Episode Summary
In the premier episode of Full Disclosure – Live!, DebtBook product leaders, Stephen Yokim and James Perez, sit down with Michael Gaughan, Executive Director of the Vermont Bond Bank, to explore how bond banks drive access to affordable capital for communities across Vermont.
Michael shares his unique journey from community planning and public finance banking to leading the Bond Bank, where a staff of just four manages nearly $1 billion in loans supporting schools, infrastructure, clean water, disaster recovery, and more. He takes listeners through the Bond Bank’s origins in the 1970s, its innovative state intercept mechanism, and its evolution toward what he calls Bond Bank 2.0, a new financing structure designed to strengthen resiliency while preparing for billions in school construction needs.
The conversation details how Vermont municipalities use pooled lending to finance everything from library renovations to gravel pit acquisitions, the latter proving surprisingly vital during recent flooding. Michael also explains how DebtBook’s technology helps the Bond Bank maintain data integrity, streamline consent tracking, and ensure long-term organizational resilience.
From financing history to modern-day innovation, this episode offers a deeper look at how a small but powerful team is reshaping the way local governments in Vermont access and manage capital.
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Featured Guest
Michael Gaughan has served as Executive Director and Secretary of the Vermont Bond Bank since 2018, where he oversees a loan portfolio of more than $900 million supporting municipalities and school districts across the state. He also leads the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing Agency, providing conduit bond issuance for 501(c)(3) institutions, and represents the Bond Bank on Vermont’s Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee.
Before joining the Bond Bank, Michael was a Director at the National Development Council (NDC), a national nonprofit specializing in community development finance, and a public finance banker at PNC, where he focused on governmental, housing, and community facilities transactions.
Beyond his day-to-day leadership roles, Michael serves on the Executive Committee of the City of Burlington’s Planning Commission and is an active member of the GFOA’s Standing Committee on Economic Development and Capital Planning. He holds a B.A. from Middlebury College and a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Top Takeaways From Session 01
(1) Resilience Through Data Integrity: Moving beyond spreadsheets, Michael explains how DebtBook helps the Bond Bank strengthen institutional memory, track resolutions, and ensure continuity for decades to come.
(2) From Bond Bank 1.0 to 2.0: To prepare for billions in future school construction, Vermont is shifting its pooled loan structure toward a senior/junior lien model that reduces reliance on state moral obligations.
(3) Creative Community Solutions: Beyond traditional schools and libraries, pooled financing has enabled surprising projects like joint gravel pit purchases—proving critical for disaster recovery when floods hit.
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