csmfo magazine april 2016

CSMFO MAGAZINE APRIL 2016CSMFO.ORG

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CSMFO M A G A Z I N E

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

APRIL 2016 #2

THE CONFERENCE EDITION

CSMFO.ORGCSMFO MAGAZINE APRIL 2016

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CSMFO M A G A Z I N E

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

APRIL 2016 #2

2016 Board of DirectorsPresident John Adams, City of Thousand OaksPresident-Elect Drew Corbett, City of San MateoPast President Jesse Takahashi, City of CampbellBarbara Boswell, City of LancasterJimmy Forbis, City of MontereyBrent Mason, City of RiversideMarcus Pimentel, City of Santa CruzKaran Reid, City of ConcordChu Thai, City of Monterey Park

Executive Director/Editor Melissa Dixon, MBA, CAE

Editorial Designer David Blue Garrison

Photography ByChu TaiDavid Blue GarrisonDisneyland

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

CSMFO MAGAZINE APRIL 2016

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CONTENTSAPRIL 2016

6 President’s LetterJohn Adams

Executive Director’s LetterMelissa Dixon

A Different Kind Of CourseJohn Adams

CSMFO LOVEMelissa Dixon

President’s Dinner Steve Heide

Early Bird Sessions: The Magic MorningCraig Boyer

Four Keynote LearningsDavid Cain

National Market CommentaryHilltop Securities

The Happiest Place On EarthMichael Coleman

Club 33Joan Michaels Aguilar

The Future Is Now!John Adams

Perks of the After PartyKathryn Downs

Strategies for Mitigating Municipal Employee Fraud MGO

One Vendor’s ViewTyler Monk

Diary of a Host Committee ChairDrew Corbett

Job Opportunities

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dedication and hardwork year after year produces a program that is second to none. Thank you to: Viki Copeland (City of Hermosa Beach) for her leadership, Ronnie Campbell (City of Camarillo) for his support and vision, Mary Bradley (City of Fremont) for her wisdom, Harriet Commons (Retired) for her dedication, Drew Corbett (City of Menlo Park) for his fresh perspectives, and Margaret Moggia (West Basin Water District) for her amazing ideas.

“The Conference offered over 40 general and

concurrent sessions covering a wide range of technical and

non-technical topics.”

PRESIDENT’S LETTERJOHN ADAMS

conference successful, so I thought I would write about each one of them in this President’s message.

Great People – A successful event is not possible without great people, and CSMFO members came in force to enjoy the conference together. We had a record attendance this year with 1300 attendees. I originally thought the conference was great because I was President, but as you can imagine, many people reminded me it was because of the people. Thank you to all the attendees, your involvement made the conference a huge success.

Fantastic Program & Educational Content – The Conference offered over 40 general and concurrent sessions covering a wide range of technical and non-technical topics. Whether it was Michael Coleman giving an update on California finance, or David Bean giving a GASB update, or Neil Kupchin on personal leadership, there were plenty of top-notch sessions for all municipal finance professionals. A program of this caliber is not possible without two groups. First, our speakers. Their commitment and expertise is what makes the conference program possible. And second, the CSMFO Program Committee. Their

Returning from the Happiest Place on EarthWOW, what an amazing conference in Anaheim at the Disneyland

Resort. I hope those of you that were able to attend our 56th Annual Conference, “A Finance Life for Me”, enjoyed it as much as I did. Over the past month I have received so many compliments on how wonderful the conference was. I wish I could take all the credit, but I can’t. There are so many ingredients that make a

JOHN ADAMS FACTSJohn’s favorite James Bond is Roger Moore.


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Inspirational Keynotes – One of the enjoyable parts of putting on the conference is determining the keynote speakers. Usually hours are spent identifying potential speakers that convey the theme of the conference. This year we had Jon Gordon as the opening session keynote talking about the Energy Bus. I want to thank David Cain from Fountain Valley, as it was his recommendation to have Jon as a speaker. What a great choice to start us off. On Thursday, we had a lot of fun with Jon & Owen of The Passing Zone. I want to thank our CSMFO volunteers: Gilbert Punsalan (City of Thousand Oaks), Stephen Parker (City of Stanton) and Pamela Arends-King (Union Sanitary District). It was Pam’s recommendation to have The Passing Zone perform, so a big “thank you” to her. Friday morning’s general session featured Dave Childs talking about the importance of Ethics. And finally, no better way to end the conference than to have Neil Kupchin help us take what we learned and apply it to our agencies after the conference. Thank you to our keynotes, hopefully you also found them inspirational and memorable.

Memorable Events – What conference is complete without networking and having fun? For those that were able to get away a few hours early from work on Tuesday, we offered golf or tennis. The golf tournament was played at Black Gold in Yorba Linda, while tennis was played at the Anahiem Tennis Center. Thank you to Mark Alvarado, Anna Van Degna, and Lily Ng for all their work on these events. Also, thank you to the many sponsors.

Tuesday evening was the President’s Dinner, where we recognized past

presidents and the current CSMFO leadership for their dedication to

CSMFO. Thank you to David Cain, Pamela Arends-

King, Elena Zaretsky, Stephen Parker, and

Marisa Anticevich. Wednesday was our conference reception where there was plenty of networking and

catching up with old friends. And of

course, Thursday night with the after-hours Party

in Disneyland. No better way to attend a conference in Anaheim than to visit the park and go on a few rides. I did try to have the pirate song changed to a “Finance Life for Me,” but Disney would not budge! Hopefully you had a great time at these events.

Generous Financial Support – Our commercial members and sponsors are truly an integral part of CSMFO’s success. We had over 100 sponsors and exhibitors for the 2016 Annual Conference. I would like to thank our generous sponsors and exhibitors for their commitment and support of our conference. It is this support that helps make our Annual Conference so successful year after year.

Added Value – One of the focuses for the Program Committee is to enhance educational content every year. This year we had two outstanding pre-conferences, Enterprise Resource Planning with Phil Bertolini and Terry Hackleman, and Fundamentals of Municipal Revenues with Michael Coleman and Lloyd de Llamas. In addition to the pre-conference sessions, we had two free early bird sessions with Chris Thornberg, Economic Update, and Alan Milligan & Chery Eason from CalPERS. Clearly, these sessions added value for those that are able to get away from the office a little early.


Showing Off to Special Guests – What is the point of having the best conference in the world if you can’t share it will others? Being President, one of the privileges is to host our VIPs & Out of State guests at the conference. This provides an opportunity to meet other municipal finance officers from other states and have them experience the best government finance conference in North America. This year, I was able to host five individuals, including a CSMFO Past-President. They were:

Pamela Arends-King – California Municipal Treasurers Association (CMTA)

Heidi Starks – Oregon Government Finance Officers Association (OGFOA)

Carmen Hayter – Washington Finance Officers Association (WFOA)

Mike Middleton – Alaska Government Finance Officers Association (AGFOA)

Heather Johnston – Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)

I would like to thank them for attending our conference and look forward to seeing them in the future.

Enthusiasm & Dedication – I was blessed to have an enthusiastic and dedicated Host Committee. I would like to thank the following individuals for their instrumental role in planning this outstanding conference:

Joan Michaels Aguilar, City of Dixon

Pamela Arends-King, Union Sanitary District

Scott Catlett, City of Yorba Linda

David Cain, City of Fountain Valley

Ronnie Campbell, City of Camarillo

Steve Heide, Chino Valley Fire District

Scott Johnson, MGO

Margaret Moggia, West Basin Municipal Water District

Lily Ng, Bank of the West

Stephen Parker, City of Stanton

Anna Van Degna, Stifel

Danielle Wood, NBS

Elena Zeretsky, Hilltop Securities

Attention to Detail – As municipal finance professionals, we know how important attention to detail is. The following people made sure the “details” were perfect:

Melissa Dixon, Smith Moore & Associates

David Garrison (voice of Jack Sparrow, CSMFO Magazine creator and Graphic Designer for the conference)

Justin Lewis (responsible for all things IT)

Elizabeth Cardwell (registration management)

Carmen Berry (registration, runner, sign updater)

Amanda Smith (registration, stage hand for The Passing Zone)

Teri Anticevich, Meeting & Association Management Services, Inc.

Janet Salvetti (overall conference management)

Candy Retamoza (exhibitors & sponsors)

Marisa Anticevich (President’s Dinner, general session scripts)

They want me to remind you to check out our Facebook page and Guidebook Mobile App for pictures from the conference. Many of these pictures are courtesy of our resident photographer, Chu Thai (City of Monterey Park), who did another fantastic job in capturing many memorable moments of our conference. Also, the presentations are available on the mobile app and the website.

Lastly, I wish to thank Past President Jesse Takahashi and our 2015 Board of Directors for the terrific job they did last year and welcome our newest Board members, Chu Thai (City of Monterey Park) and Jimmy Forbis (City

of Monterey), and President-Elect Drew Corbett (City of San Mateo). I look forward to working with all of our volunteers on finding new ways to enhance the value of this organization to our members.

In closing, thank you again for making the 56th CSMFO Annual Conference a tremendous success. I know President-Elect Drew Corbett is already planning for the next conference in Sacramento on February 7-10, 2017.

If you have suggestions on how to make next year even better than this year, please send an e-mail to CSMFO Executive Director Melissa Dixon at [email protected].

“Over the past month I have received so many compliments on how

wonderful the conference was. I wish I could take all the credit, but I can’t.”


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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’SLETTERMELISSA DIXON

wants.” And my little Mickey-shaped heart grew three sizes.

Now, I know there’s a committee and it wasn’t all my doing, but truly—so many aspects of this conference were a dream come true for me. Every time I go to Disneyland, I come back with at least one t-shirt. (I have quite the collection, as you can imagine.) This year we gave out t-shirts to attendees, so I have a commemorative t-shirt from this trip that also represents CSMFO! We did bags this year that are perfect for taking into the park. We were able to do pins this year—perfect for my Disney lanyard. (I saw a bunch of you wearing your Disney lanyards too!) And the piece de resistance…a private event at Disneyland. Drinking at Disneyland. Unlimited churros and Dole Whips. Unfettered access to Pirates of the Caribbean (my favorite). Singing at the top of my lungs to the Tiki Room songs, because of course I’ve got them memorized. (Hats off to Joan Michaels Aguilar for joining me in that impromptu concert.) Dancing to Uptown Funk in front of the Jungle Cruise at midnight with a fantastically fun, happy and amazing group of people. It was magical.

WHEN YOU WISH UPON CSMFO

Did you know that the committee was worried that people would be put off by not having a traditional banquet? There was discussion into November of changing plans and going back to having dinner and a party in the hotel ballroom. No joke. We all crossed our fingers that we’d get at least 500

people there Thursday night. We were concerned that attendees

would be upset that we weren’t providing a

meal, and that even people who said they wanted a wristband would be too tired by 9:30pm to join us in Adventureland. With 1,140 attendees at the

After Party, our fears were completely

unwarranted. Did you see that number? One

thousand one hundred forty. That’s almost more than the last

two banquets combined. Un-freaking-believable. I don’t know if you’re all Disneyphiles like me or if you just like the idea of doing something exclusive, but whatever the reason—the committee hit it out of the park with that night. Thank you all for making it so much fun.

I wanted to tell you all, briefly, why I love Disneyland. Hopefully some of you will relate! It’s not about the rides. I’m not one of those people that runs from ride to ride, trying to get as many in as possible (although that’s easier to say when you go so often). Disneyland, for me, is about vision. The dream that Walt made a reality.

When the CSMFO Annual Conference Host Committee met in May 2015 to begin planning the 2016 CSMFO Annual Conference, Teri Anticevich (our meeting planner) said to President John Adams, “You’re going to have to let us know how ‘Disney’ you want this conference to be.” John replied, “As much as Melissa

MELISSA DIXON FACTSMelissa is performing in a play called Dead Man’s Cell Phone opening April 15th in Sacramento.

“Every time I consider what had to have gone into making Disneyland,

I am inspired.”


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He sat on a park bench watching his daughters play at a park and envisioned a place where adults and children could play together. And he believed in that dream so completely that he made it happen, against incredible odds. I would love to think that if that had been me, I would’ve believed in myself and my vision enough that I would do whatever I needed to make it a reality. Every time I consider what had to have gone into making Disneyland, I am inspired. And walking into Walt’s house—seeing the light on in his apartment over the firehouse, because Walt is always watching—it moves me. Every time.

There’s also the attention to detail. Going beyond the ride or the restaurant to create a customer experience. Some examples include:

--In Flo’s V8 Café in Cars Land there’s a jukebox at the front of the line. The entries are all from the Motorama Girls, and the song titles are all car-themed (“Back to My Routes”, “Prepare to Merge”).

--The line for Star Tours (which is basically an intergalactic airport) has a thermal ‘security’ scanner.

--The uniforms are specific to each ride. Are you a Jungle Cruise skipper? You’re in a safari outfit. A Ghost Host at the Haunted Mansion? You’re in a maid or butler costume.

--Hidden Mickeys. (Need I say more?)While I can’t say I’ve ever had an

idea as epic as Disneyland, I can say that I do my best to go beyond the norm to create member experiences. I try to provide individual attention and consideration whenever possible. If it’s within my power to make your day better, to make your time with CSMFO more memorable, I’ll pursue it. Hopefully some of you can attest to that. (And for those of you who have done that for me, I consider you kindred spirits!) We’re already looking at the 2017 conference. We may not be able to bring the conference to Disneyland every year, but there’s no reason we can’t bring that level of attention to detail to every conference, no matter where it’s held. I’m very much looking forward to what this next planning year brings! (I’m pulling for karaoke!)


A DIFFERENT KIND OF COURSE

STORY BY JOHN ADAMS

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the following sponsors for their continued support and assistance in helping us put on another great golf tournament: • Hilltop Securities (Robin Thomas)• Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates

(Tom DeMars)• Piper Jaffray (Katie Koster)• Lance, Soll & Lunghard, CPA’s

(Rich Kikuchi & Bryan Gruber)• Jones Hall (Andy Hall)• Stifel (Raul Amezcua)• NBS (Tim Seufert & Danielle Wood)• Vavrinek Trine Day & Co. (AJ

Majors)• PARS (Mitch Barker)• HdL Companies (Bobby Young &

Howard Longballa)


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There was no better way to kick-off the 2016 CSMFO Annual Conference on March 1, 2016, than to come out and play golf at the challenging Black Gold Golf Club situated in picturesque Yorba Linda. The day treated us to great weather, renewing of friendships, networking opportunities and a little trash talking between foursomes, as 72 CSMFO members converged onto the course. When I had to leave early to attend a meeting, Mark Alvarado did a fantastic job of presenting the awards and thanking our sponsors (or so I heard). Winners of the day included:Tournament:1st Place - Nick Kimball, Brian Saeki, Chris Marcarello, and Bobby Young2nd Place - AJ Majors, Phillip White, Joe Aguilar, and Gil RojasStraightest Drives:

John Adams (me) and Joann GitmedClosest to the Pin:

Jonathon Foster, AJ Major, Brandon Young, and Tom DeMarsIf you have any recommendations for a golf course to play prior to the 2017 CSMFO Conference, please contact me [email protected]. I look forward to seeing you all in Sacramento, the site of next year’s CSMFO Conference.

mailto:jadams%40toaks.org?subject=


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C S M F OL O V EOn Tuesday, March 1, while over a hundred people were in preconference sessions and staff were stuffing bags like crazy, a lucky group got instead to spend the afternoon on the tennis courts. In the 5th Annual Tennis Mixer hosted by Bank of the West, 40 attendees gathered before the CSMFO 2016 Annual Conference at the Anaheim Tennis Center to volley on the clay before starting the several days of training. Thanks to everyone who participated!Flight 1 (competitive) winners:

Champion: Matt JesterFinalist: Curt DeCrinisFlight 2 (social) winners:

Champion: Lily NgFinalist: Romi Selfaison3rd Place: Ruth Kikuchi

STORY BY MELISSA DIXON


President’s Dinner STORY BY STEVE HEIDE


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“The President’s Dinner is a very special event for me. It is a very important tradition that recognizes all of our past presidents

who have dedicated significant time and effort

to CSMFO.”- JOHN ADAMS


Generous sponsors for the 2016 President’s Dinner included Hilltop Securities, Kennan & Associates and MGO. In addition to past presidents and their guests,

the invitation list for the evening’s festivities included the current CSMFO Board, committee and

chapter leaders, out-of-state and other honored guests, conference staff and

sponsor attendees. After thanking and

acknowledging everyone in attendance at the dinner, including his wife Lynne for all of her support, Adams reflected on his early days in the profession and recognized former finance director and current West

Hollywood City Manager Paul Arevalo, a mentor to Adams during

his early days in municipal finance. Adams recounted how, early in his

career at West Hollywood, Arevalo invited him to a local CSMFO chapter

meeting on short notice, presumably because Adams happened to be “the guy in the department wearing a tie that day.” Now, some two decades or so later, the guy in the tie, the guy with the very presidential sounding name, is the 2016 President of CSMFO.

In reference to the President’s Dinner, Adams stated,

“The President’s Dinner is a very special event for me. It is a very important tradition that recognizes all of our past presidents who have dedicated significant time and effort to CSMFO. It also recognizes the commitment and the hard work of the CSMFO Board and committee

volunteers and other key staff that have dedicated their time on furthering the mission and

goals of this great organization that has been in existence for all most 60

years.”Well said, Mr. President.

CSMFO members owe a debt of gratitude to our current leadership and to the past presidents of our organization for their efforts and commitment in helping to build CSMFO into the premier association it

is today. The annual President’s Dinner provides a unique

opportunity to celebrate CSMFO’s achievements and to recognize

those who’ve given so generously of themselves for the benefit of our members.

Since the first president of CSMFO in 1958, Raymond Wood from Beverly Hills, a long legacy of dedicated finance professionals have served as the volunteer leader of our organization over the years. John Adams, our esteemed colleague from the City of Thousand Oaks, continues the tradition as our 58th president.

In conjunction with the Annual Conference, the incoming president hosts an annual dinner to honor CSMFO’s past presidents. As the unofficial kick-off to our Anaheim conference, working in concert with his Annual Conference Host Committee, this year John chose the private dining and events center at The Ranch in Anaheim as the site for the 2016 President’s Dinner on March 1. Located two miles east of the Disneyland Resort on Ball Road, The Ranch is housed in a six-story commercial office building, with a private dining room and lounge on the top floor. More about The Ranch in a moment.

Past President Bob Biery (1984), then with Thousand Oaks and now with Westlake Village, presided over the introduction of the 16 past presidents in attendance at the event. During his opening remarks, Biery announced that 2016 marks his 50th year of public service in municipal finance. When asked later to explain what the annual tradition of the President’s Dinner means to him, Biery said, “It’s about relationships. The President’s Dinner is about visiting with old friends and mingling with our current leaders.”

From immediate Past President Jesse Takahashi (2015) to Janet Salvetti (2005), Biery introduced the last 11 successive CSMFO past presidents who were present for the dinner. Bill Statler (2001), Mary Bradley (1999), Howard Longballa (1998), Irwin Bornstein (1990), and George Ferrone (1986) rounded out the list of the past presidents at the event.

Located in the Extron Electronics corporate headquarters building, according to the restaurant’s website, The Ranch is the long-time dream and vision of the president and owner of Extron, Andrew Edwards. The 6th floor private dining area features first class food and amazing views of the Disneyland Resort, Angel Stadium, Honda Center and the City of Anaheim. As the evening drew toward a close, guests were treated to a fantastic view of the Disneyland’s nightly fireworks show.


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President’s Dinner 2016


One of the great values of the CSMFO Annual Conference is the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit that participants can receive while attending sessions. In addition to the General and Concurrent Sessions, CSMFO provides Early Bird Sessions that take place on the Wednesday morning of the conference. One of the great values of Disneyland is the Magic Morning Hour, where guests of the Disney hotels are able to gain access to the park before it’s open to the general public. CSMFO’s Early Bird Sessions are similar to the Magic Morning Hour in that many of the Annual Conference attendees have not yet arrived and the courses provide a wealth of information and additional CPE credit hours.

This year’s Early Bird Sessions were a special treat because conference attendees were provided with speakers who have been general session presenters at prior years’ annual conferences. Given the popularity of these speakers at prior years’ conferences, it was no surprise that the meeting room that seated approximately 500 people was standing-room-only. At the first session, Beacon Economics’ Founding Partner Dr. Christopher Thornberg presented a comprehensive forecast for the United States and California economies.

Dr. Thornberg provided a rapid-fire presentation of economic charts, graphs and insights during his session. The pacing was similar to the rope drop at Disneyland—where park guests race to be the first ones to ride their favorite rides after the Disneyland employees drop the rope to indicate that the park has been opened. Dr. Thornberg began with some humor regarding the current presidential primaries; then he raced into a series of charts and graphs that highlighted the latest trends in his economic forecasts.

Dr. Thornberg used his economic forecast to compare and contrast the stock market with the economy. Whereas the stock market experienced a lot of volatility and low returns in 2015, Dr. Thornberg’s economic forecast was generally positive for the United States economy as a whole and California

in particular. One of the more interesting charts that he showed in the early part of his presentation

was one on consumer spending. The recent newspaper headlines would

have us believe that consumer spending is depressed and this

serves as a headwind for economic slowdown. Dr. Thornberg explained that this representation is based on nominal prices and when sales of goods are analyzed using real rates of return, consumer spending has generally been increasing at

a faster rate compared to prior periods.Dr. Thornberg also showed

many statistics that supported the growing strength of the labor market.

Changes in payrolls have generally been trending higher while the unemployment rate

has generally been trending lower. Average weekly earnings have been improving and the number of job openings relative to labor market participants has been increasing. While the general sentiment towards the recovery of the labor market was positive, Dr. Thornberg did emphasize one negative aspect of the labor market: growing inequality. In the past 25

years, the top 10% of the population has gone from

owning approximately 65% of assets to owning approximately 75% of assets.

One other area of concern for California in particular that Dr.

Thornberg pointed out is a shortage of housing.

This is an issue that Dr. Thornberg has raised in prior

years’ forecasts of the California economy as well. Housing prices have recovered in many parts of the state because the demand for housing exceeds the supply. According to Dr. Thornberg, the two primary drivers for the housing shortage in California are the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Proposition 13. CEQA slows the pace of new housing while Proposition 13

Early Bird Sessions: The Magic Morning of the 2016 CSMFO Annual Conference

STORY BY CRAIG BOYER, Principal Auditor, County of Alameda


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provides disincentives for sufficient residential housing to be built in order to respond to current demand. Dr. Thornberg suggested that a revision to Proposition 13 that allowed for higher property tax rates could also address the volatility in California’s budget, as it would reduce the state’s excessive reliance on capital gains taxes to fund its budget.

Dr. Thornberg closed his session by presenting a two-column summary. In the left-hand column, he listed the issues that should not be a cause for concern, such as student debt, asset bubbles and the drought. Many of these issues are items that have been prominent in the media and Dr. Thornberg’s statistics should provide useful data to counteract the myths being suggested in these headlines. The right-hand column lists those issues that should be cause for concern, such as bad financial regulation, water policy and the California tax structure. Many of these issues are outside the scope of local governments’ ability to resolve them independently, but we should keep them in mind when considering advocacy to the state and federal governments who do have the ability to address some of these issues.

On a final unrelated note, CSMFO provided an additional Early Bird Session that presented many of the benefits available to CSMFO members. For those of you who attended this session, I encourage you to find ways to get involved that are meaningful to you. For those who were not able to attend, you can find much of the same information on the CSMFO website. Please consider finding a way to become more involved and share your expertise with the membership.

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Four Keynote Learnings

JON GORDON THE PASSING ZONE

DAVE CHILDS NEIL KUPCHIN

“Enthusiasm attracts more pas-sengers and energizes them

during the ride.”

“It’s a small world after all. There are no secrets in the world of

Ethics . . . .”

“It takes teamwork, and you’ll definitely need to become an

expert at multi-tasking.”

“Stop talking and start doing.”

STORY BY DAVID CAIN, Director of Finance/City Treasurer, City of Fountain Valley


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This year the Host and Program committees identified keynote speakers that offered specific insights and concepts that could be immediately translated into workplace values on Monday morning. Here are some lessons learned from the keynoters that I found to be compelling:Jon Gordon discusses fueling your life, work and team with positive energy during the conference opening General Session. “You’re invited on My Bus”.

Energy Bus & Relationship Principles. The opening session keynote speaker, Jon Gordon, is the author of The Energy Bus and Soup. Jon shared that we are the driver of our own bus and that our vision, desires and focus move the bus in the right direction. He encouraged us to fuel the ride with positive energy and not allow for any “energy vampires”. Jon also pointed out that our success, no matter what our position in the organization, is determined by the quality of our relationship with other team members. People are hungry for positive change and a fresh sense of purpose and passion. Jon shared several “C’s” to building a great team. They were:Communicate – Where there is a void in communication, negativity fills it. Build strong relationships and communicate with your team.Connect – Form a bond of trust that strengthens relationships and the team. Commitment – Build a commitment to doing great work but also commitment to every teammate.Care – We all need to care a little more. Give your time, effort, energy, and a little more love to the things and the people you care about.Contagious Energy – Jon talked about contagious positive energy. Choose to be positively contagious while riding the bus.When you are willing to drive or be on the “Energy Bus” you’ll enjoy the ride of your life! The Passing Zone’s - Please pass the “I.C.E.” Innovation. Collaboration. Execution. These are the cornerstones of success in any organization according to Jon and Owen as they juggled knives, machetes and chainsaws, while pulling CSMFO members from the audience into their show. As they demonstrated—live—“It’s okay to make mistakes” but what you do with them makes all the difference. When they dropped the pin in the middle of a live juggling act, they figured out how to take the opportunity and make it work. You can do the same every day. They talked about “Innovation”

and how our agencies need to look for ways to be more creative, unique and help move our finance world forward. Through their various juggling acts

they showed how “collaboration” requires trust, communication, cooperation and practice.

Clear communication was demonstrated when one of our own, on stage, Past

President Pamela Arends-King, told a blindfolded knife thrower to aim closer to the “middle”. Finally all the great ideas and plans mean nothing without execution. The fact that the Passing Zone brought their best to CSMFO allowed CSMFO Administration

Committee Vice Chair Stephen Parker to survive spinning plates, fire and

machetes thrown on both sides of his body. Bring I.C.E. to your organization.

It’s a Small World After All. There are no secrets when it comes to ethics and that includes you! According to keynote speaker Dave Childs, culture matters! Childs offered these four observations on ethical challenges: 1. What is and isn’t talked about is important.2. What conduct or behavior we reward in our

organization speaks to ethics.3. Most people think they are more ethical than most

other people.4. Decision makers commonly engage in unethical

behavior without realizing it.Dave then provided Ten Lessons for our world of ethics and public policy. See if you can recall the examples that link with each lesson. (If you can’t then you missed the breakout session on “Memory Power”!)Lesson #1: Think before you hit “send”Lesson #2: It is easier to stay out than to get outLesson #3: Do it Right!Lesson #4: Secrecy is a long odds strategy with no safety netLesson #5: If it’s too good to be true . . . it isLesson #6: Pigs get fat but hogs go to slaughterLesson #7: What you do in your personal life mattersLesson #8: You are not alone in this universeLesson #9: Ignore conflicts of interest at your own perilLesson #10: Don’t be stupid!Dave went on to talk about strategies for building an ethical organization including being clear that “how” we achieve results matters; there needs to be clear written ethical policies; make sure there are discussions with team members about ethical


dilemmas; provide clear advice and direction to the organization; and conduct an ethics audit in your organization. Remember “Don’t punish the messenger!”My personal take away from Dave’s talk is: “Can I live with my Google legacy when it hits the media?”Attendees had the opportunity to learn how to turn conference concepts into unique workplace values during Neil Kupchin’s keynote at the conclusion of the 56th CSMFO Annual Conference.

Neil will give away money, if you are willing to answer his thought provoking questions . . .

The final keynote featuring the ever-popular Neil Kupchin examined the three-step process for identifying concepts, analyzing and assessing those key concepts, and then implementing action steps into your unique situation. The final action plan must be committed to paper or it will not be achieved.Neil asked each of us to identify five to ten key concepts or ideas we wanted to take back and implement. He encouraged us to have a clear vision and tie these concepts into our organizations’ missions, directions and goals. Neil also wanted us to engage our employees by thinking about the best way to include others in the process. Don’t walk in the door on Monday and tell staff these are the “five things we are changing now”…get their input and help them to take ownership. Neil provided an Action Plan Worksheet where we could put our plan into writing. Once it has been committed to paper then “stop talking and start doing.” What do you think? Hear anything at the conference you can apply to your organization or community? Share your ideas and we will include them in a future CSMFO Magazine article.

“He (Neil) encouraged us to have a clear vision and tie these concepts into our organizations’ missions, directions and goals. ”


25

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Looking back, the headliner would be the Fed’s decision to keep rates “unchanged”, as expected. The Fed also revised the forecast of future rate hikes to two from the previous expected four. Oil prices (WTI and Brent) currently sit above $40, which shows a slight rebound in the global economy.Looking ahead, total volume of municipal bonds for the upcoming holiday shortened week is estimated at $6.2 billion up from last week’s revised $5.9 billion. The calendar is comprised of $723 million in competitive sales and $5.5 billion in negotiated.As of Friday, the AAA MMD 10yr benchmark GO yield fell to 1.83% down two basis points from 1.85% on Thursday. The AAA MMD 30yr benchmark fell one basis point to 2.79% from 2.80%. The 10yr Treasury yield currently stands at 1.90% down three basis points from 1.93% on Thursday. The 30yr Treasury yield fell two basis points to 2.67% from 2.69%. As of Friday, The 10yr muni-to-Treasury ratio was calculated on Friday at 97.7% compared to 97.3% on Thursday, while the 30yr muni-to-Treasury ratio stood at 104.3% versus 103.9%. The 30-day visible supply calendar is currently at $9.21 billion, with approximately $2.31 billion in competitive offerings and $6.90 billion in negotiated offerings.Notable figures for the end of March:

• PMI manufacturing index flash is released on Tuesday, March 22.

• US Q4 revised GDP figures are released on Friday, March 25.

• US markets are closed for Good Friday, March 25.

NATIONAL MARKET COMMENTARY

National Market CommentaryMARCH 14 – MARCH 18, 2016

Tax Exempt Yield CurveBank Qualified vs. Not Bank Qualified PricingInsured “A” Underlying as of March 18, 2016

4-Year History of Weekly Floating Rate Index (SIFMA) vs. 20-Year Fixed Rate (BBI) and Bond Buyer 25-Bond Revenue Bond Index (RBI)Source: Thomson Reuters and The Bond Buyer

*These graphs depict historical interest rates and their respective relationships. Future interest rates are dependent upon many factors such as, but not limited to,interest rate trends, tax rates, supply, changes in laws, rules and regulations, as well as changes in credit quality and rating agency considerations. The effect ofsuch changes in such assumptions may be material and could affect the projected results. These results should be viewed with these potential changes in mind aswell as the understanding that there may be interruptions in the short term market or no market may exist at all.

1

Selected Recent National Sales

Issuer Ins.Ratings

(M's/S&P/Fitch)

PricingDate

Amount ($000s) Tax

Yields(some bonds may have calls; not all maturities shown)

1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr 20 Yr 25 Yr 30 YrNY Trans Fin Auth, NY Revs State Aid Aa2/AA/AA 3/14 $750,000 T/E 0.64% 0.98% 1.41% 2.27% 3.20% -- --

Hawaii (State of) GO ULT -- Aa2/AA/AA 3/15 $500,000 T/E -- 1.03% 1.35% 2.20% 3.20% -- --

Westchester Co Local Dev, NY Revs -- Baa2/BBB/NR 3/15 $283,580 T/E 1.05% 1.45% 1.88% 2.82% -- -- 3.79%

Tohopekaliga Wtr Auth, FL Revs -- NR/AA+/AA+ 3/17 $173,605 T/E 0.70% 1.08% 1.40% 2.17% 3.18% 3.35% 3.07%

Connecticut (State of) GO ULT -- Aa3/AA/AA 3/17 $550,000 T/E 0.60% 1.23% 1.64% 2.52% 3.50% -- --

Looking back, the headliner would be the Fed’s decision to keep rates “unchanged”, as expected. The Fed also revised theforecast of future rate hikes to two from the previous expected four. Oil prices (WTI and Brent) currently sit above $40, whichshows a slight rebound in the global economy.

Looking ahead, total volume of municipal bonds for the upcoming holiday shortened week is estimated at $6.2 billion up fromlast week’s revised $5.9 billion. The calendar is comprised of $723 million in competitive sales and $5.5 billion in negotiated.

As of Friday, the AAA MMD 10yr benchmark GO yield fell to 1.83% down two basis points from 1.85% on Thursday. The AAAMMD 30yr benchmark fell one basis point to 2.79% from 2.80%. The 10yr Treasury yield currently stands at 1.90% downthree basis points from 1.93% on Thursday. The 30yr Treasury yield fell two basis points to 2.67% from 2.69%. As of Friday,The 10yr muni-to-Treasury ratio was calculated on Friday at 97.7% compared to 97.3% on Thursday, while the 30yr muni-to-Treasury ratio stood at 104.3% versus 103.9%. The 30-day visible supply calendar is currently at $9.21 billion, withapproximately $2.31 billion in competitive offerings and $6.90 billion in negotiated offerings.

Notable figures for the upcoming week:

• PMI manufacturing index flash is released on Tuesday, March 22.• U.S. Q4 revised GDP figures are released on Friday, March 25.• U.S. markets are closed for Good Friday, March 25.





1


Issuer Ins.Ratings

(M's/S&P/Fitch)

PricingDate

Amount ($000s) Tax
















1


Issuer Ins.Ratings

(M's/S&P/Fitch)

PricingDate

Amount ($000s) Tax












FEATURE STORY BY OUR DIAMOND SPONSOR: HILLTOP SECURITIES


27


*Collateralized guaranteed investment contracts consists of United States Treasury securities and AAA-rated agency securities.

Days 7 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 360

Taxable(LIBOR) (Bloomberg) 0.39% 0.42% 0.51% 0.62% -- -- 0.89% -- -- 1.21%Tax-Exempt MIG1 (Thomson/Reuters) 0.13% 0.16% 0.20% 0.26% 0.28% 0.32% 0.36% 0.39% 0.42% 0.53%

Commercial Paper Pool Comparison as of March 18, 2016

Government Investment Pool Average Rate Summary as of March 18, 2016

Disclosure: This paper is intended for issuers for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice, nor is it an offer or asolicitation of an offer to buy or sell any investment or other specific product. Information provided in this paper was obtained from sources that are believed to bereliable; however, it is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or current, and is not intended to imply or establish standards of care applicable to any attorney oradvisor in any particular circumstances. The statements within constitute HilltopSecurities views as of the date of the report and are subject to change without notice.This paper represents historical information only and is not an indication of future performance. 2

Contact

Jack Addams

Direct: 214.953-4102

Toll Free: 800.678.3792

[email protected]

HilltopSecurities.com

Market MoversSource: Bloomberg

Yields on Collateralized Investment Agreements* as of March 18, 2016, Source: Internal

Fed Outlook

Interest Rates for Short Term Debt Issuesas of March 18, 2016

Date Event Estimate Actual3/15 PPI Final Demand MoM ‐0.20% ‐0.20%3/15 PPI Ex Food and Energy MoM 0.10% 0.00%3/15 PPI Ex Food, Energy, Trade MoM 0.10% 0.10%3/15 PPI Final Demand YoY 0.10% 0.00%3/16 CPI MoM ‐0.20% ‐0.20%3/16 CPI Ex Food and Energy MoM 0.20% 0.30%3/16 CPI YoY 0.90% 1.00%3/16 CPI Ex Food and Energy YoY 2.20% 2.30%3/16 Capacity Utilization 76.90% 76.70%3/18 U. of Mich. Sentiment 92.2 903/21 Existing Home Sales 5.31m ‐‐3/21 Existing Home Sales MoM ‐2.90% ‐‐3/23 New Home Sales 510k ‐‐3/23 New Home Sales MoM 3.20% ‐‐3/24 Initial Jobless Claims 268k ‐‐3/24 Continuing Claims 2230k ‐‐3/24 Durable Goods Orders ‐3.00% ‐‐3/24 Durables Ex Transportation ‐0.30% ‐‐3/25 Personal Consumption 2.00% ‐‐3/25 GDP Price Index 0.90% ‐‐

Date of FOMC Meeting 3/16/16 4/27/16 6/15/16 7/27/16 9/21/16 11/2/16 12/14/16 2/1/17 3/15/17 4/26/17

FED Funds Forecast (Bloomberg) 0.25% 0.25% 0.25% 0.25% 0.50% 0.50% 0.50% 0.75% 0.75% 1.00%


Crude oil prices continued to rise last week with WTI topping the $40 per barrel mark for the first time since December 3. Last Thursday’s close of $40.20 was 53% above the 13-year intraday low of $26.21 from February 11. The surprising thing about the rally is that it isn’t based on improved current conditions so much as hope that future negotiations will eventually result in a production freeze. According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. crude stockpiles rose to a record high just last week and global surpluses continue to mount at a rate of 1-to-2 million barrels a day. A depressed global economy suggests that demand will continue to suffer and storage capacity for excess production is already stretched. Stock markets have become higher correlated to oil price movement, so predictably the equity markets have rallied along with crude. On Thursday, the DOW climbed back into positive territory for the year. From a two-year low of 15,660 on February 11, the DOW has climbed 11.6% or more than 1,800 points. The thing about this stock rally, like the crude rally, is that it hasn’t been built on a solid foundation. The Fed met last week to discuss monetary policy and emerged on Wednesday afternoon to announce that the overnight funds rate would remain in its target range of 0.25% to 0.50% for now. This was fully expected, although it was less clear what they’d indicate for the remainder of the year. Recall that in December the Fed’s so-called “dot plot,” illustrating the appropriate path of future rate moves, showed four expected rate increases for 2016. In the two months that followed the December meeting, the dollar strengthened, global economic conditions softened and equity markets, both overseas and in the U.S., plunged. Only in the last month have conditions stabilized. The new dot plot showed only two expected increases for 2016. This is the key take away from the meeting. Committee members collectively expect a median overnight target of 0.875% by the end of 2016 (down from 1.375% in December), 1.875% by the end of 2017 (down from 2.375% in December) and 3.0% at the end of 2018 (down from 3.25% in December).Although the Fed meeting and oil price movement dominated last week’s headlines, last Tuesday’s retail sales report was well worth mentioning. February retail sales came in as forecasted at -0.1%; what wasn’t expected was a big January revision which took the previously reported +0.2% advance into negative territory at -0.4%. The retail sales “control group” (used to calculate GDP) was unchanged in February, while January was revised from +0.6% to a rather anemic +0.2%. The January retail sales report (released four weeks ago) was unexpectedly solid. Without going into great detail, the numbers had suggested a nice rebound by the U.S. consumer to start the year. The February report materially changes the first quarter GDP outlook. Although always a moving target, the economic growth forecast for the current quarter has probably shrunk

from around +2.2 to +1.8%. By comparison, the U.S. economy historically grows at just above +3.0%, while the fourth quarter 2015 annualized GDP growth rate was just 1.0%. The inflation picture has become a bit cloudier. By most measures, there’s still a lack of price pressure, but there are signs emerging that suggest this might be changing. Headline consumer prices fell -0.2% in February due mostly to lower energy prices and transportation costs. The decline pushed the year-over-year CPI increase down from +1.4% to +1.0%. However, core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, was a different story altogether. It rose by +0.3% in February, matching January’s gain which was the highest since August 2011. Year-over-year core CPI crept up from +2.2% to +2.3% as housing, auto, apparel and medical costs continued their steady march higher. Rising inflation is one of few factors that could force the Fed to raise rates despite seemingly anemic economic growth.

FEATURE STORY BY OUR DIAMOND SPONSOR: HILLTOP SECURITIES CONTINUED

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What a fantastic time that was with you all in the “Happiest Place on Earth.”

STORY BY MICHAEL COLEMAN

I’ve been to Disneyland many many times, with family, with friends, chaperoning school groups, and several

times now for conferences. The familiar recurring “magic” keeps it fun and endearing but it’s never the

same: a different group, new attractions, closures, new discoveries, unexpected events. Even at the “happiest

place on earth” change is a constant. Keeping the magic there clearly means a lot of effort to keep things running and also being on

the cutting edge of new developments. It means letting some things go

too. “Swiss Family Treehouse” is now “Tarzan’s Treehouse.” The

first few times I ever went on the Matterhorn it had a hollow interior

with no snowmen. I remember the “country bear jamboree,” the “skyway to tomorrow” and the

“people mover,” all gone now. But I’m fascinated by what new things

are coming and many of the additions since my childhood are among my

favorites: “Indiana Jones,” “Soarin’,” the “Radiator Springs Racers.”

Perhaps it’s a stretch to compare the world’s most unique and successful amusement park with a local government. I’m thankful my city doesn’t have a soundtrack playing from speakers wherever I go. And I’m fine with leaving

the animatronics out of the building permit line at city hall. But the Herculean effort of Disney to keep

Disneyland relevant and running well bears lessons for us.

If we are really serving our guests, we in local government should be embracing both the core identity of our agency and the necessity of continuing work to

maintain and improve, many times to transform, to bring in completely new elements, and to let old ones go.

In local government finance, so much of the change comes at us from forces beyond our control (although not beyond our influence). It can feel; like all we do is react to changes in rules and laws, in allocations and

trends and service demands, disruptive social-technical advances, new expectations, and practices that just

don’t work very well anymore. The learning, the adapting never ends and the success of

our organizations relies on our ability to embrace this constant state of change,

to find the thrill and to lead in that change.

In the coming year we will see many important changes in local

government finance from the obvious and direct to the more

tangential but real: the sales tax triple flip is ending, transportation

funding must respond to a changing world, sales tax is waning and being wasted, the social service needs of

the poor and marginalized require more response at the local level, new cybersecurity

challenges, continuing pressures to reform pensions and healthcare, water and wastewater services, projects

and funding issues, marijuana, energy efficiency and climate change.

The good thing is that we are not alone. There are hundreds of local governments mapping out their ways

into Tomorrowland and we’re all in it together. Stay connected with us as we enjoy the ride together.

Michael Coleman is Special Advisor to CSMFO. He manages the California Local Government Finance

Almanac at CaliforniaCityFinance.com Follow Michael on twitter at @MuniAlmanac

“In the coming year we will see many

important changes in local government finance from the obvious and direct to the more tangential but

real... ”

MICHAEL COLEMAN


31

For more information, contact the following representatives from

our California public finance team:

Mark AdlerManaging Director301 [email protected]

Dennis McGuireManaging Director916 [email protected]

Katie KosterManaging Director949 [email protected]

Russell ReyesManaging Director310 [email protected]

Victor Ume-Ukeje Managing Director415 [email protected]

Piper Jaffray is committed to California municipal finance

Since 1895. Member SIPC and NYSE. © 2016 Piper Jaffray & Co. 1/16 CM-16-0064

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


A Magical Night at Disney’s Club 33

STORY BY JOAN MICHAELS AGUILAR, Deputy City Manager-Admin Services City of Dixon


33

Thanks to the graciousness of our host, HdL Companies, a group of CSMFO members had the opportunity for an elegant evening at Club 33 on the Wednesday evening of the recent 2016 Annual Conference in Anaheim. Those present included President John Adams, President-Elect Drew Corbett, Immediate Past President Jesse Takahashi, CSMFO Executive Director Melissa Dixon (a well-established Disney fan), as well as our out-of-state guests and their CSMFO liaisons. And of course representatives from HdL!

The evening began by entering the renovated Club 33 located at 33 Royal Street in New Orleans Square by way of the Court of Angels staircase. This was followed by a brief tour of Salon Nouveau and led to our dining tables for the 24 in our party. The multi-course meal had the option for wine pairings that many enjoyed.

In order to gain entrance to the Club, you or someone in your party must have a membership. The HdL member had been on the waiting list for 10 years prior to being accepted! A bit of Internet research informed me that Club 33 opened May 1967. While I knew that Walt Disney had created the secret venue to entertain important visitors, it also remains the only place in the Disneyland Park to serve alcohol. I expect it’s no secret to Disney-philes that Club 33 can be found above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. You may have walked by many times, not noticing the 33 on the door (although the new entrance is further down toward the train station now!).

Out-of-state guests included Heather Johnston, President Government Finance Officers Association and City Manager of Burnsville Minnesota. Heather shared that she “really enjoyed seeing the unique features of the Club and hearing about the history and renovations.” Carmen Hayter joined the group as President from the Washington Government Finance Officers Association; she serves as Accounting Manager from Yakima County Public Services.

Mike Middleton from the Alaska Government Finance Officers Association (Sitka), noted he enjoyed experiencing Club 33 with such a great friendly group. In his words, “I will be able to brag for years about going to the mythical Club 33.” Heidi Starks is the current President of the Oregon Government Finance Officers Association, and works at the Tualatin Hills Parks & Recreation District in Beaverton as the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer.

I was curious as to our guests’ experience with

Disney parks and both Mike and Heather noted they were past guests. Heather has been to Florida, California and Paris Disney. Both noted there is something really special about Disney parks at night when the crowds had mostly gone away. Heather even had time to FaceTime with her kids out on the balcony of Club 33 and listen to their oohs and aahs while she was enjoying her time on this magical night.

Other CSMFO member attendees included Past Presidents Pamela Arends-King

(2014), Ronnie Campbell (2010) and Bob Biery (1984), Joan Michaels

Aguilar, David Cain, Jane Corpus, Margaret Moggia, Kate Zawadzki and Andy Nickerson and David McPherson of the HdL Companies.

Some guests lingered a bit longer and as we exited we realized there were others in the park enjoying an after-hours party. We

soon discovered the entire park had been rented by

Google! As we got closer to the entrance the lights dimmed

and I heard Margaret say “It’s the electrical parade!” Sure enough, the

music started, the doors opened on Main Street and the Paint the Night Parade started. A very special experience that capped off a magical evening at Disneyland’s Club 33. I even had a moment with Nemo during the parade…but luckily there’s no photographic evidence.


The Future is Now! My OGFOA Visit to

Sunriver, Oregon

STORY BY JOHN ADAMS, CSMFO President

the futu

re!!!OREGON!


35

One of the great traditions that CSMFO has is active relationships with “sister organizations” in municipal finance. For those that don’t know, we consider California Municipal Treasurers Association (CMTA), Oregon Government Finance Officers Association (OGFOA), Washington Finance Officers Association (WFOA), Alaska Government Finance Officers Association (AGFOA) and Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) sister organizations. Having these important relationships helps the leadership of each organization to share information and learn from each other. Plus, I enjoy that networking with peers in different states helps provide me with different points of view.

One of the honors given to the CSMFO President is to attend the annual conferences of our sister organizations. Because the CSMFO Annual Conference was in March, it only gave me a day to prepare for going from sunny Southern California to snowy Bend, Oregon.

Leaving Sunday morning on March 6th, I arrived in Redmond, Oregon, which is just outside of Bend. Sunriver is about 40 minutes away, and is a beautiful area known for lots of outdoor activities like golf, biking, rafting, etc. The only problem was the forecast called for off-and-on snow. Luckily I came prepared…more about that later.

So on Sunday night, I was able to attend the OGFOA President’s Dinner and meet many wonderful people that are part of the OGFOA leadership. In addition to President Heidi Starks, there are three additional individuals I want to thank for their warm welcome. First, Misty Slagle who is the Association Manager and made sure every detail of my visit was taken care of. Second, President-Elect Don Hudson who made me feel part of the OGFOA leadership. I am really looking forward to seeing Don in Sacramento in 2017 at the CSMFO Annual Conference. And finally, Marc Gonzales, who is the Incoming GFOA President. After talking to Marc, GFOA and all its members will be in very good hands with him as President of GFOA in 2016-17.

Now back to the conference, which was inspiring but a little cold since it snowed overnight. The opening keynote speaker on Monday was a Futurist (remember

the conference theme is “the Future is Now”). His theme for the presentation was “Failure of imagination costs citizens, governments and businesses billions of dollars in lost opportunities.” So as I was sitting in the session, I was imagining what opportunity was passing me by. After the session ended, it dawned on me and within the hour I was at Mt. Bachelor with my snowboard in hand getting on my first lift to the top of the mountain.

It was a beautiful day on the slopes, a Monday afternoon with few people out and

runs that were all mine. It was as if the Secret Service had cleared the

mountain since President John Adams was there. Just a tremendous day of

snowboarding. I was able to make it

back to the conference for the banquet, which

had an ‘80s theme and a DeLorean. (Picture) My friend

Mike Middleton, who is the AGFOA President, borrowed

the DeLorean from his father in Idaho. Apparently after the

CSMFO Conference, Mike took a flight to Idaho to pick up the

car and drive it to Oregon. Mike was not worried about going into the future at 88 mph, since he said he could never get the car over 58 mph. The night ended with me playing arcade games like Ms. Pacman and Frogger.

Tuesday was a full day of sessions and the OGFOA Business Meeting. Heidi did have an event in the hospitality suite and a small dinner with several special guests, including me, which was very nice.

On Wednesday, after the concluding session, I was able to have lunch with a past City of Thousand Oaks employee and CSMFO Member, John Augustyn. John retired in 2014 and moved to Bend, OR. We were able to catch up, and now I am jealous about retirement. He seems to be having a wonderful time, and I wish him the best.

I want to thank President Heidi Starks, and the whole OGFOA Board for hosting me at the conference. It was a wonderful experience, and as President of CSMFO it was an honor to join you in Oregon.

snowboarding!


Perks of the After PartySTORY BY KATHRYN DOWNS, Director of Finance, City of Carson

I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people gathered at the Disneyland rose compass Thursday evening for the after-hours event. Though it was nearing bedtime for so many, the excitement in the air was a reminder that even well-seasoned finance folks enjoy being a kid.

Once we entered Disneyland, the nighttime stroll down Main Street was made magical by a perfect view of Sleeping Beauty’s castle aglow with Diamond Jubilee lighting. Nearing Adventureland, I could hear the bass-beats of dance music and knew I was in the right place.

There were dessert and drink stations everywhere, and even servers with silver platters offering tiny bottles of water and glasses of wine! I grabbed something chocolate on a stick and quickened the pace to my first destination, the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. It was such a treat to wait only a few minutes before hopping on one of the best rides in the park. With each twist, turn and explosive sound, I wasn’t the only rider squealing with glee. After my exhilarating adventure with Dr. Jones, I hot-footed to Pirates only to find Melissa Dixon zooming past me for a ride down into the belly of the cave. It was fun to bump into friends and acquaintances with ship-eating grins on their faces.

Waving to Minnie Mouse at the Rivers of America, I stopped long enough to grab some popcorn before heading over to Thunder Mountain Railroad. I rode in the front car of the train and didn’t look back; not caring who saw me throw my arms into the air and scream with each drop and speedy turn. Winding down with a hot cocoa (which was delicious), and watching the talented sketch artists was a sublime way to end the evening.

I hope you didn’t miss the Thursday night event. It was truly a perk of the Finance Life for Me!

“ I rode in the front car of the train and didn’t look back; not caring

who saw me throw my arms into the air and

scream with each drop and speedy turn. ”


Strategies for Mitigating Municipal

Employee FraudThe second article for municipal

executives -avoiding headlines series


39

STORY BY SCOTT P. JOHNSON, CPA, CGMA Partner, State & Local Government Advisory ServicesContributor: MARK W. COUSINEAU, CPA/CTIP, CGMA, CIA, CFE, CGAP, CGFM, CRMA, Senior Manager, State & Local Government Advisory Services, Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP (MGO) CPAs & Advisors

As a public official for over 24 years, I continuously strived to implement best practices, internal controls and policies and procedures to mitigate fraud, waste and abuse. Being a municipal finance officer responsible for literally billions of dollars, there were times when I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking about what could happen or what I may not know that could be occurring that could put the organization at risk. Fortunately, throughout my municipal career, the organizations I served did not experience headlines due to significant fraud. We had the appropriate “tone at the top” and practiced effective measures throughout the organization to mitigate potential fraud. However, from time-to-time, we would uncover the occasional lapse of an employee’s good judgment and detect inappropriate use of government funds, such as; improper procurement credit card use for personal purposes, time card reporting that fraudulently claimed hours worked in excess of actual hours worked, and fictitious reimbursement claims for travel.

Employee fraud is a significant problem across industries and is faced by organizations of all types, sizes, locations, and industries. While employee fraud in private organizations rarely merits a mention in the local paper, the same fraud in a government agency will have editors competing to write the splashiest headlines and garner the highest reader traffic. It is critical for such organizations to maintain a positive reputation. Reputational risk can carry long-lasting damage in monetary losses, regulatory issues, and overall risk exposure. Frankly, all types of fraud are on the rise, and municipalities need an effective fraud mitigation strategy in place to protect against reputational and monetary harm.

Here are just a few recent examples of municipal fraud. In 2014, officials in St. Louis County, IL, uncovered a $3.4 million embezzlement that escaped detection for more than six years. According to officials, a County Health Agency Division Manager overcharged for computer and technical services (unbeknownst to the County, the Division Manager owned the technology company). The day after the suspected embezzlement was detected by County officials, the employee committed suicide, according to the County Medical Examiner.

The largest known municipal fraud in U.S. history was uncovered in 2012 at the City of Dixon, IL. This embezzlement scheme of almost $54 million over a 22-year period was perpetrated by its Comptroller, Rita Crundwell, who used the proceeds to finance

her quarter horse ranch business and lavish lifestyle. She was convicted and

pleaded guilty to the crimes and is currently serving a 20-year

sentence. Another recent case of an alleged fraud is currently under trial in the Los Angeles Superior Court in which ex-Pasadena city employee, Danny Wooten and co-defendants are due back in court for arraignment on April 1, 2016, according to the Los Angeles County

District Attorney’s Office. The criminal case involves

allegations that more than $6 million in city money was

embezzled over a decade in which Wooten is suspected of creating false

invoices for the underground utility program between 2004 and March 2014.

Many factors can contribute to fraud, but the key factors are the improper segregation of duties, lack of management review, maintaining undocumented procedures, common exception processing, trust without verification and validation, and specific accountability design. Employing proper risk assessments and implementing a risk management plan not only ensures compliance but strategically safeguard against fraud. There are three important steps to earning a good night’s sleep.

1. Fraud Risk Assessment - understanding the organization as a whole and individual business units will lead to the most comprehensive risk management plan. Understand how resources flow as well as internal environments and processes. Conduct interviews, make observations and review all factors. Identify the possible and probable fraud schemes for all resource flows.

2. Prevention – “tone at the top” is critical. Inspiring employees to follow ethical standards starts with the tone at the executive level and must trickle down through the management level and ultimately throughout the entire organization. The organization needs to know that unethical practices will not be tolerated and when detected, will be dealt with in a timely and effective manner. One measure to communicate the “tone” is writing a fraud policy

FEATURE STORY BY OUR DIAMOND SPONSOR: MGO


in concert with the employee conduct handbook, which will ensure the message is designed into the orientation, onboarding, and training process. Conduct management reviews, provide whistleblower channels, and communicate often with key business unit leaders, who in turn should communicate with their staff regarding fraud prevention, detection, and correction.

3. Detection - while assessment and prevention will create a strong defense against fraud, it is still important to seek out other measures to detect fraud that may not have been included in the fraud risk assessment plan. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) “2014 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse”, an analysis of approximately 1,500 cases of fraud, only three percent (3%) of all fraud is discovered by accident or the good luck of the right person being in the right place. Only six percent (6%) of fraud is discovered through account reconciliation. Clearly, we cannot simply rely on these detection methods. In addition to account reconciliation and keeping your ears open, creating channels for detection are of the utmost importance. Eleven percent (11%) of fraud discoveries are due to an internal audit. Return to step one by assessing and re-assessing fraud risk regularly. Conduct meaningful management reviews on-time. Twelve percent (12%) of fraud detection were the result of properly conducted management reviews. Finally, be sure to enforce an open door policy and a culture of interest in detection and reporting. Fifty-four percent (54%) of all fraud detection comes through insider tips. Ensuring there are proper procedures in place to accept these tips is paramount when designing and, especially, implementing the fraud management and detection plan.

Deceitful misconduct among employees significantly damages reputations, negatively affects resources, and limits the ability of any organization to effectively serve the consumer and their community. Following this roadmap on how to respond to and prevent employee fraud will not only protect the organization and its key objectives but will lead to an easier night’s sleep - even in the face of increasing fraud across all industries.

This article is only a small representation of the material presented during MGO’s

“Case in Point” presentation at the 2016 CSMFO Conference.

Special recognition to Ruthe Holden, Internal Audit Manager at the City of Pasadena, for her contribution to the “Case in Point” presentation. To access the full presentation, please go to CSMFO’s website or contact Scott Johnson at sjohnson@mgocpa.

com. Comments and opinions expressed in this article are

those of the authors and may not reflect the positions, opinions, or

beliefs of the CSFMO or MGO and should not be construed or interpreted

as such.

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ONE VENDOR’S VIEWSTORY BY TYLER MONK, Cost Tree

This year’s CSMFO 2016 Conference was held where fantasy meets reality: Disneyland. There, the very seeds of our culture, and many generations’ annual visits, carry and pass on the torch of tradition. To see the world through young eyes is an experience most of us forget, unless we’re Peter Pan.

The event was executed seamlessly. We began in the Exhibitor Hall midafternoon, and some attendees chose to remain in session rather than come see the vendor offerings. But, by four o’clock, the hall was at a dull roar. The wine flowed, and the gracious staff provided canapé service. Networking and laughter filled the room. By five o’clock, all of our miniature blue top hats had been checked out of our booth for our CostTree Mad Hatter raffle. Participants from Indian Wells to Sonoma all tried their hand at winning an iWatch by representing Team CostTree with the hat.

On the following day, the turnout was phenomenal. The CostTree booth was abuzz, and we handed out a record number of Pocket Sliders, as well as our new publication, Capture. By midafternoon, copious amounts of divine Disney snacks had been placed throughout the hall. The crowd was vibrating as ideas and conversation transcended anyone’s standard. At the close of the conference, the exchange of ideas and feelings was memorable, to say the least.

Just as we couldn’t feel any younger, Walt pulled some strings. We had carte blanche in the happiest place on earth from 9:30 to 11:30. Yes, the park was closed for everyone but the attendees of the CSMFO 2016 Conference. I was one of the very first people in the park that night. I was led by a kind cast member out of the quiet, dark stillness of Disneyland and into the light of Adventure Land, where DJs played classic funk and libations flowed. Not a minute was wasted in line, because there simply were no lines. If you wanted a portrait or a Disney-caliber temporary tattoo, you just had to wish upon a star. Fun was had by all, and the crowd swarmed toward the dance floor. The experience was limitless. Just like Cinderella, we were given until the stroke of midnight to bask in the glow of a once-forgotten nostalgic memory.

The exchange was amazing this year. We answered many questions for people with cost allocation plan concerns. People remembered what it was like to be at the Mad Hatter’s tea party, even if just for a moment. We made many new friends and saw some old ones too. Disney was as delightful as the attendees. A finance life is the only life for me. Our hats are off to you CSMFO.

“Networking and laughter filled the room.”


Diary of a Host Committee ChairINSIDE LOOK

DREW CORBETT

As President-Elect and Host Committee Chair Drew Corbett works on preparations for the 2017 Annual Conference in Sacramento, he thought it would be fun to give the membership a glimpse into the process of putting the conference together. Each month, Drew will provide a running commentary on some of the work that goes into conference preparations.

March 4, 2016: After the 2016 Annual Conference in Anaheim concluded, the CSMFO Board, along with members of the Host Committee involved in planning that conference, got together to debrief on the conference and provide their thoughts to me on how to put on a great conference in Sacramento. That’s right, before we even left Anaheim, we were beginning the process to plan the 2017 conference in Sacramento. Inspired by the post-conference debriefing, I asked Melissa Dixon (CSMFO Executive Director), Janet Salvetti, and Teri Anticevich (both with Meeting and Association Management Services) to stick around for “15 minutes” to discuss plans for Sacramento. 90 minutes later, we concluded the meeting, and that was only because I had a flight to catch and Melissa had a date with Mickey Mouse. Needless to say, I left Anaheim inspired to get going on making preparations for the 2017 conference.

March 5-10, 2016: Continued to exchange emails with Melissa, Janet, and Teri to discuss all things conference, including composition of the Host Committee, general session and keynote speakers, conference center logistics, the Thursday night event, and coordination with the Program Committee. We’re off to a great start so far!

March 10, 2016: I finalized my Host Committee and contacted everyone to get the ball rolling. I must say, making the selections for this committee was HARD. Being a part of the Host Committee is a lot of work, but it is also a ton of fun. I had no shortage of people who had expressed interest in being on the committee, and each and every one of them would have been a great selection. In the end, though, I simply couldn’t accommodate everyone. I ended up with a committee of 11, and this included eight members who either work for municipalities or special districts and then another three commercial members. We have a great mix of government members and commercial members, a strong Sacramento-area presence, and members with experience putting a conference together (including two past presidents who are serving on the committee). I am excited about working with everyone on the committee and know this group is going to make your 2017 conference experience a great one.

March 11 – 16 2016: Not only was it hard to pick the members of the Host Committee, it was also hard to get everyone assigned to various tasks. The assignments range from planning major aspects of the conference like the keynote speakers and the Thursday night event to coordinating some of the behind-the-scenes aspects like the scholarship program and the conference mobile app. Getting 11 committee members distributed across 12 tasks was more challenging than I thought it would be. I tried to accommodate preferences as best as I could, but certain assignments proved more popular than others, and ultimately everything needs to get done. One thing I can say, however, is that the members of the Host Committee have been great about offering themselves up to do anything that is needed to get the conference planned. I am really looking forward to working with everyone to put on a great conference in Sacramento next February.

FUN FACT:President Corbett emailed Executive Director Melissa Dixon 53 times between March 5 and March 16, already planning for the

2017 Annual Conference.

STORY BY DREW CORBETT


45

Senior Budget and Financial Analyst, City of BendSalary Range: $65,732 - $85,358/yearApplication Deadline: April 20, 2016

Financial Services Manager, PacificaSalary Range: $105,444 - $130,000/yearApplication Deadline: April 27, 2016

Accounting Supervisor, RialtoSalary Range: $64,764 - $86,796/yearApplication Deadline: April 25, 2016

Systems Accountant, City of BerkeleySalary Range: $8,066 - $9,824/monthlyApplication Deadline: April 25, 2016

Accounting Supervisor, West Valley Water DistrictSalary Range: $5,269.00 - $7,413.00/monthlyApplication Deadline: April 22, 2016

Accounting Manager, Sacramento Transportation AuthoritySalary Range: $94,920? - $104,650/yearApplication Deadline:April 30, 2016

Debt Administrator, East Bay Municipal Utility DistrictSalary Range: $99,972 - $144,396/yearApplication Deadline: April 15, 2016

Debt Administrator, East Bay Municipal Utility DistrictSalary Range: $99,972 - $144,396 excellent benefits and retirementApplication Deadline: April 15, 2016

Principal Financial Analyst (Job ID 6319), Bay Area Rapid Transit DistrictSalary Range: $95,270 ?$123,851/yearApplication Deadline: May 1, 2016

Accounting Technician I, San CarlosSalary Range: $23.61 - $28.69/hourlyApplication Deadline: April 22, 2016

Accounting Manager, GlendoraSalary Range: $6,560 - $7,974/monthlyApplication Deadline: April 29, 2016

Deputy Director/Fiscal Services, Simi ValleySalary Range: $8,599-$11,073 per monthApplication Deadline: Open Until Filled

Director of Finance, Avery AssociatesSalary Range: $132,403 to $180,000/yearApplication Deadline: Open Until Filled

Accounting Director, Orange County Superior CourtSalary Range: $119,787 - $137,196/yearApplication Deadline: Continuous

Payroll Technician (Accounting Technician), Yorba LindaSalary Range: $4,390 - $5,336/monthlyApplication Deadline: April 15, 2016

SENIOR ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN - LIBRARY, Rancho MirageSalary Range: $24.29 - $29.56/hourlyApplication Deadline: May 16, 2016

ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN II, Rancho MirageSalary Range: $22.03 - $26.81/hourlyApplication Deadline: April 29, 2016

Financial Analyst II, Metropolitan Transportation CommissionSalary Range: $78,353 - $100,297Application Deadline: April 19, 2016

Junior Accountant, SebastopolSalary Range: $5,197 - $6,317 per monthApplication Deadline: April 28, 2016

Senior Budget Analyst, City of SacramentoSalary Range: $80,425 - $105,513/yearApplication Deadline: May 6, 2016

Accountant II, City of Cathedral CitySalary Range: $6474 - 8474/monthlyApplication Deadline: Open Until Filled

Accounting Manager, City of OceansideSalary Range: $8,070 - $10,299/monthlyApplication Deadline: April 22, 2016

Finance Director/City Treasurer, City of El CerritoSalary Range: $13,446/monthlyApplication Deadline: Open Until Filled

Account Technician, Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment AgencySalary Range: $37,611 - $48,003/yearApplication Deadline:April 22, 2016

Finance Analyst, Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment AgencySalary Range: $54,668 - $84,808/yearApplication Deadline: Open Until Filled

Customer Support Services Manager, Regional Government ServicesSalary Range: $9,500 - $12,500/monthlyApplication Deadline: April 17, 2016

Finance/Accounting Manager, City of CamarilloSalary Range: $7,104 - $9,582/monthlyApplication Deadline: April 15, 2016

Financial Resources Division Manager, Moreno ValleySalary Range: $105,802 - $148,963/yearApplication Deadline: April 7, 2016

Principal Financial Analyst, VenturaSalary Range: $85,800 - $114,974/yearApplication Deadline: April 10, 2016

Financial Resources Manager, RiversideSalary Range: $107,640 - $157,944/yearApplication Deadline: April 29, 2016

Accountant, Association of Bay Area GovernmentsSalary Range: $4,377 - $5,320/monthlyApplication Deadline: April 15, 2016

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

CAREERS

C S M F OCONFERENCE 2017

SACRAMENTO

FEBRUARY 7 - 10, 2017

SACRAMENTO(Headquarters for CSMFO)

HYATT REGENCY/SACRAMENTO CONVENTION CENTER

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA


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CSMFO Reception at GFOA Conference

Monday May 23, 20165:45pm – 7:30pm

CN Towers - Horizon301 Front Street W, Toronto ON

www.csmfo.org 877.282.9183

csmfo magazine april 2016

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