Boom Town: Meet ASCPA Members Helping the West Valley Grow

by Haley MacDonell

If you’ve seen local business headlines, you’ve likely noticed big changes in the West Valley. With perks including strategic access to infrastructure like the I-17 and affordable land, WESTMARC data expects the West Valley’s population to grow at twice the national rate over the next five years.

This year, both Goodyear and Tolleson moved into new civic spaces to keep pace with the anticipated demands of their new citizens. In just a few years, the Goodyear Civic Square, which now stands tall amid surrounding construction, will be strategically in the center of a mixed-use development where people will live, work and play. It’s a testament not only to the changes in the area, but also to the expectations of growth, opportunity and community in the next few years. Likewise, many governmental entities are adjusting their strategies as employers to develop and retain top talent.

Meet three ASCPA members who are helping the West Valley grow.

Joseph Wagner-Corona, CPA

Updating Infrastructure and Workplace Expectations in Tolleson, AZ

When citizens think about their municipal government, they might think about the firefighters, police officers or utility workers that help keep their city clean, safe and moving. Each city’s finance department operates in the background, ensuring that those public-facing departments can operate smoothly.

“We make sure employees and vendors are paid, that there are no issues with the supply chain and that things in the background are done for departments working for residents on a day-to-day basis,” explains Joseph Wagner-Corona, CPA, the financial services manager for the city of Tolleson.

Wagner-Corona helps develop the annual budget and oversees areas such as accounts payable and receivable, risk management and utility billing for the city’s service of water, sewer and trash. He is also leading change management and implementation for the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, set to launch Jan. 1, 2024. It’s a massive, but necessary, undertaking happening alongside the move to the new city hall. Tolleson has outgrown its old system and building amid population booms in the West Valley.

In December, Tolleson hosted a grand opening for its new Civic Center, a $22 million project that includes expanded government offices, a library and a senior center. If all goes as planned, the lot next door will be an aquatic center. It’s a place for public servants to work, the community to enjoy and for people to come together in the city’s first proper public meeting chamber.

Though the demand is growing for their services, Wagner-Corona finds his team struggling to recruit the right talent. And they’re not alone – According to data from Deloitte, 92.4% of hiring managers for accounting and financial positions at public companies said talent retention is a big challenge.

“When you have to carve out a whole day to interview, and then you come out of the process without viable candidates, it feels like a waste of a day,” he says. “Still, we know we can’t settle. It might have taken extra time, but ultimately that’s going to pay off in the long run.”

Wagner-Corona has a lot of experience in financial government work, having started his career in the auditor general’s office out of college.

“When I was 22 years old, I never thought that government was my passion, but I wanted to find a position that allowed me to enjoy what I do in accounting and finance, and I wanted to be able to have a life,” Wagner-Corona says.

He remembers speaking to many organizations at a career fair and how he could pinpoint which employees were dealing with burnout just from his conversations.

“I found the auditor general makes a positive impact in government,” Wagner-Corona recalls. “I think that built a passion for me to make a positive impact serving the public, whether through the auditing function or making sure public money is spent in an appropriate manner, which I do more directly in the function I’m in now.”

The previous Tolleson Civic Center was built in 1967.

The new 47000-square-foot space hosted its grand opening in December 2022.

Like with any job, there are tradeoffs that he weighed. Not every week is capped at 40 hours — especially during a busy auditing season — but he’s never looked back on his decision. Now a father to triplet daughters, he enjoys coaching their soccer team during the week at practices and on the weekend for big games.

“I’m trying to be as present in their lives while they still want me to be,” he says. “I’m sure there will come a time in the not-too-distant future where being around dad is not the coolest thing. I’m going to maximize that as much as I can.”

Beginning in 2020, Tolleson transitioned to a four-day work week, encouraging employees in certain departments, including finance, to switch to four 10-hour days.

“I would never want to go back,” says Wagner-Corona. “Having that one day off — for us, it’s Fridays — is really nice. It allows you to take on those things you may have missed out on during any working week.”

Wagner-Corona usually starts his workday at 7:30 a.m., with two days per week in the office and two remote from his home in Peoria. On the days when the ERP implementation schedules him in Zoom meetings for seven hours at a time, those extra hours from the four-day work week help to keep his other duties proceeding. Though he gets home later in the evening than he used to with a traditional five-day week, working remote has still enabled him to be more present with his family. Even if the hours are the same, there are still small moments, like waving the girls off to school, that allow him to be present.

Celina Morris

Building and Investing in the Right Team in Goodyear, AZ

Goodyear’s finance department is bustling on Wednesdays, one of two days each week when all staff work on-site, including finance manager Celina Morris. Her Wednesdays begin with a cup of coffee on the road as she drives up from Casa Grande. When she arrives at the office, if she’s not already mingling between cubicles and touching base with her team, she’s likely updating her to-do list in One Note.

Together, the team’s mission is to ensure effective and efficient use of resources and be transparent in the process as the city upholds goals set by its council and citizens.

Her responsibilities touch several areas of government services, from treasury and risk management to compliance and metrics. This also includes supporting an enterprise and holistic approach to development, a key function for a city that U.S. Census data concluded was one of the nation’s fastest growing cities in 2021. This guarantees new neighborhoods and buildings will have the same access to services, such as trash collection and water, as long-time residents.

“It’s important to know how the pieces are put together and be able to explain how a citizen’s money is working for them,” Morris explains. Anyone can call about a development agreement or any number of topics brought up at a city council meeting. After all, their work is funded through avenues such as sales tax and government funds.

The key decision-makers are people wanting to make the best choices for the communities in their care. In the past, she worked for the city of Casa Grande, where Morris lives with her family. She’s met leaders like her own county supervisor and police chief.

“I really love the community and being involved in local government,” she says. “You really get to know people.”

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Before the grand opening of Goodyear Civic Square in summer 2022, all Goodyear employees were scattered between several buildings.

The team of six has a great amount of collaboration, communication and trust to ensure the best decisions are made. Each department head is treated as the subject matter expert in their specific area, regardless if their professional backgrounds have differed in the past. Morris believes their distinct breakdown in expertise allows them to make quicker decisions and reach the implementation stage sooner.

“Accountants like to be in control, so it’s interesting to share that control and come to an agreement to move forward,” she says. “There’s a lot of trust. We know that when we’re making decisions, it’s for the good of the organization, rather than an individual agenda.”

Morris is in the final stretch of earning her CPA, which is required for her position. When she first graduated with her bachelor’s degree as a nontraditional student, she went on to take three of the four parts of the exam. As her personal and professional life got busier, the goal was moved to the backburner, but she continued her education to earn credentials over her career including Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) and Certified Risk Manager (CRM). The CPA has always been on the list.

“Obtaining the CPA is a goal that I’ve had for a long time, and I believe it to be the universal sign of my ongoing commitment to the profession,” she says. “Education and the ethical standards are important, and I think that’s communicated and known amongst a larger population.”

On top of developing professional expertise, recruiting and retention remain a huge priority for the city of Goodyear, which recently launched its Intentional Culture Design program. Human resources rolled out new core values to encourage team cohesion and remain competitive with potential employees. The program also develops leadership beyond the traditional responsibilities of meeting outcomes and deliverables.

“The role of a finance person is no longer focused only on transactions. We’re really about value-added analytics and compliance,” Morris explains. “We are encouraged to become a leader of people, to ensure that we build up people who believe in the culture.”

Culture became a greater focus as many employees were offered hybrid work schedules, dispersing the team across central Arizona. Two in-office days where the entire team is on site were introduced as part of the solution, but workplace culture is at a more complicated crossroads. Other factors such as new technology, discussions on work life balance and an increasingly diverse and multi-generational workforce are all at the forefront.

Renee Ayres-Benavidez, CPA

Keeping Citizens on Their Feet in Peoria, AZ

According to usgrants.org, the federal government and Arizona’s Department of Finance have allocated $14.479 billion in federal grants and $12.997 billion in other types of federal financial aid for Arizona’s residents. This money is distributed to different economic sectors, with the majority in business, education, housing, veteran and social service grants.

Experts like Renee Ayres-Benavidez, CPA, help oversee the grant distribution and compliance process, ensuring that cities like Peoria can continue to receive these funds year after year. Ayres-Benavidez monitors grants provided by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program; as well as the COVID-response funding under the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These grants have a wide array of uses, from helping cities recover from the economic impacts of a lockdown to housing and additional homelessness resources.

“As long as I help maintain compliance, our city keeps receiving money, and as long as we keep receiving money, we can help people,” says Ayres-Benavidez. “I help make sure the funding gets to the nonprofits that can get it to the community and do the most good.”

Without strong compliance systems for grants like the ones Ayres-Benavidez oversees, substantial funding could be cut from nonprofit agencies that rely on it to help low-income and vulnerable residents. The rules and priorities have changed over the years, but often communities can locally control the use of these funds to serve the greatest needs.

“That makes a difference in the community for the people who need a hand up to get themselves restabilized and moving again,” Ayres-Benavidez explains. “For example, many seniors are having trouble with affordable housing, and homelessness is an issue. Without these funds, we would have difficulty addressing some of those needs.”

Some of Peoria’s funding is used for social services, such as senior day center services, case management for the homeless and education on fair housing rights via nonprofit programs. There are more projects that Ayres-Benavidez has touched within the last year: renovations at a Boys and Girls Club, home repairs with Habitat for Humanity and the list goes on.

In any given year, Ayres-Benavidez has as many as 30-40 grant contracts active between the federal and local grant funding, each with its own touchpoints throughout the year. Most partnerships need her support during the annual funding cycle through writing contracts, reviewing billings and referring clients to ensure compliance.

“The type of grants we have do a lot in the community, and they are sub-granted to nonprofits,” says Ayres-Benavidez. “The city of Peoria is very citizen-centric, so we get calls all the time from people who need assistance. On any given day, we might take a call from someone who needs help with rent or maybe a food box, so we work with nonprofits that can provide these services.”

Ayres-Benavidez has always worked in regulation and compliance. She started her career with the Arizona Auditor General’s Office working on regulatory compliance, accounting and procedure manuals, and in partnership with many local governments. She went on to work with HUD grant programs at the city of Glendale and Maricopa County, and also worked at a nonprofit, utilizing her knowledge of developing and implementing compliance procedures.

“I have been lucky enough to see it now from all sides: the regulatory side, the pass through side and to see it from the ultimate recipient side,” says Ayres-Benavidez. “It helps me think about how we work to build better systems so nonprofits can be compliant and still get the work done.”

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Renee Ayres-Benavidez works in a department that utilizes a four-day work week. December through March is a busy season for grants allotment.

Still, Ayres-Benavidez knows that there is more need than the available funding can provide. Ultimately, the decision to decide funding priorities is up to policymakers and city and state leaders.

“I help the city by providing information to the city council and management so they can make those important decisions,” Ayres-Benavidez says. “It’s about keeping your eye on the community need and making sure the money gets where it’s most needed.”

Her experience working with HUD grants has also provided the opportunity to work on the great need for people facing homelessness. Just a few weeks prior, her staff organized a Homeless Outreach Provider Event that brought a number of nonprofit providers and partners together to offer services to unhoused citizens to help them find shelter, begin case management or get their driver’s license.

“Every single person has a different reason why they’re on the street and a different story. You can’t lump them together,” Ayres-Benavidez says. “I’ve seen all the hard work that goes in behind the scenes to help them. It’s not about picking them up and taking them to a shelter, but I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t had a chance to work so closely with the nonprofits who work on this issue every day.”

She is proud that her work in finance enables projects that, in the long term, can bring solutions to residents of her city.

“When I say I do grants compliance, I am, but there’s more to it than that. This is also about the people we help too,” she says.