving as counsel to PACE administrators and energy special improvement districts throughout Ohio, as well as serving as bond counsel and lender’s counsel to Ohio port authorities and other financial institutions that finance energy efficiency and clean energy projects through PACE.
He is well known within the national PACE community and has spoken at several national PACE conferences. He has extensive experience negotiating, documenting and closing PACE transactions, including as part of complex capital stacks. Colin is frequently called upon to advise PACE capital providers of all kinds with respect to transactional best practices and documentation.
Colin serves on Bricker Graydon’s public finance federal income tax support committee. In that capacity Colin advises clients on federal income tax issues related to municipal bonds.
Other significant portions of Colin’s practice include port authority common bond fund financing and the negotiation, implementation and monetization of economic development tools like tax increment financing (TIF), special assessments, community redevelopment area (CRA) abatements and new community authority charges.
Robert McCarthy
Catalyzing Transformative Redevelopment with TIF
Tuesday June 11 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Partner
Bricker Graydon
Rob McCarthy is a public finance attorney. He serves as bond counsel, issuer's counsel and underwriter's counsel on general obligation and structured revenue financings. Rob also works with public and private clients to establish and manage economic development incentives and special purpose districts, including joint economic development districts and new community authorities. In addition, Rob provides general counsel representation on public law matters, drawing upon his prior experience as a law clerk to Justice Yvette McGee Brown on the Supreme Court of Ohio and as an assistant attorney general and legal advisor to Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray.
Rob is a member of Bricker & Eckler’s Recruiting Committee and is a recent graduate of the firm’s leadership development program.
Jeff Roberts
Catalyzing Transformative Redevelopment with TIF
Tuesday June 11 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Chief Legal Officer
Crawford Hoying
Jeff serves as Chief Legal Officer at Crawford Hoying, where he leads the legal strategy for the company. Jeff manages the full-service, in-house legal team that is responsible for advising on all aspects of the business, including negotiating and documenting transactions, directing litigation matters and overseeing risk mitigation.
Jeff is a well respected and highly experienced attorney. He spent many years with some of the most prestigious law firms in Ohio, and he has a reputation for making even the most complicated transactions approachable for his business team. Jeff has overseen more than $2 billion of public and private transactions while at Crawford Hoying, and he has completed more than $10 billion in transactions throughout his career.
Adam Seeley
Pairing TIFs with Special Assessments to Spur Retail Revitalization
Tuesday December 3 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Attorney
Bricker Graydon
Jason Tiemeier
Catalyzing Transformative Redevelopment with TIF
Tuesday June 11 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Partner
Bricker Graydon
Jason Tiemeier is a member of the Bricker Graydon Public Finance practice group. He works with local governments, special purpose districts, developers, and financial institutions on a variety of public finance and local government matters. His practice includes the structuring and documentation of economic development projects and general obligation and revenue bond transactions. Jason has experience with a variety of economic development tools such as tax increment financing (TIF), community reinvestment areas (CRA), new community authorities (NCA), and joint economic development districts (JEDD). Jason has also been involved with the rapid development of property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing in Ohio. He provides general counsel services to energy special improvement districts and bond and lender’s counsel services to the organizations that finance energy efficiency and clean energy projects through PACE.