Important Board Recommended Changes to CSMFO By-Laws
Scott Catlett, Finance Director / Treasurer, City of Newport Beach & CSMFO 2022 President
CSMFO’s many educational programs and member benefits are a constant focus of the CSMFO Leadership. In recent years, our leaders have been very busy delivering new core courses, an expanded webinar program, and additional member benefits like the mentorship and cohort programs. This is why I felt it important, as part of this year’s CSMFO Strategic Action Plan, to primarily focus on the administrative side of CSMFO. CSMFO has grown significantly over the last decade, and with that growth comes a need to have solid administrative procedures in place, built on a good foundation in our governing documents.
Among the many important items included in this year’s Strategic Action Plan was a goal to evaluate CSMFO’s organizational structure and By-Laws for opportunities for improvement. The item focused on defining (and limiting) the Executive Committee (President, President-Elect, and Immediate Past-President) and Presidential powers, evaluating the By-Laws for deficiencies or vague language, and making recommendations to modernize the By-Laws, with a particular focus on longstanding geographic limitations on board membership and the office of President.
As your CSMFO President, I assigned this goal to a Board approved ad-hoc committee composed of the Executive Committee (Scott Catlett, Rich Lee, and Marcus Pimentel) and five Past-Presidents (Mary Bradley, John Adams, Steve Heide, Margaret Moggia, and Laura Nomura). The ad-hoc committee first convened on March 29, 2022, followed by an additional meeting on May 16, 2022. In addition to these two meetings, various ideas were shared via subsequent online discussions to arrive at a final recommendation. This was the first comprehensive review of the By-Laws in many years, which followed several minor updates in the last decade. The ad-hoc committee approached its work with the goal of modernizing, clarifying, and enhancing CSMFO’s primary governing document to serve our organization now and in the years ahead.
On August 18, 2022, the CSMFO Board of Directors voted unanimously to recommend a comprehensive set of By-Laws clarifications and changes for consideration by CSMFO’s government members, who must approve any changes to the By-Laws by majority vote. The proposed changes include a number of non-substantive language clarifications as well as a number of good governance changes that most critically will do the following:
- Define and limit the scope of responsibility of the Executive Committee.
- Provide that any member of the Leadership may place an item on the Board’s agenda with or without consent of the President, Executive Committee, or Executive Director.
- Strengthen language regarding officers being assigned other duties by the Board to indicate that officers shall “take no other actions nor enjoy any other powers beyond these” unless the Board has so delegated.
- Provide specific reasons why a closed session of the Board may be called rather than “for any reason”.
- Vest the responsibility for appointing members of ad-hoc committees in the Board, not the President.
In addition to these changes, two changes were approved that provide additional flexibility in the future to ensure that the most qualified candidates serve in Leadership positions. These changes would allow for up to four members of the Board of Directors to be from the northern or southern region of the state, whereas the current By-Laws require an even three-three split. Similarly, the office of President would no longer have to alternative between a northern and a southern member each year. These changes were recommended because we believe that qualifications, not geography, should determine who is leading our organization in the future. Lastly, flexible language has been added to allow the offices of Secretary and Treasurer, which have at different times been filled by CSMFO’s staff or government members, to be filled as the Board deems most appropriate.
While none of these changes are as exciting as launching a new class or member benefit, we do believe them to be critical to CSMFO’s future success. The Board of Directors voted unanimously to move them forward for your consideration, and I hope that you will all take the time to vote your support for the proposed changes as well. Ballots for the recommended changes are expected to be sent out to CSMFO’s government members the week of August 29. So please do look out for them and return them by the requested deadline. If you have any questions about these proposals, please reach out to me directly at scatlett@newportbeachca.gov. Thank you sincerely for your participation in CSMFO’s governance process and for your consideration of these changes.
Scott Catlett joined the City of Newport Beach as Finance Director / Treasurer in January 2021. His experience in public sector finance includes working directly for cities since 2006, after serving as a management consultant for state and local governments for six years.
Scott served California’s 12th largest city, Riverside, for 10 years, ending his time there as Assistant Director of the Finance Department overseeing a staff of 54 employees in four divisions. He subsequently served as the Finance Director for the City of Yorba Linda for five years. Through these various roles, Scott has managed budgets ranging from $100 million to $1.2 billion and investment portfolios of $75 million to $500 million.
Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Tulane University and a master’s degree in public administration from California State University, San Bernardino, where he has been a part-time professor since 2014 teaching graduate courses in public financial management and public budgeting.
Scott is an active member of the Government Finance Officers Association, the California Municipal Treasurers Association, and the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO). He has been a volunteer leader for CSMFO for over 12 years, serving successively as a Chapter Chair, Committee Chair, and elected statewide Board Member. In 2020, he was elected by CSMFO’s 2,600 members to be the Association’s 2022 President.
Scott lives in Yorba Linda with his wife Kelli and his three children. On the weekends you will find him hiking the trails of Chino Hills State Park, cheering for his boys at their baseball and basketball games, and battling rabbits and squirrels in his garden.
