CSMFO Committee Recap – Part 1

Administration Committee

Committee Description: Reviews and proposes updates to the CSMFO Policy and Procedures Manual. Administer contracts on behalf of CSMFO. Enhance the effectiveness and use of technology by CSMFO and its member agencies in exchanging information, increasing productivity, and enhancing member service. Maintain a CSMFO Internet presence and website to enhance membership benefits, provide professional information, establish relevant links, and support continued training to facilitate information sharing among members.
Note: Administration and Technology Committees merged in 2022.

• 2021 Committee Chair (Administration): Alberto Preciado
• 2021 Committee Chair (Technology): Gloriann Sasser
• What I enjoy about the committee (Alberto): I really love that I get to see and be a part of the process that drives how CSMFO runs as an organization. As part of this committee, I get a front-row seat to the planning and hard work that it takes to make the magic that CSMFO members experience with the Annual Conference, training and webinars, etc. Additionally, being a part of the committee has given me the opportunity to interact, work with, network with, and just get to know talented and passionate finance professionals from all over the State.
  How much time per month does it take to be a volunteer? It is estimated to be 1 hour per month for the committee meeting and additional time to work on assignments.
• What does a volunteer do? Volunteers review and draft contracts, participate in reviewing and updating CSMFO policies, as well as analyze CSMFO’s use of technology and evaluate and propose the potential use of technological tools that will help CSMFO to better serve our members.

Career Development Committee

Committee Description: Promote the professional development of CSMFO members by providing affordable and accessible training opportunities. Activities currently include core courses, webinars, annual weekend training, coaching program, and professional development services.

• 2021 Committee Chair: Laura Nomura
• What I enjoy about the committee: Being a part of a group of people that are passionate about providing educational tools to our membership so they can thrive in their professions at every level.
• How much time per month does it take to be a volunteer? It is estimated to be one hour per month for the committee meeting and additional time to work on assignments.
• What does a volunteer do? Attend and participate in monthly meetings with report out of assignments and idea generation for course and webinars. Assist Chair and Vice-Chairs with various duties such as working with instructors to schedule core courses, execution of strategic priorities, webinar development, and other administrative duties as needed.

Communications Committee

Committee Description: Enhance the communications between CSMFO leadership and its members through CSMFO News, social media, website, and email. Work to ensure a common branding and messaging experience for all CSMFO members.

• 2021 Committee Chair: James Russell-Field
• What I enjoy about the committee: I enjoy the opportunities that the Communications Committee provides. Members often get the opportunity to work with agencies and commercial members to help share the best practices and initiatives as well as attend events to provide recaps and summaries for the News.
• How much time per month does it take to be a volunteer? 2-3 hours.
• What does a volunteer do? Coordinate articles with authors, edit articles or write articles. Communications members don’t necessarily need to write articles! We love members who can bring ideas to the table and go out and find / help other CSMFO members or vendors create content.

Finance Committee

Committee Description: Review the financial statements and check register of CSMFO monthly, assist the President-Elect with the preparation of the CSMFO annual budget, evaluate and make recommendations for financial policies, and coordinate with other standing committees on financial matters.

• 2021 Committee Chair: N/A – new CSMFO Committee in 2022
• How much time per month does it take to be a volunteer? It is estimated to be 1 hour per month for the committee meeting and additional time to work on assignments.
• What kind of activities will I be doing? Following the 2022 CSMFO Action Plan, the committee will be focused on a few areas including reviewing due structure and member and non-member pricing, developing a long-range financial plan, improving financial reporting. We are also responsible for reviewing monthly financial information and assisting in the development of the association’s annual budget.

Membership Committee

Committee Description: Demonstrate the value of CSMFO membership to individuals spanning from students interested in a municipal finance career through all classifications to the most tenured Finance Directors and Agency Managers. Elevate the reputation and influence of CSMFO by means of a positive feedback loop based upon the delivery of value-add external and internal resources that will grow the membership organically.

• 2021 Committee Chair: Jennifer Wakeman
• What I enjoy about the committee: Membership Committee is comprised of passionate leaders who engage in thoughtful and creative discussions to ensure that CSMFO members consistently have opportunities to derive benefit, regardless of their prior municipal experience and considerate of their unique needs. And that passion is contagious!
• How much time per month does it take to be a volunteer? The Membership Committee meets once a month and most committee members participate in one or two targeted initiatives, resulting in an average commitment of 3 to 4 hours a month.
• What kind of activities will I be doing? As a member of this committee, you will be actively contributing ideas, listening to others, and developing collaborative solutions with the whole committee. You will also be challenged to make our discussions come to life with initiative implementation, improvement, and marketing.