Florida Government Finance Officers Association

President's Message
Linda Davidson, City of Boca Raton, FGFOA President
Thanks for all of your encouragement and support as I step into the leadership role as your President. We will continue our efforts to inform our membership on the issues facing local governments and our outreach to inform finance officers on the issues facing us in today’s economy; declining property values, the uncertainty of the state economy, impacts of property tax reform and reductions to local government budgets are some of the challenges that we all face. FGFOA will continue to send our e-bulletins to our members on hot topics and items that affect local government finance. My hear

President's Message (2)
Linda Davidson, City of Boca Raton, FGFOA President
The FGFOA standing committees is how our organization is able to accomplish our goals and the committees for the 2008-2009 year are off to a good start. There are many opportunities for committee participation that require small amounts of time. Please get involved on a committee! If you are interested in serving on a committee, it’s not too late. Please contact me at Ldavidso@ci.boca-raton.fl.us...

Conference Highlights

GASB Proposal Seeks to Improve Clarity,
Dean Mead, GASB Research Manager and Jordan Betz, Assistant Project Manager
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s research indicates that fund balance is one of the most widely used pieces of information in state and local government financial statements. In its current state, however, fund balance information can also be problematic due to inconsistencies in the way governments interpret the relevant accounting and financial reporting requirements. After more than five years of research and deliberation, the GASB published an Exposure Draft of a proposed Statement, Fund Balance Reporting...

GASB Proposal Seeks to Improve Clarity (2)
Dean Mead, GASB Research Manager and Jordan Betz, Assistant Project Manager
The basic definitions of the debt service and capital projects fund types would remain unchanged. However, the definition of the debt service fund type would be edited to emphasize that governments are currently required to report debt service funds under two circumstances—when legally required to do so, or when amounts have been accumulated for the purpose of making future principal and interest payments.

GASB 46 – “Net Assets Restricted by Enabling Legislation” – Required Note Disclosure.
Ron Harring, Assistant Finance Director - City of Tarpon Springs
In relation to the above article from GASB on the new Fund Balance exposure draft there are some references in the exposure draft to GASB 46 “Net Assets Restricted by Enabling Legislation” (which was effective Fiscal Year 2006 and amends GASB statement 34, paragraph 34). In researching the exposure draft and GASB 46 we found that there might be some governments that might not have known that GASB 46 requires governments to disclose as a Note Disclosure the portion of total net assets that is restricted by Enabling Legislation...

Convenience Fees For Credit Card Transactions
Gary Perdew, St. Lucie County Fire District
Since the 1980’s, credit card usage has grown exponentially. By 2007 credit card transactions in the U.S. exceeded $2.2 trillion. The reason is obvious…using a credit card is convenient and the results immediate which is why many of the citizens served by governmental entities prefer to pay fees, fines, taxes etc. with a card instead of a check...

OPEB Tool Kit for Decision Making
Sofia Anastopoulos, GFOA
In much of what GFOA does, GFOA aims to provide government finance officers with guidance to understand the questions to ask and the decisions that need to be made regarding whatever issue they are facing.. The GFOA has created the OPEB toolkit for decision making for one of the more serious challenges facing governments today, OPEB, as per GASB Statement No.45...

GFOA YieldAdvantage Simplifies Investing in Certificates of Deposit
Sofia Anastopoulos, GFOA
Governments have enjoyed a number of benefits from the GFOA tool, GFOA YieldAdvantage. For one,¬ it automates the steps involved in collecting, comparing and awarding certificate of deposit monies. This automation helps governments save time and effort, thereby enhancing the efficiency of their offices. As well, through this online tool, governments create auctions amongst their very own banks, increasing competition for their funds. It is this competition that drives up yields on certificate of deposit investments...

Tom Klinker Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Congratulations goes out to Tom Klinker as the 2008 FGFOA Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Tom is the eighth person to receive this award which was presented at this year's annual conference in Jacksonville. Tom's service to the FGFOA began in the early 1980's. He was the FGFOA President in 1992-93 and the Central Florida Chapter President in 2007...

Conference Host Committee
Bonnie Wise, City of Tampa and Catherine Edwards, Hillsborough County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Co-Chairmen
The Host Committee for the 2009 annual conference held its first meeting on June 25, 2008 at the Tampa City Hall. The Host Committee commenced planning for the 2009 annual conference to be held at the beautiful Tampa Marriott Waterside from May 30th to June 3rd, 2009. The committee established sub-committees and is in the process of appointing sub-chairs or co-sub-chairs as appropriate. The following sub-committees were established...

Certification Committee
Karen Simpson, City of Palmetto, Chair
The May 19th kick-off meeting at the conference was a great success and thanks to all those serving on the committee. The committee has accomplished several key tasks in the last few years, and we have some new and exciting goals to complete this year...

Conference Program Committee
Mary Lou Pickles, St. Johns River Water Management District, Chair
Thanks to Gary Perdew and the 2008 Conference Program and Host Committees, the Annual Conference held in Jacksonville was an overwhelming success. The 2009 Conference Program Committee is already gearing up to meet the challenge of exceeding this year’s training sessions. Mark your calendars for the 2009 FGFOA Annual Conference scheduled for May 30 – June 3 at the Tampa Marriott Waterside in Tampa, FL...

Legislative Committee
Kimball Adams, City of Largo, Communications Subcommittee Chair
Your 08/09 Legislative Committee held an organizational meeting at the FGFOA Annual Conference in May, which included a review of the prior year Committee's accomplishments and a discussion of the new Committee's goals and objectives. This year's Committee is comprised of both new and returning members (notice I didn't say “old” members), and the returning members agreed that last year's Committte was well organized and productive. This year's Committee will focus on building on last year's successes...

Member Services Committee
Gary Perdew, St. Lucie County Fire District, Chair
The Member Services Committee held a working luncheon on Monday, May 19th, 2008 in Room 10 of the City Terrace section of the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. Five of the ten committee members were able to attend as well as Francine Ramaglia, the Board Liaison for the committee. I am very fortunate that most members of the 2008-2009 Member Services Committee have served on the committee in the past and agreed to do so again. This continuity of experience guarantees we will provide the same level of service to our members that the committee is recognized for. After introductions, th

2008 School of Governmental Finance Committee
Carol Himes Hannigan, City of Boca Raton, Chair
Make your plans to attend the FGFOA School of Governmental Finance the week of November 17 – 21 at the Hilton at St. Pete Bayfront, St. Petersburg, Florida...

Small Government Committee
Terry Sharp, City of Lighthouse Point, Chair
The Committee held its initial organizational meeting at the Annual Conference. There was consensus to continue operating in subcommittees: outreach, the resources manual, and the conference training track for small governments...

Technical Resources Committee
Ron Harring, City of Tarpon Springs, 2007-2008 Chair
The Technical Resources Committee has three main areas of responsibility which consist of responding to GASB exposure drafts, developing technical articles for the FGFOA newsletter and monitoring the List Serves...

Central Florida Chapter
John Dufresne, City of Apopka, President
With the FGFOA Annual Conference behind us, we are preparing for the challenges of the coming year. The Conference provided us with valuable information and tools that will be needed to address the difficult times before us. The Board of the Central Florida Chapter is committed to continuing to provide its members with the most up to date information in the field of governmental finance...

Florida First Coast Chapter
Cynthia Gardner, Duval County - CCC, President
The Florida First Coast Chapter of the FGFOA held its annual meeting on June 6, 2008 at City Hall in Jacksonville. The members voted and unanimously approved the slate of officers and directors to carry us through the 2008/2009 year...

Gulf Coast Chapter
Dan C. Katsiyiannis, City of Pinellas Park, 2007-2008 President
Some of our members are knee deep in attempting to find budgetary solutions for the upcoming fiscal year 2008-2009 budget. In addition, many of our members are busy planning their work for the upcoming fiscal year ending 2007-2008. There are many challenges, both now and in the future, in the practice of local government finance/accounting...

Heartland Chapter
Penny Robinson, Highlands County Sheriff's Office, 2007-2008 President
The Heartland Chapter will hold its next meeting on July 30 with a presentation from guest speaker, Amy Michaliszyn, Federated Senior Vice President and Florida Pools Relationship Manager. Amy will speak about Federated’s approach to managing the Pools, its transparent and investment process and commitment to open communication. We are very excited that Amy will attend our next meeting and are trying to make contact with as many people as possible within our area so that they can benefit from her presentation as well...

Hillsborough Chapter
Catherine Edwards, Hillsborough County - CCC, President
The Spring meeting of the Hillsborough Chapter was held on Friday, May 16, 2008. Laura Kruerger-Brock, CPA, CFA, from the accounting firm of Kirkland, Russ, Murphy and Tapp, presented a training session on “Forensic Accounting – The Expansion of Proactive Fraud Detection.” Laura gave us some insight on the types of fraud practiced today and suggested some excellent tools we might use for detection and prevention. She is an excellent speaker and very experienced in this field...

Nature Coast Chapter
Melisa Lowe, Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2007-2008 President
The Nature Coast Chapter has been successful in providing opportunities to earn quality economical CPE credits using interesting and informed speakers. The Chapter covers a five county area including Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion and Sumter counties. Quarterly meetings are held in July, October, January and April on the third Wednesday of the month...

Palm Beach Chapter
Cheryl Somers, Town of Palm Beach, President
The Palm Beach Chapter held its bi-monthly business meeting on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. at the Palm Beach Airport Hilton. Sharon Bock, Palm Beach County Clerk & Controller was the guest speaker. Ms. Bock gave an energizing presentation on the Fiduciary Responsibilities of Public Financial Stewards...

Panhandle Chapter
David Skarzynski, Okaloosa County-CCC, President
The Panhandle Chapter hosted an 8 hour investment seminar on Friday, April 18, 2008. PFM Asset Management LLC presented “Investment Practice and Products Training for Public Funds” at the City of DeFuniak Springs Civic Center. This seminar met requirements for both continuing professional education (CPE) and Florida Statute 218.415. Due to the success of this seminar, another investment seminar is in the works for March 2009...

South Florida Chapter
Doreen Lam, City of Hollywood, President
The South Florida Chapter will be welcoming David Davich, South Division Supervisor of Public Assistance, from FEMA’s Florida Long Term Recovery Office in Lake Mary, Florida at the Chapter’s next dinner meeting on June 26, 2008. Everyone - - members and non-members alike - - are welcome to attend...

Southwest Florida Chapter
Linda Senne, City of Cape Coral, President
The Southwest Florida Chapter’s next scheduled meeting is Friday, June 20, at The Captain’s Table Restaurant at Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda. The session is dedicated to the Legislative Session that was just completed, with speakers J. Keith Arnold, a former State Representative and Lobbyist for Lee County and Amy Michaliszyn who is the Relationship Manager from Federated Investors who started managing the SBA (Local Investment Pools A and B) on March 1, 2008. The seminar will qualify for three hours of Technical Business CPE credits...

Space Coast Chapter
Michele Ennis, City of Melbourne, President
The Space Coast Chapter will be holding a business meeting followed by four hours of CPE on Friday, June 20, 2008. This session will be held at the Viera Government Center. Speakers include Mae Whitlow who will be providing an update on IRS issues, Rochelle Lawandales discussing CRA's, and Lowell Walters of GrayRobinson addressing retiree healthcare costs...

Treasure Coast Chapter
Carl Trabulsy, St. Lucie County Fire District, President
The Treasure Coast Chapter’s next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Friday, July 25th in the conference room of the Springhill Suites in Port St. Lucie. A lunch style buffet will be served at 12:30 followed by a 2 hour CPE seminar. We are not sure who the speaker will be for this meeting, but are hoping to secure the Property Appraiser to discuss Tax Reform. Other tentative meeting dates are October 17th, January 16th and April 17th...

Mary-Lou Pickles, St. Johns River Water Management District

Mary-Lou Pickles is a revenue accountant with the St. Johns River Water Management District, where she has been employed for 8 years. Mary-Lou was born Wappingers Falls, NY. She and Bill, her husband of 30 years, moved to Florida in 1980.

'It’s About You'

Sheila Harris was recently promoted to Special Projects/Grants Manager for Santa Rosa County. Sheila is a newly elected board member for the Panhandle Chapter. She will be graduating in May with a Master of Science in Administration/Public Administration from the University of West Florida.

Florida Cities of Excellence Awards Program
Lynn Tipton, Florida League of Cities
The Florida League of Cities’ fifth annual Florida Cities of Excellence Awards Program nomination brochures have been mailed to League members. It also is posted online at www.flcities.com, under “News & Hot Links.” We hope that your city will participate in this unique opportunity to spotlight your city, its leaders and its citizens! The deadline for nominations is August 11, 2008...

FGFOA responds to GASB

The FGFOA submitted responses to GASB regarding the Fund Balance ED and SEA concepts statement no. 2. See below to view these responses...

Employment Postings