FGFOA’s mission statement is to be your professional source of education, networking, leadership and information. We hope that you will learn, participate and network at this year’s conference. Our theme this year is “Let The Sun Shine In.” Early registration for the FGFOA Conference closes on April 16, 2010, make sure you register early to receive the discounted conference rate.
Central Florida Chapter
John Dufresne, City of Apopka, President
Thanks go out to Mark Fostier, Jim Moye, Laurie Campbell and many others for organizing an outstanding day of free CPE. The full-day, free seminar hosted by the Central Florida Chapter on February 26, 2010 included 8 hours of CPE to members. Sessions included the Audit Selection Committee Process, Internal Controls, Long-Range Budgeting and CIP, Best Practices to Prepare for a Federal Single Audit - ARRA Grants, and Debt Issuance and Administration. Speakers included Jim Moye and Chris Dawkins from the Orange County Comptroller's Office, Kent Olson from the City of Jacksonville, Troy Manning from Cherry Bekaert & Holland, LLP, and Lisa Spriggs from Seminole County.
The next regular four hour chapter meeting will be March 26, 2010. The agenda will include speakers from the IRS and Federated Investments. In addition we will present our proposed budget for the coming fiscal year and accept nominations for new officers and directors. Our final chapter meeting of the year will be held in late April and will include election of the 2011 Board Officers and Directors. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact a current Board member.
Chapter CPE confirmation letters will be sent out to members in good standing towards the end of May. The Chapter’s ten dollar membership fee entitles paid members to a wealth of networking potential as well as valuable CPE. Where else can you get FGFOA approved CPE for less than 50 cents per point?
As always it's never too late to start or renew your local chapter membership. If you haven't renewed your annual chapter membership please take a moment to do so. Remember, we rely heavily on the updated member information on the renewal forms, especially email addresses to notify members of meeting dates and events. If you are not receiving meeting notices, please email either myself at rdufresne@apopka.net or Steve Friedman at sfriedman@apopka.net. Membership/Renewal forms are available on the chapter page of the FGFOA website.
The Board of the Central Florida Chapter is made up as follows:
President: R. John Dufresne, City of Apopka
Treasurer: Steve Friedman, City of Apopka
Secretary: Linda Howard, OUC
Immediate Past-President: Imtiaz Fazie Khan, Osceola County BOCC
Directors: Laurie Campbell, Orange County Comptroller
Cara Roesner, City of Casselberry
Jamie Roberson, Osceola County Property Appraisers Office
Contact: rdufresne@apopka.net for additional information
Gulf Coast Chapter
Jay Ravins, City of Clearwater, President
The Gulf Coast Chapter hosted a full day Cash and Investments Training seminar on Tuesday, February 16th, at Tucson’s Restaurant in Clearwater. We had a successful seminar with attendance of 46 members. We would like to thank all attendees for their participation and our speakers for their excellent presentations on the following topics:
Jeff Larson, Larson Consulting Services – “Shaping an Investment Policy”
Corey Amon, CFA, Taplin, Canida & Habacht – “Fixed Income Securities: Outlook & Strategies for 2010”
Linda Perrigoue, Synovus Securities – “Fixed Income Specialty Items”
Troy Brown, Bogdahn and Associates – “Moving Toward a Global View of Equity Investing”
Jana Owens, Salem Trust – “Responsibilities and Characteristics of a Custodian”
The next Chapter meeting is a luncheon meeting (1 hr of CPE) scheduled for Tuesday, April 13th, at Tucson’s Restaurant. Ken Small with the Florida League of Cities will be speaking on legislative issues.
Hillsborough Chapter
Lee Huffstutler, City of Tampa, President
The Hillsborough Chapter held its quarterly CPE session at a new location in Tampa's Old City Hall on February 12, 2010, with about 50 members and guests in attendance. After a short business meeting, Ming Gao, FDOT, Planning Manager and Bob McDonaugh, City of Tampa, District CRA Manager spoke for an hour on the topic: Florida High Speed Rail is coming to Florida! How does this affect Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa? Afterwards, Mike Perry, City of Tampa, Water Department Administrative and Fiscal Manager spoke for an hour on the topic: Florida Water is a scare resource! Recent droughts, water over pumping... How is the Water Enterprise fund affected? Both sessions were well received and informational!
Before the CPE sessions, the group discussed the idea of moving the election of officers from May to April to coincide with the state's orientation of new chapter presidents. April Livingston, a newly certified CGFO, provided her suggestions for successfully passing the CGFO exam. Everyone was encouraged to serve on state committees and to use the ListServe for getting information, and everyone was asked about wearing new local chapter shirts at the upcoming convention in Orlando. Membership has swelled to over 200, and the local chapter has $3,749 in fund balance.
Nature Coast Chapter
Susan Sullivan, Citrus County Clerk of Court, President
The Nature Coast Chapter held their quarterly meeting on January 20, 2010, at Andre’s of Citrus Hills, in Citrus County, Florida. The speakers were Sheree Cunningham, Internal Revenue Service Federal, State & Local Government Specialist and Glenn Walther, Senior Solutions Consultant Information Access Systems, Inc. The topics included fringe benefits IRS Compliance Issues and Electronic Document Management and Workflow.
The next quarterly meeting will be on April 21st, from 12:00 to 4:00 PM at Citrus Hills Golf & Country Club. The speaker has not been finalized as of publication date but 3 hours of quality CPE will be offered. The cost is $20.00 for members and $35 for non-members and anyone is welcome to attend.
If you are located in the five county area of Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion, or Sumter counties, please consider membership in the Nature Coast Chapter. For membership information, contact Secretary/Treasurer Tonya Caldwell at tcaldwell@mail.pa.citrus.fl.us.
Palm Beach Chapter
Jim McInnis, City of Greenacres, President-elect
The Palm Beach County Chapter held its annual investment seminar on Thursday, February 25th at the Palm Beach Airport Hilton. We had an excellent turnout and all who attended were very satisfied with the presentation by PFM Asset Management. They always do a very good job, but this year’s seminar had to be one of their best. A special thanks to Social Chair Kathy Eder of the Town of Palm Beach for doing most of the work in staging the event and collecting fees at the door. The lunch was excellent!
We are still working on speakers for our April 22nd and June 23rd business meetings. We’ll get a notice out just as soon as we get a confirmation. We are also working on making a couple of scholarships available to attend the Annual Conference in May. Details will be coming soon!
Panhandle Chapter
Charlotte Dunworth, City of Fort Walton Beach, President
The Chapter’s annual investment seminar will be held Friday, March 19, 2010 at Northwest Florida State College in DeFuniak Springs. Multiple speakers from PFM Asset Management will present, keeping the day interesting and the audience engaged. Training meets the 8 hour CPE requirement per F.S. 218.
Our next quarterly luncheon meeting will be held on Friday, April 16, 2010: 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. (CST) at the Best Western Crossroads Inn in DeFuniak Springs, at I-10 Exit 85. It is the annual meeting, and the new Board of Directors will be sworn in. We’ll also have a panel discussion on bond issuance for AA credit. Speakers will include a bond counsel, tax lawyer, and auditor.
The Chapter is planning a four-hour Ethics for Governmental CPA’s in Florida on Friday, May 7, 2010 at Northwest Florida State College in DeFuniak Springs. William Blend with the FICPA will present. Training meets the 4 hour CPE requirement for CPA’s.
Please visit the Chapter’s website at http://panhandlefgfoa.info for additional information.
South Florida Chapter
Karen Correa, Cooper City, President
Our next Chapter meeting will be on April 22, 2010; 5:45 pm – 8:30 pm at Tropical Acres Restaurant, 2500 Griffin Road, Dania Beach, 954-989-2500. Directions: From I-95 North or South, take Exit 23 (Griffin Road) and go west about ¼ mile. The restaurant is on the south side. The board is finalizing the agenda and will email the membership with details. Anyone interested in volunteering to help set up for the meeting, please contact a board member or you can just show up and surprise us. We love surprises like that. Hope to see you there!
The April meeting will also include election of the 2010-2011 board officers. Anyone interested in volunteering please contact a current board member.
On January 23, 2010, we held our annual holiday event at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Attendees enjoyed a buffet dinner as well as the comedy spoof “Capitol Steps.” A good time was had by all. If you were unable to join us this year, we hope to see you next year.
On February 25, 2010, Aletha Player & Brunilda Hasko with Florida Power & Light addressed our membership. Their presentation “FPL and Its Impact on Local Municipalities Including the Public Service Tax and Franchise Fees” was very enlightening. We had lots of questions and they had the answers!
If you have suggestions for speakers or topics please email Barbara DeLeon at Barbara.DeLeon@copbfl.com.
If you are located within Broward or Dade County, please consider membership in the South Florida Chapter. Remember, it is never too late to start or renew your membership. The Chapter’s annual $25 membership fee entitles you to a wealth of networking potential as well as valuable CPE. We rely heavily on the updated member information on the renewal forms, especially email addresses, in order to notify members of meeting dates and events. If you are not receiving meeting notices, please email Lisa Chong at lchong@ppines.com or myself at KarenCorrea@CooperCityFL.org. Membership/Renewal forms are available on the Chapter page of the FGFOA website at: 2009-2010 Membership Application
Southwest Florida Chapter
Donna Lovejoy, City of Fort Myers, President
The Southwest Chapter will hold its quarterly meeting on March 19, 2010, at Olde Hickory Golf & Country Club, Ft Myers, Florida. Three hours of CPE credits are being offered. Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. will be providing a two hour presentation on Funding Opportunities. It will be presented in four sections: 1. Funding Opportunities presented by Tami Ray, Senior Associate, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., 2. Application Processes by Dr. Karen Rubin, Grantsman, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., 3. Essential Planning by Thomas A. Bryant, P.E., Planning Manager and 4. Grant/Loan Administration by Brenda Westlake, Administrator, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. The final hour will be a presentation on the Economy and Investment Strategies by John Grady, MBIA Asset Management. For additional information, please contact Mike Tanski at mtanski@ci.venice.fl.us.
The chapter will hold it's annual election of board members at this meeting. The current board has been working on preparing a survey to send to our membership to help the board better meet their needs, increasing membership and providing training at little cost.
Space Coast Chapter
Christine Fain, City of Satellite Beach, President
We held our CPE workshop hosted by the City of Titusville on Friday, February 19, 2010, in the Florida Room, Building C, of the Viera Government Complex. The topics included Budgeting and Controlling Personal Services by David Pollard, OMB Director for the City of Port St. Lucie; Spotting Counterfeit Money by Secret Service Special Agent Joseph Seeger; Public / Private Partnerships by Robert Koch of Fugelburg Koch Architects; and Self-Insurance Funds by David Jang of PFM Asset Management. Our speakers were all very well received and provided us with timely information.
Our next meeting will be our free annual business meeting at noon, on Friday, April 16, 2010. Lunch can be ordered from the regular menu of Jimmy’s Restaurant at the Turtle Creek Golf Club in Rockledge. Following our annual meeting, the next CPE workshop will be on Friday, June 18, 2010. For additional information as these events approach please contact Christine Fain at cfain@satellitebeach.org.
Treasure Coast Chapter
Jason E. Brown, Indian River County – BCC, President
The Treasure Coast Chapter held its quarterly chapter meeting on January 22, 2010. Following the business meeting, Ray Tomlinson of the Crowne Consulting Group provided a presentation on “Health Care Cost Trends and Strategies.” This discussion covered timely topics in the healthcare arena including the current status of healthcare reform in Washington. Mr. Tomlinson also covered current trends in healthcare costs and administration as well as strategies entities can use to manage these costs.
The next Chapter meeting has been scheduled for Friday, April 23, 2010 at noon. As always, anyone in the area at the time of our meetings is welcome to attend. Please contact Jason Brown at jbrown@ircgov.com or Michael Florio at mflorio@cityofpsl.com for more information and directions. The cost is $26.00 for members or $41.00 for non-members (includes $15 one year of membership dues).