CSMFO Magazine September 2018 | Fall Edition

CSMFO C A L I F O R N I A

S O C I E T Y

O F

M U N I C I P A L

F I N A N C E

O F F I C E R S

M A G A Z I N E SEPTEMBER | 2018 | ISSUE 22 | FALL EDITION

CSMFO Guardians of the Finance Galaxy PreFlight Adventures Page 12

CSMFO connects with Generation Z

CSMFO Board of Directors Elections

Page 20

Page 41

AND MORE!

CSMFO

CALIFORNIA SOCIETY OF MUNICIPAL FINANCE OFFICERS

M A G A Z I N E

SEPTEMBER | 2018 | ISSUE 22 | FALL EDITION

A leader in public finance.

2018-19 Board of Directors President Margaret Moggia, West Basin MWD President-Elect Joan Michaels Aguilar, City of Dixon Past President Drew Corbett, City of San Mateo Scott Catlett, City of Yorba Linda Carrie Corder, Cucamongo Valley Water District Steve Heide, Chino Valley Fire District Richard Lee, City of South San Francisco Karan Reid, City of Concord Jennifer Wakeman, City of Lafayette Executive Director Melissa Dixon, MBA, CAE Editorial Designer Dayna Dixon Photographer David Blue Garrison Editors Marcus Pimentel, City of Santa Cruz David Cain, Retired Wing-See Fox, Urban Futures Inc. Jessie Soto, City of Santa Cruz Communication Committee Chair- Marcus Pimentel, City of Santa Cruz Vice Chair- Pamela Arends-King, South Coast Water District Vice Chair- Ernie Reyna, City of Eastvale Janna Bogue, City of Thousand Oaks David Cain, Retired Karla Campos, City of La Quinta Wing-See Fox, Urban Futures Inc. Steve Heide, Chino Valley Fire District Nitish Sharma, City of Davis James Russel-Field, City of Thousand Oaks

Since 2000, we have represented more than 750 California local agencies. Our singular focus enables us to provide you with the expertise you need to make your project a reality.

Additional Photography Pexels, Pixabay, Stocksnap, and Unsplash Thank you to all the authors in this issue for sharing with us their time and expertise. If you have an idea for a future article, please contact Melissa Dixon at the CSMFO office at melissa.dixon@staff.csmfo.org.

For more information on CSMFO or this Magazine, please contact the CSMFO office at 916.231.2137 or visit the website at www.csmfo.org.

475 Sansome Street, Suite 1700 San Francisco, CA 94111 415.391.5780 tel 415. 276.2088 fax info@joneshall.com www.joneshall.com

The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CSMFO.

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CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER | 2018 | ISSUE 22 | FALL EDITION

FEATURES

CSMFO Pre-Flight P.

STEPS

12

P.

How The CSMFO Conference Changed My Life P.

Don’t Stay In The Dark

18

P.

Hot Dang!

P.

CSMFO Connects with Generation Z

16

P.

Mentors

Leading By Letting Go

26

P.

20

28

P.

31

22

NEW SECTION! Recent Promotions P.

44

How To Use Coaching P.

36

INSIDE CSMFO President Margaret Moggia’s Letter P.

6

Past President Tips P.

24

Executive Director’s Letter P.

President Elect’s Letter

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P.

North Coast Chapter P.

10

Conference Scholarships

33

P.

3

34

Desert Mountain Chapter P.

17

P.

Leadership Academy P.

39

CDC - Annual Weekend

19

2019 CSMFO Elections P.

41

CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

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PRESIDENT’S LETTER Margaret Moggia

Back to School - While Learning Never Ends!

The “fifth” season is upon us where many of you are watching your children going back to school. Perhaps it is for the first time to preschool while others may be experiencing their child going back to grades K-12. And for some of you, it may be you who have returned to school to finally get a bachelor’s degree or perhaps an advanced degree. Kudos to you for valuing education to take on this extra commitment!

For me, I am witnessing my oldest child getting acclimated to her first year in college and my youngest child starting her final year of high school. The preparation comes in many forms from the simplicity of buying school supplies to the more detailed decision-making of deciding the areas of studies to pursue. The energy surrounding this time of year is an exciting time and gives one the chance to learn something new. As we witness the start of the school year, it reminds me of the myriad of opportunities that CSMFO provides to its members acknowledging that it is our mission to educate its members.

Let’s begin with the Annual Conference to be held January 8-11, 2019 in Palm Springs with the theme “Guardians of the Finance Galaxy”. President-Elect Joan Michaels-Aguilar with her host committee and CSMFO staff has been working for months to prepare for another amazing conference experience. The Program Committee has also been working hard to develop another rich array of concurrent sessions that will compliment your professional development with topics ranging from accounting, financial planning, budget, debt and treasury, leadership and management, and technology and innovation.

Registration is now open so take the time to register. And while you are registering for you, be sure to bring a colleague.

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We also have an active professional development program led by our Career Development Committee. Over the years we have added to our in-person core courses with topics ranging from government accounting to revenue courses to supervising skills. These courses are offered throughout the state hosted by one of our member agencies and typically are an 8 hour course. In addition, we have wonderfully produced webinars ranging in topics from the latest news from CalPERS to accounting matters to team building. Each of these webinars are recorded so if you missed one or just want to hear again, all you need to do is go online to listen to the recording. Many of these sessions also have additional reference readings to further enhance your development. To learn more about these training opportunities, visit http://www.csmfo.org/training/.

Another great professional development opportunity is our Weekend Training. This year the 3-day training will take place November 16-18, 2018 in Emeryville and San Francisco. This is intended to be a more intimate training limited to 40 persons and usually covers a comprehensive list of topics such as legislative matters, financial analysis, bond financing, budget development, and capital and long range financial planning.

It is also a great opportunity to network with your peers.

Registration is already open so sign up today and take the next step to broaden your experience and knowledgebase.

And finally let’s not forget about our amazing list serve each of us have the opportunity to learn from our peers and sometimes find ourselves giving back by sharing resources or responding to survey questions. All you need to do is email members@csmfo.org and you should see results within minutes.

This has been beneficial to me as I look to complete my job assignments whether it is reviewing other policies or request for proposals or seeking recommendations for vendors. Thanks again to the myriad of vendors who supports us each day to meet the objectives of delivering services to our community.

On a final note, Good Luck on your year-end audit. Take advantage of the resources throughout this organization.

Professional development is an everyday matter. This is why learning never ends.

Make the investment in you and your staff!

As I mentioned during the Riverside Annual Conference, the idea of Mission Possible: Collaborate, Innovate and Achieve is best met when we do so together. Let’s learn alongside our staff and begin the process of succession planning. How ideal is it to share about the newest GASB, a better way to analyze financial information, or developing policies and procedures when we have the time to work with them.

Our jobs require us to stay current in a multitude of areas and the conference, training, webinars and list serve are CSMFO’s way to keep you informed and connected. It also prepares us to take on new roles within one’s own organization or perhaps in a new one. However, as we look to training opportunities, let’s remember to start with opportunities in our own agency’s conference room or sitting across the desk from a fellow staff person. At my agency, we take the time to have periodic Lunch & Learn where staff gathers to be singly focused on one topic about how to do business better within the agency. Or, make time at one of your staff meetings to share on a topic so that others can learn, appreciate and support you. You will find that as a trainer you learn a little bit more when you have to explain it, and even surprised at what you know when you hear yourself speaking. Remember, the training comes from all levels so managers encourage your staff to take the lead – and witness the excitement and growth that comes from it.

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S LETTER Melissa Dixon

Slowing Things Down This year has gone by really fast, and it feels even faster due to the timing of the 2019 Annual Conference. But how is that any different for our normal busy work and personal lives?

Well, if you take anything from this month’s Succession Development and Leadership special edition, embrace that you are the key to slowing things down and refocusing your efforts on developing and helping those around you. It is all of our shared responsibility to “let go” and transform from controlling to coaching (read more from Frank Benest’s Letting Go article). Consider the ideas highlighted in this month’s STEPS article from the City of West Sacramento on setting up an internship program or borrow from the City of La Quinta’s story on redefining their development work culture and fully embracing mentorship. We also have a rich Q&A session from CSMFO’s Coaching Program founder Don Maruska with the City of Ontario’s Amy Chang as Don delves deep into Amy’s passion for Coaching.

Now, back to our upcoming Guardians of the Finance Galaxy conference. You’ve all seen by now that conference registration is open earlier than ever and hotel rooms are going fast (check out conference.csmfo.org!). We also opened the exhibitor sponsor registrations before that. Why so early you might ask? This is because our 2019 Annual Conference is 6 weeks earlier than 2018. That’s right, it’s the first full week of January, the 9th through the 11th, with our pre-conference and Golf/Tennis activities on January 8th.

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This year’s earlier conference was a direct response to a membership survey that indicated January/February was better than February/March, due to so many of our members being embroiled in budget season at the end of winter.

So, if you haven’t yet, make your plans to attend as this conference is full of more content than ever before. See this month’s feature about how our conference can truly change your life (Laurie Brenner’s feature) or check out this month’s highlights of our three pre-conference “Galaxy Flights” or learn more about how to apply for a conference scholarship.

And, you can also help us find the next CSMFO talent superstar to lead our conference in the signing of our National Anthem. I’m so excited about this year’s event, and I can’t wait to see you all there!

Piper Jaffray is committed to California municipal finance

For more information, contact the following representatives from our California public finance team: Mark Adler Managing Director 310 297-6010 mark.j.adler@pjc.com

Ralph Holmes Managing Director 415-616-1720 ralph.j.holmes@pjc.com

Tom Innis Managing Director 415 616-1635 thomas.p.innis@pjc.com

Katie Koster Managing Director 949 494-6110 katherine.a.koster@pjc.com

Dennis McGuire Managing Director 916 361-6520 dennis.j.mcguire@pjc.com

Russell Reyes Managing Director 310 297-6014 russell.c.reyes@pjc.com

Victor Ume-Ukeje Managing Director 415 616-1662 victor.e.ume-ukeje@pjc.com

Tony Rapista Vice President 310 297-6031 anthony.l.rapista@pjc.com

Renee Vancho Vice President 949 494-6115 renee.n.vancho@pjc.com

California municipal finance banking offices are located in Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento and San Francisco

Since 1895. Member SIPC and NYSE. Š 2017 Piper Jaffray & Co. 7/17 CM-17-0651

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

PRESIDENT ELECT’S LETTER Joan Michaels Aguilar

Are you a Guardian of the Finance Galaxy?

By the time you read this message, online registration for both the conference and hotel reservations will have opened (September 4, 2018). Your CSMFO Board will have also just reviewed the CSMFO 2019 annual budget (presented to the Board in August) and its historic climb to a first time $1-million revenue and expenditure budget! This is in part due to the large increase in the anticipated conference registrants for both government/commercial at 1,397 (over a 10% increase from the actual attendance in Riverside), and the anticipated number of exhibitors/sponsors due to the great space we have at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Many thanks to all those on the Host Committee, Program Committee and others who are helping pull this conference together.

This fall, on October 1, CSMFO will embark on its annual planning session to update our Strategic Action Plan while looking into the future for membership wide engagement. Neil Kupchin will return to facilitate your CSMFO leadership’s activities. This is a great opportunity for Board Members, Committee and Chapter leadership to reflect on our successes and where we might need to move the organization in another direction. So far we have over 30 attendees!

I sincerely appreciate all those attendees and their extraordinary time given to CSMFO, especially because it is on top of their regular CSMFO duties and, oh yeah, that day job. Of course, it helps that this year’s session will take place in San Diego!

Our sponsor/exhibit prospectus was also released and already interest in the Guardians of the Finance Galaxy is very high; with already 59 confirmed sponsors, including three for the President’s Dinner, four for the Diamond Stone level, and (drum roll please!) our Infinity Stone sponsor is confirmed as Urban Futures, Inc. They have been a strong supporter of CSMFO and actively support our organization at the conference and yearround at various other levels. I know many folks know Michael Busch, their Chief Executive Officer, from his prior experience in the municipal government world or during his tenure with Urban Futures.

Another thing this time of year makes me think of is elections; my own City of Dixon has two Council District seats that are up for election and we all should be aware of the State propositions that threaten many local agencies. It is also time for CSMFO to elect a President-Elect for the South as well as Board Members to represent the North and the South. The Nominating Committee met in August to discuss the possible slate, and you should see the list of candidates elsewhere in this month’s Magazine.

JANUARY 8 – 11, 2019 PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

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This seems like a good time to acknowledge all the efforts of the many volunteers in the organization. If you peruse the front pages of the 2018-19 CSMFO directory, you will see a list of your Board of Directors, Standing Committees, Chapter Chairs and Vice Chairs, and League Policy Committee Appointees. There are nearly 100 members who volunteer their time to enriching this organization and member value. This doesn’t even count the myriad of volunteers such as budget reviewers or other assistance that is provided at the chapter level to offer support. From these positions, we grow the leadership, i.e. the Board of Directors of CSMFO. So why not consider volunteering in some capacity and check out our Volunteer Interest Form that is available online . There are a variety of options literally for anyone whether being on a Committee, a CAFR/Budget Reviewer, a Magazine Contributor, or even assisting at the Chapter level. I have found it incredibly rewarding since I started out as a budget reviewer many moons ago, then on the Budget Review Committee – getting to meet so many wonderful colleagues who are committed to excellence in our government finance profession.

helping communities fund tomorrow

Difference #17 - Continuing Education NBS periodically hosts content-rich workshops that bring industry insiders together to learn, share ideas and meet with their peers. Our topics qualify for continuing education (CE) units for the California Board of Accountancy. This year’s one-day seminar features four intensive learning sessions focused on successful revenue strategies.

Co-sponsored by MMASC and MMANC.

While the Palm Springs Conference Planning is going great with our Host Committee, if you would like to reach out to me with any ideas or other topics for the conference, feel free to e-mail me at president.elect@csmfo.org.

Joan Michaels Aguilar

Save the Date NBS University DEC 5 SoCal | DEC 6 NorCal Details at www.nbsgov.com/university/ nbsgov.com | 800.676.7516 Serving CSMFO members for more than 22 years Special Tax, Fee & Assessment Districts  Development Impact Fees  Cost Allocation Plans  User and Regulatory Fee Studies Utility Rate Studies: Water, Recycled Water, 

Stormwater, Sewer, Solid Waste  Fiscal Funding and Consulting  Proposition 218 Compliance  Feasibility and Financial Studies  Bond Disclosure  Cost of Services Studies

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

Registered with MSRB and SEC

CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

INSIDE CSMFO

CSMFO Guardians of the Finance Galaxy Pre-Flight Adventures Written By David Cain

David Cain, CSMFO Senior Advisor – Communications Committee and 2019 Host Committee Member

Guardians of the Finance Galaxy flight adventures begin early on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 with three different pre-conference flights. Where can CSMFO take you? Your choice of adventure awaits.

This pre-conference training will explore the vast nuances of public speaking, with an opportunity for attendees to speak in front of their peers. The day will provide solid examples of how to turn fears into opportunities while being a successful speaker and communicator. Join our instructor as he dissects the intricacies of how to give a solid speech while breaking down the anxiety many feel when they stand in front of people. His many years of speaking in public provide him with a vast array of “tips and tricks” that should help everyone.

We hope to see you there for a multi-media rich informational day!

Option One:

Phil is an accomplished public speaker, having presented across the United States and as far away as Australia and Dubai. Most recently, Phil and his team presented for the 2017 ESRI User Conference Plenary Session in front of approximately 18,000 attendees. He also provided the keynote address at the 2018 Laserfiche Empower Conference.

Public speaking continues to be his passion, along with providing quality government services to his citizens. Join Phil on this exciting adventure.

Option Two:

First, The Art of Public Speaking for Finance Officers: Can You Hear Me Now? Presented by the “Rocket” . . . . -The master of weapons and battle tactics, a.k.a. Phil Bertolini, who will give us tactics from his tool kit to help us improve and enhance our public speaking as Finance Professionals.

Next we have, Fundamental of Municipal Revenues: Taxes.

This venture will be presented by our Finance Galaxy Guardian Star-Lord leader, a.k.a. Michael Coleman. He will join forces with Paula Cone and Lloyd de Llamas to make an unstoppable team.

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The session will focus primarily on property tax, and sales and use tax, but will also discuss other local option taxes, such as business license tax, utility users tax (UUT), transient occupancy tax (TOT), and property transfer tax. It will begin with an overview and discussion of the fundamental concepts of taxes for California local agencies. Included will be a brief history of the state and local fiscal relationship, focusing on the various changes in property tax law since the passage of Proposition 13 and the legislative protections that have been gained over the years. This interactive session will also include exercises to help participants understand the complexities of analyzing sales and property taxes, and to gain skills in forecasting and monitoring these important revenues. Participants will receive a copy of the League of California Cities Revenue Handbook.

The formidable and experienced Bond Guardian team members of Debby Cherney, Tyler R. Old and Cyrus Torabi will guide you carefully through each and every step of a bond transaction. At the end, you will be the master pilot of your own ship as you venture into the galaxies of Bonds.

Michael Coleman is a leading expert on California local government revenues, spending, and financing. He is the creator of CaliforniaCityFinance.com, the California Local Government Finance Almanac, an online resource of data, analyses, and articles on California municipal finance and budgeting. He is the principal fiscal policy advisor both to the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) and to the League of California Cities. The other team leaders, Paula Cone and Lloyd de Lamas, have decades of experience in the municipal finance, sales and property tax galaxies.

Note that each pre-conference journey includes your meal and materials. Check out the CSMFO 2019 Conference website for more details about each of the pre-flight options and then pick one before the limited seating on your selected flight fills up.

Option Three: Finally, a voyage you were always afraid to ask about but always wanted to know about: the “Bond World”. This interactive session is called Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Bonds, but Were Afraid to Ask.

***Note that all pre-flight options have a prerequisite requirement of watching Guardians of the Galaxy movie prior to attending your pre-flight adventure.

This interactive galactic gathering will demystify the process of issuing municipal bonds by guiding participants through each step in a bond transaction. Disclosure, the credit rating process, and the bond pricing process will be addressed in detail. The session will also include best practices and resources available to you and your organization to navigate through the process, from policy development to the request for proposals (RFP) process and more. Panelists will provide the perspectives of a municipal bond issuer, a municipal advisor, an underwriter, and bond counsel, and offer the latest information about the state of the municipal bond market. The session is intended to be useful both to participants who have never closed a bond issuance on behalf of their organizations and to those wanting to update their knowledge in light of the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) increasing scrutiny of municipal bonds.

David Cain – Recently retired Director of Finance from City of Fountain Valley, San Bernardino, Chino and Sierra Madre.

Currently Senior Advisor to the CSMFO Communications Committee and member of the 2019 Palm Springs Annual Conference Host Committee. Active as an adjunct Professor for the MPA programs at CSUN, CSULB and Cal Poly Pomona – (Mentoring, teaching and influencing the next generation).

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

FEATURED ARTICLE

STEPS

Internship Program for Tomorrows Public Sector Leaders

Written By Liane Lee

Liane Lee, Human Resources Manager, City of West Sacramento

designed to offer students an opportunity to incorporate realistic and practical work experiences, not normally achievable in a classroom setting, into their academic programs. This objective is achieved by providing a supervised work opportunity, with an experienced mentor. This STEPS program enhances their academic expertise, and improves their work proficiency, and teaches them problem-solving skills in a real world setting.

It also enables the student to gain insights into municipal government for which they have demonstrated an interest for future employment. It provides contacts and networking opportunities to assist in securing possible future employment within the City. In addition, the program offers great benefits to the City as it gains the services of dependable, conscientious, motivated, and knowledgeable students who are able to think critically, work on special projects, and bring a helping hand and a fresh perspective.

The City of West Sacramento offers a unique opportunity for mentoring and active succession planning with the Summer Strides Toward Entering Public Service (STEPS) internship program.

The City is in its fourth year of offering this eight (8) week, full-time, paid internship program during the summer months to local high school juniors and seniors at least 16 years of age as well as incoming college students, current college students, and students pursuing graduate degrees. The Summer STEPS program provides an opportunity for youth to gain work experience with an emphasis on civic engagement. It is

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Students are recruited through a competitive process which requires them to submit a City application, resume, and supplemental questionnaire. Each qualified candidate is then interviewed and, if selected, placed with one of the eight departments within the City: Administrative Services, City Manager’s Office, Economic Development & Housing, Community Development, Fire, Parks & Recreation, Police, and Public Works. The selected interns learn not only about their assigned department’s daily operation, but also how all city departments’ work together to form an innovative, safe place to live, work, and play. Additionally, Summer STEPS is an outcomes-based internship opportunity. Using digital badging, each intern has a specific list of tasks and goals to accomplish by the end of the summer and which can then be referenced in future interviews, demonstrating that they have indeed learned practical skills. The interns also participate in several city wide enrichment opportunities designed to increase their knowledge and understanding of the operations of a municipality. These enrichment opportunities include tours of the Police Station, Water Treatment Plant, Fire Station, and Corporation Yard. They also participate in ‘lunch and learn’ sessions and workshops regarding social media, resume and business writing, and personal finance and budgeting (provided by SAFE Credit Union). The City also offers a ‘Next STEPS’ program in which interested interns who have been recommended into the program by their Department Head to the City Manager may continue their paid internship during the school year. In the initial year of the Summer STEPS program, 24 interns were hired with seven (7) continuing on to be interns in the Next STEPS program and three interns were hired into City employment. If you would like to get for more information about this valuable internship program please contact the City of West Sacramento.

Liane Lee serves as Human Resources Manager for the City of West Sacramento. Liane has worked in the public sector for over 23 years with various counties, public school districts, universities, and libraries. In her city role Liane oversees the activities and programs related to Human Resource Management including recruitment and selection, retention, classification, employee compensation, training, benefits, payroll, workmen’s compensation, labor and employee relations and compliance with all Federal and State mandated regulatory guidelines.

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

FEATURED ARTICLE

Don’t Stay in the Dark When it Comes to Succession Planning Written By Robin Wiessner

Robin Wiessner, HR & Risk Manager, South Coast Water District

3. From the Succession Planning Worksheets, we identified internal successors. We wanted to know what talent existed internally and if and when they might be ready for higher roles.

Succession Planning is the latest buzzword nowadays, with an aging workforce and the need to fill newly vacant roles that were once held by seasoned experts. What started as a suggested program to implement, quickly turned into a wow moment at South Coast Water District. When compiling data, the District found itself staring at a pie chart that showed 44% of its current workforce having the ability to retire at that very moment!

What was even more overwhelming was that the data showed 69% of the District staff having the ability to retire in the next 5 years. So where does one even start? How do we plan in the event our statistics come true? We decided to keep it simple, and get back to basics.

4. The District held Focus Group Meetings with various employees throughout the District. We wanted to know what the employees thought of the process and wanted to hear their ideas regarding future needs and career pathing. Employees had the ability to complete a career development survey that was shared with their direct manager. This was to help guide the manager when it came to coaching and development.

5. From our Focus Group Meetings, we developed some of the ideas that the staff shared an interest in. The programs being developed in the future are programs that will empower, enhance, engage, and enable our employees in an effort to retain and grow our future leaders of the District. The overarching goal is to retain the information and knowledge from our seasoned experts so that they can mentor the up-and-comers.

1. We identified key positions at the District. We looked at positions that were critical to the District’s Mission. We looked at positions that provide leadership and skills that are very difficult to replace.

We looked at classifications that typically experience high turnover rates. Lastly, we looked at positions that were facing future known vacancies and how soon.

While Succession Planning is an evolving process that shifts with time, we found it to be valuable to include District staff throughout the process, to gain their buy in, and to create internal excitement when it came to their future and their career pathing.

Robin Wiessner is an HR professional with over 13 years of experience with both Private and Public strategic HR Leadership. She currently serves as the HR & Risk Manager for South Coast Water District. Prior to working for the District she was Vice President of Human Resources for a financial institution in South Orange County. Robin graduated from Laguna College of Art & Design with a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communications and also attended Brandman University with coursework in Human Resources.

2. From here, the Senior Executive Team completed Succession Planning Worksheets. They narrowed down the identified positions and listed the skillsets needed for each of those positions.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Desert Mountain Writes a New Chapter Written By Steve Heide

Steve Heide, Finance Director, Chino Valley Fire District

On July 18, under the direction of new chapter chair Kofi Antobam, Finance Director for the Town of Apple Valley, the CSMFO Desert Mountain Chapter held its first meeting of 2018.

“It was exciting and refreshing to finally hold a meeting to jumpstart the Desert Mountain Chapter once again.

Attendance was encouraging, and we plan to have quarterly meetings going forward,” said Kofi.

Cheri Freese, recently promoted to Finance Director at the City of Ridgecrest, made the roughly 100 mile one-way trip down U.S. Route 395 to attend the meeting. Cheri remarked, “I am glad that I was able to attend the meeting. It was well worth my long drive from Ridgecrest. Michael Coleman is an amazing speaker, very informative and descriptive. It was nice to meet other members of the chapter as well. I was able to connect with a lot of very knowledgeable people, which is helpful since I’m a new finance director. I look forward to attending more Desert Mountain Chapter meetings in the future.”

Many areas of the chapter are sparsely populated and its members are geographically disbursed, so it has been a challenge for the chapter to hold regular meetings. However, on this day, some 20 attendees braved the desert heat to attend a highly informational Michael Coleman presentation on state budget issues, transportation funding, and local ballot measures. The meeting was held at the well-appointed Town of Apple Valley Conference Center.

Geographically speaking, the Desert Mountain Chapter holds a notable distinction as the largest CSMFO chapter in the state.

As its chapter name may suggest, Desert Mountain covers much of the predominately high desert areas of San Bernardino County, as well as the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountain region, with a small slice of northeastern Los Angeles County mixed in. From Bishop to the north to Needles near the Arizona and Nevada state borders, these cities on opposite ends of the chapter’s borders are separated by some 275 miles as the crow flies, or roughly 350 road miles.

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

When word began to circulate at the 2018 CSMFO Annual Conference in Riverside that the Desert Mountain Chapter would be hosting meetings again soon, commercial member Mark Petrasso, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Zions Bank, pledged to attend the next chapter meeting.

True to his word, Mark observed, “the Desert Mountain Chapter luncheon proved that the success of a chapter is not dictated by how large the chapter is, but by the programming offered to the members and the hospitality shown by the host.

The Desert Mountain luncheon was a winner on both fronts; a great presentation by Michael Coleman and the top-notch job that Kofi and staff delivered in making all of their guests feel welcome. Well done, Desert Mountain!”

Steve Heide is member of the CSMFO Board of Directors and the Finance Director for the Chino Valley Fire District, located in Chino Hills, California. Steve has been an active CSMFO member for over ten years, having held a number of leadership positions in the organization, including Chapter Chair of the Inland Empire Chapter, as well as various leadership positions in several standing committees. Steve has over thirty years of professional finance experience, earning his CPA certificate in public accounting and having worked in a number of positions in private industry and non-profits prior to joining the fire district in 2004. Steve is a frequent contributor to the CSMFO Magazine and enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and following Los Angeles Kings hockey in his off time.

Well done, Kofi, and well said, Mark. Congratulations on a fresh start. As for Cheri, and others in the Desert Mountain Chapter, here’s to many more successful chapter meetings in your future.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Career Development Committee Annual Weekend Training Written By Lorena Quijano Our experts include Michael Coleman, Ben Finkelstein, Tim Schafer, Bill Statler, and Jay Goldstone. Where else can you learn from all of these experts in just a 2 ½ day handson training session for only $475 which includes materials, meals and two nights lodging. For those who would prefer to commute, the fee is only $400 but don’t wait until the end since this course is limited to the first 40 attendees.

“Whenever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their own government” said Thomas Jefferson. Over the years, CSMFO has dedicated itself to keeping our members well informed because Lorena Quijano, Director of Finance and we know the importance of trust in government. How? With webinars, Technology Services, City of West Hollywood Quick Hits, and in-person instruction such as the Annual Weekend Training!

This year we welcome you to join us in Emeryville, CA., from November 1618, 2018.

Instructor Bill Statler has been involved with the CSMFO Weekend Training for years. He notes, “The Weekend Training program is an awesome opportunity to improve your skills in a wide range of topics in just two- and-a half days. With worldclass, top-notch trainers who are widely-respected experts in their fields, you will get tips on tools you use right away along with key insights into our profession that you just can’t find anywhere else. This course includes financial management basics such as current legislative activities, investments, debt financing, budgeting, financial reporting and long-term financial planning. This unique learning and networking opportunity will provide you with skills and relationships that you will value for the rest of your local government career.”

If you are new to the municipal finance profession, would like a refresher or perhaps you would like to earn 20 hours of CPE then this course is for you. Attendees will hear from several municipal experts covering the topics of investments, legislative updates, revenue enhancements, bond financing, financial analysis, and longterm financial planning just to name a few of the sessions.

The training will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn - San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge, which is a short 12 miles from Oakland International airport. There are many dining, entertainment and shopping opportunities right across the street. For more information and registration please visit the Events tab at csfmo.org.

Lesley Pelka (City of Calabasas) has attended the Weekend Training numerous times and said, “I have attended CSMFO Weekend Training three times in recent years and have always found it to be timely and relevant. It’s perfect for government accounting staff of all levels, and the speakers are always interesting. It is also fun because it’s a small group and I’ve gotten to know people from other agencies and we were able to share experiences with each other. I also like earning CPE credit. Overall it’s a great experience.”

Lorena Quijano is the Director of Finance and Technology Services for the City of West Hollywood, overseeing General Accounting, Revenue Management, and Information Technology. Lorena has worked in various capacities serving her West Hollywood community for almost 6 years and local governments for over 18 years; she worked previously in public accounting. Lorena is an active member of CSMFO, serving as a speed coach and as an attendee and coordinator for CSMFO’s annual Weekend Training for over 10+ years. She believes there is always room for growth and loves learning and mentoring others to assist them in their local government careers.

Lorena received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California State University Los Angeles and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from California State University Northridge. She also holds a Certified Public Accountant license.

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

INSIDE CSMFO

CSMFO Connects with Generation Z Written By Jennifer Wakeman

Jennifer Wakeman, City of Lafayette

For 2018, President Margaret Moggia tasked the CSMFO board members to manage ad hoc working groups that would explore various topic areas. I was thrilled to begin working on student engagement because I am passionate about sharing how rewarding a municipal finance career can be, professionally and personally.

Finding opportunities to connect with students has been one of our top priorities because this is where we can provide education and pique student interest. So far this year, we have hosted events at UC Berkeley and CSU Dominguez Hills, with additional events planned at San Francisco State University, Cal Lutheran, and CSU Long Beach. We are trying different event formats so that we can get a sense as to what works best. At the end of the year, we will provide a summary of our experiences and suggestions for future events. This summer, we began offering an internship program as a way to connect students to agencies. Students who attended our campus events were invited to upload their resumes to the CSMFO website so that our members could have a direct source for summer internship recruitments. Moving forward, we plan to make this program more robust with better marketing to our members and to students through our outreach efforts.

How many of us knew about municipal finance careers when we were in school?

Who heard of these opportunities at career fairs or from counselors? Our working group wants to find the best ways of connecting students to our field of work and to establish relationships with students so that they will look to CSMFO as a resource to build their careers. The purpose of our group’s work this year is the following: 1) Reach out to graduate and undergraduate students in political science, public administration, accounting and finance to let them know about CSMFO and what we offer; 2) Promote municipal finance as a rewarding career choice; and 3) Increase the number of student memberships.

We are also identifying ways to expand student membership.

We offered complimentary memberships to students who posted resumes on the CSMFO website and to the recipients of CSMFO’s Odell Scholarships. In addition, at their August meeting, the CSMFO Board approved eliminating student membership dues ($20/year) beginning in calendar year 2019. The Membership Committee and Student Engagement Working Group supported this action because it is one more step in removing barriers to student participation. Our group also plans to roll out an end of year survey to student members so that we can gauge their level of participation and other ways that we can add value for them.

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It is such a privilege working in municipal finance and in CSMFO because the caliber of our colleagues, their creativity and dedication, is unparalleled. This working group has been leading me since its inception and I couldn’t be gladder to support its efforts. If you are interested in learning more about what we are doing, participating, or making suggestions, please contact me at jwakeman@ci.lafayette.ca.us.

Center for Continuing Education & Hotel Carl Vinson Institute of Government

Jennifer Wakeman has been working in municipal finance for nearly 16 years, starting at the Town of Moraga and the City of Walnut Creek before landing at the City of Lafayette. This is her second year serving as a Northern California CSMFO Board Member, a role she is thoroughly enjoying. Jennifer lives in Lafayette and spends most of her non-working time corralling her three sons: Jack (8 years old), Madden (6 years old), and Emmett (1 year old).

Online Courses in Government Finance If you are a steward of government funds, these self-paced online courses from the University of Georgia can enhance your value—and your career.

All qualify for CEs/CPEs.

• Governmental Accounting • Intro & Intermediate Budget • Revenue Administration • Debt Administration • Capital Improvement Program • Treasury Management • Internal Control • Purchasing • Human Resources For Government Officials www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/govfinance/GFR 21

CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

INSIDE CSMFO

How the CSMFO Conference Changed My Life Written By Laurie Brenner

Laurie Brenner, Finance & Acquisition Services Coach, Union Sanitary District

As I sat in my chair very near the stage, waiting for the 2017 CSMFO “Venture to the Capital” Conference keynote speaker to be introduced, I was very distracted and anxious about a personal decision that I was facing… regarding whether to take decisive action on the final pursuit of a lifelong dream...

A few minutes later, Alex Banayan came out and started sharing his story, entitled, “The Art of Risk Taking.” I was captivated from the moment he walked out on stage; he was smart, witty, engaging, and very relatable as a speaker. He said that his goal was that, “by the end of this hour, risk taking no longer feels like the enemy, it feels like a friend.”

Alex went on to describe how he fought self-doubt (he calls it “the flinch”) and decided to go ahead and try to live out his dream; recounting his wacky experiences and journey starting with a cameo on “The Price is Right” game show and how that experience ultimately led him to success.

As I sat there, now completely engaged and attentive, leaning forward in my seat, hanging on Alex’s every word, my phone vibrated…back to reality. The short text message was from a realtor I had been working with on my dream -- a wild property big enough to require a horse or an ATV to go corner to corner, that I could basically turn into a wildlife sanctuary. I had been looking at properties for years and that text let me know that I finally had an opportunity to make that dream a reality; it was time to take a risk.

For just a second, I went back into anxiety mode, considering the “what ifs” and budget and…and… and…like a process-oriented finance person does. Alex drew me back in almost immediately; sharing how he had this crazy idea and that because he found a few moments where he “went for it” and overcame “the flinch,” he was living a life that far exceeded his original dream. I took having him there with that message, in that moment in my own life, as a sign and summoned the courage to text the realtor, “Let’s do this.”

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Because of that willingness to take a risk, I am now the very proud owner of a wild, forested mountain property on over 150 acres, that backs up to a 500-acre park and extends into BLM land. I have a lovely home and shop there, amazing views of Mt. Shasta and wildlife that I am striving to protect - bears, cougars, bobcats, foxes, raccoons, turkeys, deer and a wide variety of birds and reptiles inhabit my land. I am now trying to initiate a collaborative effort with the CA Fish & Game Department to identify and designate a protected wildlife corridor through and around my land, especially considering the recent devastating wildfires destroying so much habitat in Northern California and Southern Oregon.

Basically, my dream has begun to materialize, because I stopped the nagging questions in my head about managing multiple properties and the associated finances, juggling responsibilities for teaching and work and pets and‌breathe‌Alex did it, and so can I. I am still working in government finance and getting more engaged with CSMFO every day. I have managed to juggle all the things I was fearful that I could not handle with only a few hiccups since signing the papers on my new property over a year ago now.

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That speaker and his unconventional delivery of a message related to risk, at the 2017 CSMFO Conference, gave me the final surge of confidence to take a risk, pursue my lifelong dream, and ultimately change my life in a very positive way.

Laurie Brenner is the Finance & Acquisition Services Coach at the Union Sanitary District and splits her time between Richmond, CA and her dream property in Yreka, CA.

CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

INSIDE CSMFO

Heard it on the Streets Past President Tips

This month’s magazine discusses leadership, succession planning and ethics; therefore, we contacted our President and Past Presidents to get their input on the following questions regarding these subjects. Here are the responses we received.

Thomas Fil (TF), Finance Director, City of Belmont, 2009 CSMFO President Have a plan, communicate it often, listen to feedback, be flexible, nobody’s perfect, encourage honesty, respect opinions and talk straight.

Pamela Arends-King (PAK), Chief Financial Officer, South Coast Water District, 2014 CSMFO President

Drew Corbett

Question: What are your key criteria for good leadership?

Respect your staff/team and listen to their input and ideas and reach your conclusions/goals based on collaboration of all staff/team members involved. Understand the direction/goals of your organization and communicate that to your staff/team members. Set realistic expectations.

Appreciate your staff/team members, deal with what is not working and praise what is working. Be willing to take the responsibility for the consequences of decisions.

Drew Corbett (DC), Assistant City Manager, City of San Mateo, 2017 CSMFO President

Margaret Moggia

Thomas Fil

Pamela Arends-King

For me it is about setting a good example, being accessible, and being a good communicator. As it relates to communication, I think the key is less about what you are saying and more about whether you are listening. It is important for people to know their voice is heard and strong leaders are good listeners and understand that good ideas come from throughout an organization.

Question: What is your organization doing for succession development and what are the most challenging aspects for succession development?

DC: This one is a challenge as we are facing what many organizations are facing in terms of future retirements.

In my department, we have successfully put people into “stretch assignments” to fill vacancies at higher levels and given folks with potential an opportunity to learn on the job. We are also trying to focus on narrowing down the list of essential skills a potential candidate must have when they walk in the door so we are not inadvertently missing out on folks who have a lot of potential because they don’t have specific experience. If we can teach these folks, and they have the aptitude to learn, we want to bring them in.

Margaret Moggia (MM), Executive Manager of Finance, West Basin Municipal Water District, 2018 CSMFO President Leadership is showing by example; get to know each employee – not just about them personally-get to know what they do and see what ideas they have to improve the agency’s processes. Take time for them, value their time, and recognize them for their work. Many times work we do is not acknowledged publically because we are “just doing our job”.

MM: Our challenge is that we are a relatively small department and we have a number of individuals who are all about the same age. To address for succession planning and just everyday business ensure that you adequately train your backup staff. Document your procedures so the next person can easily support the role.

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TF: Have a second in command and develop that individual. Ask them to do the same.

PAK: Management should work as a team to identify the organizations key positions that could become vacant within the next year to three years and determine if there are current employees that can step into those positions.

Determine what training/mentoring those employees will need for those positions.

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Question: What are your tips on ethics and the challenges we are facing in regards to ethics?

DC: Get trained and get educated. The standard is high in public service and people need to understand what it means to perform your job in an ethical manner. As it relates to succession planning, we are bringing in more people with private sector backgrounds, which provides us with a great perspective on things. In some cases, however, the standard in the private sector is different from in the public sector, especially as it relates to transparency.

Getting new employees used to the fact that they work in a fishbowl can be a challenge.

BANKING RFP VALUATION SERVICES

MM: Ethics is an everyday matter and how each one responds or perceives the situation. Make sure that you consistently follow through with the business practice and listen to those who have a varying opinion. This allows you the time to understand the question and either inform or be educated. Currently, GFOA has established an Ethics Task Force to review and discuss these issues and I am fortunate to be part of the task force. My hope is that I can learn and share from this experience to our own state organization.

Plus Much More!

CPA SERVICES INCLUDE: ü Fully quantified scoring methodology

TF: Make ethics the first private conversation you have with any new employee. The tone at the top is critical and we need to help get that right.

ü In-depth interview questions ü Ensure apples-to-apples comparison ü Design optimal bank account structure

PAK: The challenge we are facing in regards to ethics is the “importance” an organization places on ethics.

If an organization only mentions ethics once when an employee is hired, then it never addressed again, that may leave room for non-ethical behavior. Also, remember that your team/staff may view ethics different then you so be aware that something you think is ethical may not be for your team/staff therefore, let your staff know they should bring up items where they have concerns regarding ethical decisions/behavior. It is important to have regular discussions with your staff/team regarding ethics.

ü Recommendations for banking tools ü Design internal controls over banking ü And much more!

WWW.RAHBANCPA.COM Tel: (424) 901-3440; Email: srahban@rahbancpa.com

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

FEATURED ARTICLE

Hot Dang! Can’t Believe We Dun This Good.

Written By Todd Parton

Todd Parton, City Manager, City of Beaumont

Halloween 2016 is a day that will always be a fond one for me. It was the day that I was blessed to open the Beaumont chapter of my professional life. The ultimate professional challenge was ahead, but I knew that the community had a strong City Council, resilient staff, elite consulting team, and robust opportunities for development. Surely the community’s problems could be handled with a little perseverance, elbow grease, and critical thinking? Right?

As of October 31, 2016, Beaumont was slowly sinking toward bankruptcy. Seven senior staff members had been arrested on a variety of charges, there were outstanding claims/judgements of approximately $100 million, there was no clear understanding of the City’s actual cash position, and there were active investigations underway by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Beaumont also faced a mandate to reconstruct its wastewater treatment plant to meet capacity issues and water quality standards; a $110 million project to be funded at a time when the community could not access the bond market!

Beaumont was also under a malaise of negativity. There was a complete lack of credibility with the citizens, neighboring communities, and area agencies. City staff were extremely concerned about the financial and functional stability of the organization.

Perhaps the greatest issue to wreak havoc within the organization was prior administration’s lack of leadership.

Key members of the administration kept information to themselves. Employees were not empowered to make decisions, participate in the annual budget creation process, and much less administer their departmental budgets throughout the year. There was no clear chain of command and very little “administrative infrastructure.”

I consider “administrative infrastructure” as the core policies and procedures that guide key financial and strategic decisions (i.e., purchasing policies, investment policies, debt management policies, cash management policies, operational objectives, multi-year economic/ fiscal forecasting models, strategic plan, adequate organizational structure).

Cities are extremely dynamic entities and having had the opportunity to serve as a city manager for the past 15 years I have learned that no single individual has all the answers. In the best of circumstances, it takes a committed team of professionals constantly working toward a common set of goals to achieve success. With this in mind, it was time to roll up the sleeves and dive in!

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The initial challenges were to create a solid organizational structure while resolving the major financial gravity dragging the city toward bankruptcy, all while projecting a sense of calm and stability. Senior management was immediately included as an active, accountable participant in the strategic efforts of the City. They embraced their roles and became critical to the successes that were to come.

Without their ingenuity, energy, and sacrifice, it would have been nearly impossible to tackle the challenges head on while still meeting the daily needs of the city.

REPORT PROGRAMMING & COMPILATION SERVICES

It is not enough to simply develop and implement a management strategy. The management strategy must reflect the will and desires of the City Council. City staff worked closely with the City Council to develop and implement immediate and long-range action plans. As part of these plans, City Council has approved changes to position control which added operational depth and efficiency while increasing core service delivery.

Plus Much More!

Today, Beaumont has achieved financial stability – outstanding claims/judgements were resolved; investigations were concluded; wastewater plant designed and bid with construction scheduled this year; the City’s ability to access the bond market was re-established; fund balances were established in the major funds; and administrative infrastructure was created. These results happened quickly and were due to the coordinated efforts of Beaumont’s elected leadership and City staff.

CPA SERVICES INCLUDE:

Beaumont’s team is now ready to tackle the challenges that lie ahead. The community is in a position to recognize its opportunities, maximize its resources, and achieve sustainability. I guess the first chapter is coming to a close!

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Implementation of accounting systems;

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Implementation of internal auditing systems

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Bank Reconciliation automation

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Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

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State Controllers Report

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SSRS and Cognos Reports

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Chart of Accounts Design

•

Assistance with audit

By the way, did I mention Beaumont’s A+ Wastewater Fund bond rating?

WWW.RAHBANCPA.COM Tel: (424) 901-3440; Email: srahban@rahbancpa.com

Todd Parton joined the City of Beaumont as City Manager in 2016. He has 27 years in public service, including the last 15 years as a city manager. He earned his MPA (1993) and BS (1989) from the University of North Texas.

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

FEATURED ARTICLE

Leading by Letting Go

Make the Transition from Controlling to Coaching

Written By Dr. Frank Benest

Dr. Frank Benest, ICMA Career Compass

Over time I had to make the transition from managing / controlling / driving results to supporting / coaching / developing people. So, what are some ideas for making this transition?

When I was a less seasoned leader, I too felt that I must “drive” change and ride hard on staff to achieve important results. When I felt my unit was not apt to step up or perform at its highest level, I did the important work myself. It was all about my vision, my goals, my agenda, and my results. I, too, cared a lot.

1. Reflect Before taking any actions to improve the situation, you must reflect and ask yourself some courageous questions.

First, ask yourself: “What are the consequences of me being in control?” The consequences can include the minimal compliance of staff; their lack of commitment to the vision and the goals; and little growth and development by all including you as leader.

Upon a lot of reflection, I discovered that the problem was two‐fold: 1. It was impossible for my brilliant self to do all the important work.

Second, ask yourself: “What do I truly fear?” If you are honest with yourself, you may conclude that you fear losing control, failing to bring about the desired changes, and perhaps being perceived as an ineffective leader in this new role.

2. The team underperformed, given its capacity and potential, and, therefore, the available talent was underutilized.

As I matured as a leader, I learned that I had to “lead by letting go.” Letting go is not losing control or giving up. Letting go is about engaging people and creating shared intentions, goals, and leadership. I have learned a lot over my years of work, yet still struggle with this issue. Here is my advice.

Third, ask yourself, as Dan Rockwell suggests in his Leadership Freak blog, “Simple Strategies to Tap the Power of Letting Go” • Who can do what I’m doing, at least 80% as good as I’m doing?

• Where am I slowing, rather than energizing, the process?

• What can I do that no else can do?

• Who has the capacity and desire to learn new roles?

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2. Redefine Your Role

4. Focus on the “Why”

To become truly effective as a leader, you must explicitly redefine your role. You must transition from one who directs and / or does the important work, to one who leads and achieves results and public value through others. Begin by asking yourself, who can. . .

Instead of spending all your time on the “what” and “how” of the work, begin to emphasize the purpose and meaning of the work or the project. Meaning is the great motivator. See Dan Pink’s book Drive. Ask your team members: Why is our work so important to the organization and the community that we serve? You might want to invite to a quarterly staff meeting several employees from other departments who can relate how the work of your department helped them and allowed them to better serve their customers.

• Do some of my administrative work?

• Reach out to other departments and engage them in the change process? Map out current processes and identify opportunities to streamline?

If people agree on the “why,” do you really need to firmly control all of the “what” and the “how”?

• Suggest non‐value‐added rules to eliminate?

• Focus on employee communication across the departments?

5. Facilitate Conversations with Staff In addition to having conversations about the “why” of the work, you can facilitate conversations about the following topics:

3. Put More Emphasis on Relationships In addition to the work and results, begin to spend more time and energy on getting to know the staff and other players inside and outside the division and department.

Share yourself, and likewise demonstrate an interest in their families, leisure pursuits, career goals, life stories, and histories. Followers will not follow if they do not feel a human connection to their leader and to other team members.

• What does “success” look like for our team? What might we do to achieve success?

• How might we proceed?

• What could impede us or get in our way? How could we address these obstacles? What are our first steps?

You can connect with people by walking around, asking questions, and sharing personal experiences and stories. You can do the same thing at the beginning of one‐to‐one meetings. Chit chat is important if there is a true interest in the other person. You can also start staff meetings with a “take 5” segment, during which one or several people can share a personal anecdote or experience with the group. To get this tradition going, you should take the initiative as the team leader and share a personal vignette from your life.

• What should be my role as the division manager?

What should be your roles as team members/ leaders? How are we progressing?

• What are we learning?

• What adjustments might we make?

As the poet David Whyte once said, “Leadership is the art of the conversation.”

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

Leading by Letting Go

6. Avoid Trying to Secure “Buy‐In”

10. Get a Coach or (Two)

Oftentimes leaders try to get staff or other stakeholders to “buy‐in” to their great ideas. People instinctively know when you are “selling.” Buy‐in is really manipulation.

Instead of trying to impose your ideas or selling them, it is best to have a conversation, ask questions, identify the hopes and interests of people, and incorporate their ideas into any proposal. You need to get the “fingerprints” of others on the final plan or it is really not a shared plan.

You need encouragement and coaching as you struggle with making this transition from a driver of results to a leader who supports and develops people. A coach can help you reflect on your fears and insecurities as well as approaches for developing a team that creates a shared vision and goals and a real sense of commitment. A coach can help you confront the feeling that no one can do it as good as you. The best coaches don’t provide answers but help you explore options and choices that are best for you.

7. Provide “Guard Rails” Once the team develops a shared vision and shared goals, you can provide “guard rails” or boundaries within which staff can act autonomously and expect your support. For instance, you can specify how much financial or program authority team members have in conducting a project. In other words, within defined parameters, staff can “go for it.” Outside the guard rails, staff need to have the conversation with you and/or the entire team.

8. Talk About Progress A lot of projects, particularly organizational improvement initiatives, take several years to achieve. It’s easy for team members to lose momentum and get discouraged.

Therefore, it’s important to discuss milestones and celebrate progress along the way. (See Teresa Amabile et al, The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work.) Dan Rockwell encourages leaders to appreciate “imperfect progress.”

This process of self‐development as a leader is a journey with twists and turns, small successes and setbacks. You need to trust the process, the ongoing conversation, and the people. Take small steps and build on the effort.

Great leaders are supportive of staff. With the team, you are evaluating along the way, checking on milestones, debriefing, confronting mediocrity, making adjustments, celebrating successes, and learning from mistakes. You haven’t given up your role as leader. Over time, the team will take on more and more self‐leadership. Great leaders then become great followers.

This article was written by Dr. Frank Benest for ICMA Career Compass which is a monthly column focused on career issues for local government professional staff. Dr. Frank Benest is ICMA’s liaison for Next Generation Initiatives and is also the Co-Chair of the Cal-ICMA Coaching Program. Frank Benest is retired and lives in Palo Alto and during his career he served as City Manager for the Cities of Palo Alto, Brea, and Colton, California.

This article was used with permission of the author for CSMFO.

9. Promote Learning and Growth Growth for you and others and added team capacity cannot happen unless you let go.

As the team works on achieving its shared goals, you can promote learning by debriefing with the team. Police and fire professionals call these debriefings “post‐action reports.” At every staff meeting, ask the team about key projects: • What is going well? Where are we making progress?

• What is not going well? How are we going to address some of the problems?

• How can I help as team leader?

• What are we learning for future action?

Regardless of the position, team members learn by doing, reflecting upon their experience, and applying the lessons learned. Your role is to facilitate their learning and development. Great leaders grow more leaders.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Mentorship….Worth the Investment!

Written By Cindy Henson and Karla Campos

Cynthia (Cindy) Henson, Chief Executive Officer, Henson Consulting Group

Karla Campos, Finance Director and Treasurer , City of La Quinta

How do you purposefully redefine and develop a new work culture where people come before processes? Where staff is challenged, motivated, and encouraged? Where communication flows freely among departments?

Where directors and managers lead by encouragement?

It all starts with a single person, a little courage, and the willingness to try something different.

Cindy Henson, leadership coach and author of Jungle: A Journey to Peace, Purpose, and Freedom has introduced the City of La Quinta to multiple leadership and development programs. As a result, the City has been transformed into a place where employees have fun while being productive. This new organization utilizes maximum brainpower at all levels to solve complex issues. It’s now a place where finding one’s personal passion and purpose is encouraged and promoting the talents of our colleagues is second nature.

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Seeing our colleagues BIGGER than they see themselves is the first initiative to mentorship. Developing and promoting others allows you to multiply yourself, cultivate new ideas, increase flexibility, engage all staff, increase productivity, and empower others. Talent multipliers see the generosity in others and draw it out of them. Sometimes people just need a hand up, and it’s easy to do. There’s no cost to it.

Investing time today will leverage future time. When we see colleagues BIGGER, it gives them permission to also believe that about themselves.

Let’s discuss some creative, cost-effective tools to put into action at your organization.

Staff often wonder what the director does each day – why not show them? Sharing your calendar with staff allows others to see when you are available. It also promotes communication and an awareness of time constraints (often the number one reason mentorship is overlooked).

Moreover, being mindful of everyone’s time results in shorter, more productive meetings.

Stretch staff by allowing them to give City Council/Board meeting presentations. Avoid the sink or swim approach, but do offer proper training, support, and praise. Feeling adventurous? Let staff voluntarily sign up to be the Acting Finance Director for a day. Choose a day with varied activities to provide a wide scope of responsibilities and have staff give updates, participate in meetings, and provide answers throughout the day. The Director should provide guidance and clarification but allow staff to own their role as Acting Director for a day.

CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

Mentorship….worth the investment!

Follow the decision “Tree” model. We spent time with our staff reviewing the concept of decision making using a visual prompt of a tree and created a space where we bridged the decision making gap between our leadership expectations and where staff believed they were restricted from going. In this model, we asked staff to think about decisions in the form of the four key parts of a tree, the leaf, branch, trunk and roots. A leaf decision is one where if something goes wrong and a leaf is lost, no harm comes to the tree. Accordingly, for us, we want staff to make these calls and not feel the stress of having to seek approval. A branch decision is one where if a branch is lost, it really doesn’t impact the life of the tree but is something that should be flagged to someone. Conversely a trunk and root decision require consultation to top level approval as cutting into a trunk or pulling out roots can severely harm a tree or kill it all together.

I was fortunate to have shared this webinar with our department’s expanded leadership team. And just as you’d expect from a department of finance introverts, most peeled away from the camera view as I was taking this picture (thanks Denise Reid and Tracy Cole for hanging in there).

We found this webinar to be so engaging and featured some low hanging fruit ideas to reach out and grab off the tree, including the “Decision Tree Model” described in this article.

If your team missed this one, I highly recommend gathering members from your finance family together, re-watching it “together”, and actively talking about how to invest your resources into your staff’s future. Just go to the “Professional Development” section of our CSMFO webpage and scroll down within “Agendas & Archives” to access this and any prior video or audio content.

Most importantly, have fun!!! Humor strengthens relationships, reduces stress, increases empathy, and sparks the natural energy and intelligence in others.

Take the time to celebrate accomplishments and work anniversaries; promote team building activities such as City Hall selfie challenges or chili cook-offs; and encourage creative presentations.

Cynthia (Cindy) Henson, the Chief Executive Officer of Henson Consulting Group, is a dynamic leader with 35 years of experience in designing and implementing collaborative and innovative systems to quickly achieve results within large organizations. Ms. Henson has a proven track record at guiding executives to articulate their vision, aligning employees and providing practical tools for successful implementation and sustainable culture change.

These cost-effective techniques may require you to step away from your comfort zones at times—to be courageous.

As a result, staff gain first-hand experience, increased knowledge, and the development of communication skills.

Cindy is the author of Jungle: A Journey to Peace, Purpose, and Freedom, which is much like Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love––except for the corporate leader. Ms. Henson has an MBA, with an emphasis in Information Technology and a Masters in International Peace and Conflict Studies from the prestigious United Nations University for Peace.

We encourage you to promote staff empowerment tools for your organization and to share them with colleagues… your investment is worth it because you are training your future leaders!

Karla Campos, Finance Director and Treasurer for the City of La Quinta is responsible for financial planning, reporting, and record-keeping. In addition, Mrs. Campos is the Chair for the Coachella Valley CSMFO Chapter.

Editors Note.

Last month on August 15, 2018, Karla Campos and Cindy Henson led a succession plan success story webinar entitled “Taking Charge at Every Level”. This session was moderated by Don Maruska.

Ms. Campos has 20 years of combined public and private financial experience in the public and private sectors. She has earned both a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Business Administration degree in Business Administration.

She is highly involved in succession planning and employee development within her organization. After mentoring young women with the Ophelia Project for numerous years, she is now actively mentoring staff with a focus on finding personal passion and fulfillment in their daily work.

This webinar leveraged the perspective of different staff at the City of La Quinta in creating a culture of coaching, staff engagement, and succession planning (La Quinta is of course located in the “Coach”-ella Valley).

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INSIDE CSMFO

North Coast Chapter Rises Again Written By Steve Heide

Steve Heide, Finance Director, Chino Valley Fire District

At press time, the North Coast Chapter was scheduled to hold its first chapter meeting in several years on September 7th in Petaluma. New Chapter Chair Brian Cochran, Finance Director for the City of Napa, was enthused to reenergize the chapter. “During the chapter networking event at the 2018 CSMFO Conference in Riverside, I think it became clear that there was plenty of energy and demand to re-start the chapter. We now have our first meeting booked for September, and I hope it will be a great re-introduction for the North Coast with a presentation from Michael Coleman.�

Steve Heide is member of the CSMFO Board of Directors and the Finance Director for the Chino Valley Fire District, located in Chino Hills, California. Steve has been an active CSMFO member for over ten years, having held a number of leadership positions in the organization, including Chapter Chair of the Inland Empire Chapter, as well as various leadership positions in several standing committees. Steve has over thirty years of professional finance experience, earning his CPA certificate in public accounting and having worked in a number of positions in private industry and non-profits prior to joining the fire district in 2004. Steve is a frequent contributor to the CSMFO Magazine and enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and following Los Angeles Kings hockey in his off time.

Additional coverage of the September North Coast Chapter meeting will be provided in the November CSMFO Magazine.

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

INSIDE CSMFO

Annual Conference Scholarships Now Available The 2019 Conference Host Committee is excited to announce CSMFO Board’s continued support for the scholarship program.

The scholarship program is intended to promote new conference attendees whereby agencies with at least one conference attendee already registered will be given priority for receiving a scholarship. Non-members will receive a complimentary one-year membership in CSMFO. The goal being that these new members become lifelong contributors to CSMFO because of their experience from attending the annual conference. The annual conference fosters a relationship with CSMFO, therefore scholarship recipients provide volunteer services at the conference and a postconference survey to encourage continuous improvement.

The simple one-page application and minor time commitment provides for event registration, meals, lodging, hundreds of hours of training options, and countless networking opportunities. Don’t miss out on a chance to experience Palm Springs during the magical month of January. Scholarship applications are due on Wednesday, October 10th with winners notified by Friday, October 26th. Applications are located at www.csmfo.org.

Congratulations to last year’s scholarship winners: Antuna, Sylvia

Landeros, Art

Maniscalco, Calogero (Cal)

Lee, Jude

Blondell, Krystena

Lin, Bei

Buenrostro, Claudia

Martinez, Claudia

Czerwin, Cynthia

Moore, Jon

Dee, Natalee

Mora, Evelyn

Estelle, Elena

Ojeda, Maria

Fujioki, Robert

Solis, Karina

Gonzales, Nicole

To, Annie

Green, Stephen

Villarreal, Javier

Hallick, Rosemary

Walker, Nicholas

Harmon, Bret

Webster, Eleanor

Johnson, Amber

Whippy, Isaac

Kerans, Carolyne

Wilson, Cat

King, Celia

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INSIDE CSMFO

Oh, Say Can You See? Singer Wanted!

Every year the CSMFO Annual Conference opens with a colorguard presentation of flags and the singing of the National Anthem. Have you ever looked at the singer and thought, “I can do that”? Well now’s your chance to prove it!

Send your voice recording of you singing the National Anthem a capella to PresidentElect Joan Michaels Aguilar at presidentelect@csmfo.org by October 31, 2018 for your chance to sing in front of more than 1000 of your colleagues in Palm Springs on Wednesday, January 9, 2019.

Winner receives a $100 to the charity of their choice.

Break legs!

Awesome Conference

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Mix Vol. 62

CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

INSIDE CSMFO

How to Use Coaching for Successful Talent Development Written By Amy Chang and Don Maruska

Amy Chang, Administrative Officer, City of Ontario

Don Maruska, Director, CSMFO Coaching Program

While there are many techniques to coaching, the most important thing about being a coach is the spirit you bring to it. Don Maruska, Director of CSMFO’s Coaching Program, interviewed Amy Chang, Administrative Officer in Ontario, CA, about her experience with coaching. Learn from her insights how you can make coaching a powerful experience to boost performance and fulfillment in your finance team.

I reflected on all the “things” that I was doing, I realized that finding the tips and tools to help people succeed was that “thing”. That is my energy source.

What attracted you to coaching?

What do you see as the opportunity for coaching to help local government professionals succeed?

About six years ago my Finance Director asked me what my passion and purpose in life were in order to help me align my life with our newly established MAD (Making A Difference) Culture, which focuses on people first, work second. At that time I was working in the Budget Unit and believed that exceeding deadlines and making a good impression on my boss were my job and goals. After what seemed like about a year of weekly nagging from the Finance Director about finding my purpose on earth, I decided to spend some time on that to get him off my back. Lo and behold, the process of finding my purpose actually was life changing. The turning point was when he asked me to think about what is the “thing” that I do that keeps me up at night, the “thing” that I am willing to forgo basic human needs of eating and sleeping to pursue. As

There is no app for emotional intelligence and analytical thinking. We are talking about people’s lives, and it is personal. My own purpose discovery journey helped me realize that opportunities are around us everyday. Similar to the saying that every day is an interview, every day is a coaching day. I see coaching as simply people helping other people get back on their feet or broaden their horizon and potential. This is something that I see people do all the time.

We all have it in us to be a coach. The question is are you are willing to make people your priority and walk alongside them to help them succeed?

Over the past 20 years of my financial career, I have focused on improving myself to prepare for the next career opportunity. It turned out that the one thing I focused on for myself is what I felt most compelled to contribute back to the world. All of a sudden, it was clear that coaching is my passion and purpose. This discovery was comparable to the feeling I got when I reconciled a complex excel spreadsheet at the 24th hour.

One main purpose of working in local government is to help our community by making it better. In order to help our community, we have to start by helping our coworkers and ourselves be better. We are in a crucial time period where the “silver tsunami” is closing in and the next financial crisis is about to surface with rising costs and even more limited resources. My personal opinion is that we need to bring awareness to the urgency of preparing our younger workforce to rise up and assume responsibility. In addition, we need to strengthen them so that they will stand strong when facing any upcoming challenges.

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Why are coaching skills critical for building strong teams in finance?

time and to help them move forward to discover and live their dreams. It is similar to a public works project that never ends because of the continued operating and maintenance cost plus capital replacement reserves. You will have to shift your mind-set from task-oriented to people-oriented. People are the engine that make the organization run. Take care of your people and your people will take care of you and your organization.

Traditionally, when there is a team, there is a coach or someone who guides the team towards the target goal.

Therefore, coaching is not a new concept. Coaching skills are crucial for building strong teams in any profession.

When there is no direction, people may find their own way, create silos, or disengage. When people believe they know what they are doing, but it is not in alignment with the organization’s vision and mission, someone needs to be there to guide them to see how all the pieces fit and align. When people succeed, the organization succeeds. We all need a tap on the shoulder from time to time to get back on track.

When you have a strong team, the energy and focus will be available to spend on innovations and overcoming obstacles to improve your community.

I mention this not to discourage you from becoming a coach but to bring up the not so glamorous side, which is also the most fulfilling part of coaching. As with anything that is worth achieving, there is always a big hill that you will have to climb and sacrifices you will have to make before you get there.

When you are at the top of the mountain, it is exhilarating for you and your apprentice! If you are wondering what it takes to kick-start a coaching program with your team, here is a list of suggestions for you to consider. As I look back to my own coaching journey, these are the general steps that have helped me move my team and myself forward. We are in it together.

How can CSMFO members learn and develop their coaching skills?

• Build a genuine relationship with each team member individually.

At times, public service may be viewed as either a noble and fulfilling profession or a selfless and thankless one. Coaching is similar. Therefore, I believe that before you start learning and developing specific coaching skills, you need to identify your motive and goal for being a coach. If you believe in putting people’s best interests first over your own accolades, then you will succeed at coaching.

• Help people see though we are individuals we are aiming for the same goals.

• Be the invisible glue that joins people together.

• Continue to feed yourself and your team inspirational messages.

As rewarding as coaching can be, there are many struggles throughout the coaching process before you get to success. It takes patience, courage, and resilience to continue to walk alongside other people to get them back on their feet time after

• Get your own coach to help anchor yourself.

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

How to Use Coaching for Successful Talent Development

Amy Chang has been a financial professional for the past 20 years in the private, non-profit, and local government sectors.

Currently, she is serving as the Administrative Officer for the City of Ontario’s Management Services Department. Amy believes in embracing each person as an individual and empowering them to impact the world in their own way. She has a passion to coach and mentor her team to integrate their life’s purpose in their work. Through the Leadership Mastermind Executive Coaching Program with Dr. Michelle Pizer, she has learned about Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence model, and has been instilling and practicing this skill set to strengthen herself and her team.

Amy holds a master’s degree in Information Systems Auditing from Cal Poly Pomona and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Cal State Fullerton.

Thank you, Amy, for sharing your story!

Thank you for this opportunity, Don! As I wrote this article, I found that I really enjoy sharing my stories and encourage others to do the same. You never know which story or nagging will change another person’s life. I learned a few more things about myself from this experience through selfreflection and from my Talent Fulfillment Team’s feedback.

Thanks for all your coaching efforts and helping me take charge of my talent.

[For more information about Ontario’s MAD culture and innovative ways to engage millennials, see the blog post by Grant Yee, Ontario’s CFO, https://icma.org/blog-posts/ why-millennials-will-save-workplace-and-ultimately-ourlives.]

Don Maruska created the CSMFO Coaching Program in partnership with CSMFO’s leadership 20 years ago. Since then, the program has grown to become an integral part of CSMFO’s professional development resources. In 2017 over 3,800 attendees participated in the nine webinars, and hundreds more gained from Speed Coaching and special sessions at CSMFO’s annual conference and other program resources. Don received CSMFO’s Distinguished Service Award in 2017. Previously, Don was founder and CEO of three Silicon Valley companies, earning a National Innovator Award. He’s the author of two books used in both the public and private sectors around the world. “How Great Decisions Get Made” and “Take Charge of Your Talent.” Don earned his MBA and JD from Stanford University and became a Master Certified Coach, the highest credential in professional coaching.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Leadership Academy Fills the Talent Pipeline Gap Written By Sally Rice and Richard Oppenheim

Sally Rice, co- creator of the Supervisor/ Manager Academy and the Lead Worker Academy, RGS

Richard Oppenheim, Administrative Services/Training and Development Manager, RGS

Agencies of all sizes and structures struggle with losing leadership expertise, succession planning gaps, and incomplete talent pipelines. That’s what Regional Government Services Authority (RGS) found while serving the consulting, administrative, and project management needs of 250 local government agencies. To make the challenge even tougher, these agencies often lack internal resources to address leadership training needs themselves.

In response, RGS set out to create meaningful leadership development training. We did this by connecting with a dozen local government HR Directors to develop and validate leadership competencies that agencies need.

Then, RGS Advisors with experience in local government management, human resources, and training developed our Supervisor/Manager Academy curriculum to train new and existing supervisors and managers.

Unique Structure Key to this development was not just what competencies were developed, but how they were delivered. Our Academy format features three full training days across three consecutive months. This allows concepts to be presented in stages, as attendees establish goals and have a month to practice learned skills.

Attendees get feedback on progress prior to learning a new set of skills.

This helps reinforce incorporation of leadership competencies into their work.

Additionally, these are “regional academies,” where a host agency provides facilities for the Academy and 39

attendees come from the host agency and other agencies in the region. The regional model unites attendees from diverse organizational cultures, structures, and experiences, which enhances knowledge sharing and builds support networks across agencies.

Responsive Content Our content teaches leaders to create positive, highperforming, ethical cultures in which their agency employees thrive.

• Day one focuses on employee engagement, creating a positive and productive environment, and understanding leadership levels/styles.

• Day two focuses on communication and understanding how leaders engage with employees around important workplace issues.

• Day three focuses on proactive steps leaders can take, such as hiring the right people, establishing a culture of accountability, performance management/ coaching, and positive discipline.

RGS trainers bring the content to life and ensure learning happens in the course and in the workplace. Our trainers understand the challenges facing local government leaders and use real-world examples from these environments.

They utilize various learning models including interactive processes, role-playing, video, and team discussions to support competency development.

RGS content continues to be responsive as additional needs surface. RGS created a Lead Worker/Senior level of the Academy to address the crucial role of leads and senior supervisors and strengthens agency talent pipelines to train the next generation of leaders. We also created an “in-house” version of the Academy, in which larger agencies request to host their own academy. RGS customizes academy material to meet specific agency needs. The in-house model allows for simultaneous, consistent training of all agency leaders, which can be a powerful unifying force for the agency.

CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

Leadership Academy Fills the Talent

Sally Rice had her own training business for a several years and her clients included school districts, and the California State Department of Education. Then, after doing training for a small city in So. California, she started a 17 year career as an HR Director and Risk Manager for 3 public agencies. Throughout her work in public agencies, she provided training in leadership and risk management to employees of these agencies. Then, in 2013 she joined the RGS staff development team and co-created the Supervisor/Manager Academy and the Lead Worker Academy.

She is also one of the trainers.

Feedback and Growth The response from local government attendees and agencies has been excellent. One sample comment from an attendee was, “This was well worth the investment in time and money. Thank you for covering a broad range of topics to help us supervisors succeed in our organizations.”

The Academies also make an impact with leaders of attendees’ agencies. Lorie Tinfow, City Manager of Benicia, said, “As a host city of the Supervisor/Manager Academy this year, I heard from my staff that the training was very meaningful and contributed greatly to their work success and leadership skills.” Tina Murphy, former HR Director at Milpitas, now HR Director at Sunnyvale, said “At the City of Milpitas, we received positive feedback from the employees who attended the first Academy.

And because it was so popular, we decided to send an employee to the next one, 80 miles away, so they would not miss out on this fantastic training opportunity!”

Richard Oppenheim serves as Administrative Services/Training and Development Manager for Regional Government Services Authority (RGS). Richard has worked in the public sector for over 18 years with state, counties, and local government entities.

In his role Richard oversees the administrative, process and procedural needs of RGS, and manages the external Training and Development Unit at RGS, including its Leadership Academies.

His wide range of experience includes Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, Talent Management/Development, eLearning Development/Planning, Mentoring Programs, Leadership Development, Succession Planning, Performance Management, Change Management, Knowledge Management, and Organization-wide Culture Change initiatives.

Positive feedback, outreach, re-referrals from agencies have allowed us to grow organically. We started with one academy annually. Now RGS presents six Academies annually. RGS has completed 21 Academies and trained over 500 staff from over 90 local government agencies.

This growth demonstrates that the Academies meet the leadership development needs of local government employees. RGS continues to build awareness of our academies and respond to the shifting needs of local government in new and innovative ways to teach essential leadership competencies.

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Awesome Conference

Mix Vol. 62

JANUARY 8 – 11, 2019 PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

INSIDE CSMFO

CSMFO Board of Directors Elections The CSMFO Nominating Committee is proud to present to you the candidates for our 2019 Board of Directors openings. To accommodate the earlier 2019 and 2020 conferences, the election cycle has been moved up to October, which means members will be emailed by October 1st with instruction to vote electronically by October 31st.

If you know our candidates or see them at your next Chapter Meeting, please congratulate them on being nominated!

Otherwise, please read more about these amazing volunteers, from their own words, about why they stand ready to give more to CSMFO. President-Elect (South)

STEVE HEIDE, CHINO VALLEY FIRE DISTRICT At over 2,000 members strong, I recognize that we all have choices when it comes to where we seek our continuing education and professional development opportunities. For me, CSMFO is at the very top of my list of professional memberships and it has been my pleasure to serve our members in various volunteer leadership roles over the last several years.

Fellow members, while CSMFO is, in my estimation, the premier professional association for government finance officers in California, together we still have much to accomplish for the collective benefit of our members and the important missions their organizations serve in communities throughout our state. I am humbled to be considered for the position of President-Elect. I pledge to remain ever mindful of our mission to serve government finance professionals through innovation, collaboration, continuing education and professional development.

Should you require any clarification regarding this candidate statement, my qualifications, background or experience, or passion for CSMFO, please don’t hesitate to contact me at: sheide@chofire.org.

Board Member (North)

CRAIG BOYER, COUNTY OF ALAMEDA I appreciate the opportunity to be a candidate for this year’s Board of Directors. My goals are to support programs that provide professional development and networking opportunities for members. I want to continue to broaden the membership base and facilitate strong working relationships among existing members.

CSMFO can broaden its membership base by reaching out to groups who have not regularly participated in CSMFO. I was able to increase student participation in CSMFO this year by helping to organize the first on-campus event at UC Berkeley where we hosted a lunch and presentation. I want to continue my involvement in student engagement by representing CSMFO at a Meet the Firms event and hosting a chapter meeting at a college campus.

I can draw on my experience as Recognition Committee Chair to help broaden membership and facilitate networking. I automated the award programs by introducing new award management software. If elected, I will continue to seek opportunities to use technology to increase member participation.

Thanks for considering me as your board candidate for 2019. Please vote so CSMFO can continue to have Board members who help to achieve its mission to be the preeminent resource for promoting excellence in government finance!

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CSMFO Board of Directors Elections

WILL FUENTES, CITY OF MILPITAS I have a passion for helping Finance professionals to grow in their careers and continuously learn. If elected, I’d work tirelessly to ensure that members at all levels are provided educational and career development opportunities in the location and medium most accessible and comfortable to them. This means making sure that live courses and webinars cover topics that are useful, relevant, and timely, leverage current and emerging technologies, and are provided at numerous times throughout the year and at diverse locations. I’d also like to see the Coaching Program enhanced so that it is more accessible and approachable to our future Finance leaders who may desperately need mentoring and support, but who may be uncomfortable asking for help. And lastly, I would like to explore ways in which CSMFO in general is more expansive and inclusive of Finance professionals from all public agencies; big and small. This could be accomplished through a tiered membership structure with an introductory component and a similar structure for the annual conference. CSMFO and its educational, mentoring, and networking opportunities have been so valuable to my career. And through election to the Board, I will work to ensure it is just as valuable to all.

BRAD WILKIE, CITY OF LOMPOC CSMFO is a service organization and our members are who we service. I grew up in a family who valued community service. In much the same way, CSMFO is a family with its focus to serve all government financial professionals to be successful in their profession and their community. With more than 31 years of experience in various financial activities, I have much to give back to future members of CSMFO. The commitment of CSMFO’s volunteers to the organization speaks to their commitment to all members of CSMFO. The health of CSMFO is measured in the values of its members and the opportunities CSMFO continues to provide - trainings, programs, resources, conferences, and more. The future of CSMFO is in the hands staff and college students; who we can encourage to join the profession and CSMFO. It is our responsibility, the current members of CSMFO, to promote CSMFO to the next generation, encourage their interest in financial management and governmental service and to continue to provide the services to our members.

I see a great future in CSMFO and look forward to continuing to promote CSMFO to our members, potential members and future members, our family.

Board Member (South)

STEPHEN PARKER, CITY OF STANTON I love CSMFO - I think the organization is incredible and headed in the right direction. Our focus has always been on integrity, professional development and public service. Those core values are not going to change, but our approach on how to provide them to our members will.

As a Board Member, my goal will be to provide increasingly valuable professional development through a variety of delivery methods to promote growth for our members in their profession as they help lead the governments that they work for. If elected to the CSMFO Board, I will encourage the historical ideals we have always had as our organization looks to become even more relevant and valuable to our members in the future.

ERNIE REYNA, CITY OF EASTVALE There are so many levels of involvement a member can be a part of including at the chapter level as well as all eight committees, and each presents themselves with a unique perspective. I am proud to say that I have served as Chapter Chair of the Inland Empire from 2013-2014, as well as serving as Committee Chair of the Administration and Membership Committees from 2015 through 2017. Currently, I am the Vice-Chair of the Communications Committee and I feel that my experience in CSMFO has allowed to be in a position where I can use my insight to successfully serve as a Board Member for the South.

As a member of the CSMFO Board, I will work to increase CSMFO’s digital footprint for the future members of CSMFO so the organization can continue to be a leader in governmental finance. In addition, I will work to provide all members with the highest quality professional development, the best technology, and the best possible annual conference that travels into cities such as San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Lastly, I will strive to ensure that all Cities, Counties and Special Districts in California have access to all of CSMFO’s wonderful benefits.

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

INSIDE CSMFO

Successful Promotions Part of the reason why members join CSMFO is to have access to tools that will help them succeed in their career. Sometimes members are looking to move into a new position, such as a supervisor to a manager, or maybe even to a Finance Director.

CSMFO provides a wide array of tools to assist in educating members via accounting and investment courses offered in person throughout California and also teaches skills vital to obtaining the next step in your career (for example, Speed Coaching at the annual conference). Whatever skills you feel are necessary to take you to the next level of your career, chances are CSMFO can assist you in achieving your goal.

Most of us know someone who has recently been promoted, either at their current employer or by securing a new job at a different agency. Because CSMFO is such a great resource of information, it is important to celebrate those of us who have successfully been promoted both internally and at other agencies, because it is likely that the tools used to succeed were learned either directly or indirectly through CSMFO. Beginning with the September issue of the CSMFO magazine, the Communications Committee will begin highlighting individuals who have reached a career milestone within their organization or have transitioned into a new position at a new agency. The Committee began this process by sending out to the general membership a survey asking for those who have been promoted from the time period beginning on June 1, 2018 through August 31, 2018. The hope is that all promotions can be highlighted in the magazine so the membership can celebrate the achievements accomplished by the individual.

One such member that the Committee would like to highlight is Nitish Sharma. Nitish was formerly the Budget Manager with the City of West Sacramento. Mr. Sharma spent 12 ½ years at the City of West Sacramento and announced in August that he had accepted a position with the City of Davis as their new Director of Finance and started on August 27, 2018.

Nitish has been very involved with CSMFO, including serving on the Communication Committee for the past two years as well as serving as Chapter Chair for the Sacramento Valley Chapter! Having that kind of involvement certainly can have a positive outcome when applying for a new job so please help me to congratulate Nitish Sharma on becoming the newest Finance Director for the City of Davis.

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Nitish Sharma’s Personal Testimony “I am very excited to join the City of Davis Executive Team as the City’s next Director of Finance. Over the past 12 years in Municipal Finance, I have developed strong skills in fiscal management, advanced accounting, budgeting, and utility rate setting and implementation with the City of West Sacramento. Joining the CSMFO organization was probably one of the greatest moves of my career. I started in CSMFO as a member and worked my way to the leadership level. CSMFO coaching and continued education helped me develop the leadership skills necessary to lead an organization. I highly encourage the members to take active role in the CSMFO to expand your knowledge and network to create a pathway in your career.”

We extend our sincere congratulations and best wishes to those recent CSMFO hero’s how have retired or promoted in the past few months.

Retirements Colleen O’Donoghue, Assistant Finance Director, City of Costa Mesa Raymond Chin, Finance Manager, City of Santa Cruz Promotions Agnew Boros, Finance Manager, Cucamonga Valley Water District Bruce Moe, City Manager, City of Manhattan Beach Chad Brantley, Director of Financial & Technology Services, Cucamonga Valley Water District Ernie Reyna, Finance Director/City Treasurer, City of Eastvale Grace Castaneda, Budget Manager, City of San Mateo Isaiah Haggerman, City Manager, City of Rancho Mirage Janna Bogue, Sr Accountant, City of Thousand Oaks Jill Moya, Senior Accountant, City of Carlsbad Lynn Haile, Accountant II, City of Yuba City Nitish Sharma, Director of Finance, City of Davis Roxanne Muhlmeister, Finance Manager – Budget, City of Carlsbad Tess Sloan, Interim Finance Director, City of Ridgecrest

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

JOB OPPORTUNITIES Administrative Analyst II, Contra Costa Water District Salary: $44.33/hourly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Chief Deputy Treasurer, County of San Diego-Treasurer Tax Collector Salary: $170000/yearly Application Deadline: 11/20/2018

Finance and Accounting Manager, Petaluma Salary: $87630.4/yearly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Chief Financial Officer, City of Oxnard Salary: $200000/yearly Application Deadline: 11/27/2018

Deputy Director of Finance, Accounting, Bob Murray & Associates Salary: $122737.65/yearly Application Deadline: 11/12/2018

Chief Financial Officer, Transbay Joint Powers Authority Salary: $156000/yearly Application Deadline: 12/18/2018

Accountant / Senior Accountant, City of Garden Grove Salary: $5311/monthly Application Deadline: 11/19/2018

Controller, Orange County Sanitation District Salary: $152289/yearly Application Deadline: 11/26/2018

Accountant I, Olivenhain Municipal Water District Salary: $25.84/hourly Application Deadline: 11/18/2018

CONTROLLER, Coachella Valley Water District Salary: $9546/monthly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Accountant I, Rocklin Salary: $57434/yearly Application Deadline: 10/30/2018

Customer Services Officer, City of Long Beach Salary: $95000/yearly Application Deadline: 12/12/2018

ACCOUNTANT I/II, City of Watsonville Salary: $4336.35/monthly Application Deadline: 12/03/2018

Deputy Finance Director, City of Long Beach Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 12/13/2018

Accountant II, City of Alameda Salary: $86569/yearly Application Deadline: 11/28/2018

Director of Finance, Town of Apple Valley Salary: $168672/yearly Application Deadline: 11/12/2018

Accounting & Finance Manager, Town of Tiburon Salary: $8507/monthly Application Deadline: 12/16/2018

Director of Finance and Budget, Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 12/17/2018

Accounting Manager, City of Salinas, Finance Department Salary: $8778/monthly Application Deadline: 12/12/2018

Finance & Performance Audit Manager, South Bay Regional Public Communications Authority Salary: $11829.01/monthly Application Deadline: 12/19/2018

Accounting Manager, City of Vacaville Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 12/06/2018

Finance and Administrative Services Director, City of Mountain View, CA Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 12/06/2018

Accounting Technician, Jurupa Community Services District Salary: $4070.02/monthly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Finance Director, City of Sierra Madre Salary: $118070/yearly Application Deadline: 11/13/2018

Assistant Director of Finance, City of Sunnyvale Salary: $189000/yearly Application Deadline: 11/19/2018

Finance Director, City of Galt Salary: $145092/yearly Application Deadline: 11/13/2018

Budget Analyst, City of Rancho Cucamonga Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 11/18/2018

Finance Director / City Treasurer, City of Willits Salary: $97738/yearly Application Deadline: 11/19/2018

Budget Manager, City of Sunnyvale Salary: $160000/yearly Application Deadline: 11/19/2018

Finance Manager, Management Partners Salary: $120548/yearly Application Deadline: 11/7/2018

Buyer I/II, City of Santa Cruz Salary: $4225/monthly Application Deadline: 11/25/2018

Finance Manager, City of Walnut Creek Salary: $153198/yearly Application Deadline: 12/13/2018

CASH MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST, County of San Mateo Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 11/13/2018

Finance Manager, City of Murrieta Salary: $118319/yearly Application Deadline: 12/11/2018 46

Finance Manager, Rainbow Municipal Water District Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 12/03/2018

Payroll Administrator, City of Burlingame Salary: $7831.33/monthly Application Deadline: 12/19/2018

Finance Manager, Jurupa Community Services District Salary: $11715/monthly Application Deadline: 12/20/2018

Purchasing Manager, City of Fresno Salary: $88332/yearly Application Deadline: 12/05/2018

Finance Manager ( Financial Services Officer), City of National City Salary: $119820/yearly Application Deadline: 11/21/2018

Revenue Development Specialist, City of Petaluma Salary: $56305.6/monthly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Financial Analyst, Placer County Water Agency Salary: $73939/yearly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Senior Account Technician, City of Martinez Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 11/13/2018

Financial Services Deputy Director, Alameda County Social Services Agency Salary: $101316.8/yearly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Senior Accountant, SDRMA Salary: $76825/yearly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Fund Accountant, City of Maywood Salary: $62400/yearly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Senior Accountant, Fallbrook Public Utility District Salary: $116251/yearly Application Deadline: 12/05/2018

Independent Performance Auditor, San Diego Association of Governments Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 12/20/2018

Senior Accountant Details, La Mesa Salary: $35.89/hourly Application Deadline: 11/12/2018

LOSSAN Accounting Analyst, Sr., OCTA Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 12/05/2018

Senior Accountant/Controller, Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz Salary: $34.62/hourly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Management Analyst - Grants Administration, WESA Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 11/15/2018

Senior Accounting Technician, City of Sunnyvale Salary: $69438.93/yearly Application Deadline: 12/24/2018

Management Analyst (Finance), City of Manhattan Beach Salary: $6221/monthly Application Deadline: 12/04/2018

Senior Financial Analyst, City of Concord Salary: See Posting Application Deadline: 11/20/2018

Manager of Accounting, Southern California Association of Gover Salary: $137633.6/yearly Application Deadline: 10/01/2018

Supervisor of Administrative Services, Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside Salary: $108100/yearly Application Deadline: 11/18/2018

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CSMFO MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018

Invest in you Here's a list of upcoming opportunities to develop you and your team from CSMFO and other trusted government partners. Be sure to start with CSFMO's event calendar and then block January 8-11, 2019 on your calendar for the 2019 CSMFO Conference in Palm Springs.

Supervisors

Communications

CSMFO's is proud to partner with Neil Kupchin to present "Developing Successful Supervisory Skills" on October 17, 2018 in El Segundo.

The Association of Government Accountants is hosting on September 12, 2018, a webinar on "effective communication strategies in today’s evolving and transitioning workforce".

Eliminate Bias

Pension & more

ICMA's Coaching Program has two upcoming webinars: Recognize and Eliminate Bias" on September 19, 2018 and "Taking Smart Risks and Rebounding from Setbacks on October 25, 2018

The annual CalPERS Education Forum is in Indian Wells this year and will be held on October 22-24, 2018.

Pre-supervisors

Investing

Regional Government Services is partnering with the City of Seaside to host a three-part academy for developing Lead and Senior Workers. Day one starts on October 4, 2018 with Day two and three on November 15, 2018 and December 6, 2018.

The California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission will be hosting three repeat Public Fund Investing classes in Aliso Viejo, CA on October 23, 24 and 25, 2018.