CITY OF ROHNERT PARK, CALIFORNIA

FinanceDirector

THE COMMUNITYAbout 45-miles north of San Francisco and centrally located in the North Bay, Rohnert Park is surrounded by unparalleled natural beauty: The Russian River Valley to the north; the Sonoma Mountains to the east; and the scenic Pacific Coast and Bodega Bay to the west. As home to Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park enjoys the vitality of being a college town and offers a wide variety of outdoor recreation, family cultural events, upscale dining, craft breweries, and more. Called “The Friendly City” for its welcoming spirit, Rohnert Park covers seven-square miles with a population of 43,339.

The city features a variety of superb entertainment venues. The Spreckels Theatre Company is one of the North Bay’s most popular and respected companies. The company performs in the state-of-the-art Spreckels Performing Arts Center presenting music, dance, and the latest and classic critically acclaimed Broadway productions. On the Sonoma State University campus, The Green Music Center’s stellar performing arts arena is home to the Sonoma State University Music Department, the Santa Rosa Symphony, and Sonoma Bach. In the summer, Rohnert Park offers two special concert venues: the unique Weill Hall becomes an amphitheater when its back wall opens to the outdoor lawn; and the environmentally-friendly solar-powered SOMO Village.

The area’s beauty makes being outdoors a given. Golfers enjoy manicured greens and challenging holes on the two 18-hole Foxtail Golf Club golf courses. Dogs and their families play at the Roberts Lake and Dog Park. Three popular aquatic centers provide swimmers with pools year-round. Several attractive city parks and generous green space offer inviting recreational spaces for residents of all ages. A centralized, mixed use, walkable downtown is an exciting development on the horizon with residential and other development slated for specific areas within the city.

The Cotati-Rohnert Park School District supports K-12 students, with Rancho Cotate High School serving as the primary high school for Rohnert Park and Cotati families. The district also supports several alternative and charter education institutions and is nationally recognized for its work in closing the achievement gap and increasing access to advanced curriculum

for all students. Sonoma State University (SSU) provides distinguished higher education with bachelor and master’s degree programs and teaching certificates. The Technology High School is a project-based learning high school focused on STEM fields and ranks #1 best public high school in Sonoma County and in the top fifteen high schools in the state.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART), Sonoma County Transit, and the Golden Gate Transit support Rohnert Park’s public transit. Several airports serve local travelers and vacationers: The Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa (north); or Oakland International Airport and San Francisco International Airport (south). The Sonoma County Airport Express furnishes transportation from San Francisco and Oakland.

At the heart of the cultural hub of San Francisco, to the sweeping vistas of Sonoma and Taylor Mountains, to the neighboring giant redwoods, and the Pacific Coast’s iconic Highway 1, Rohnert Park is an uncommonly special city in Sonoma County. With intelligent urban planning and a committed city and community partnership, Rohnert Park is an ideal place to live, work, and grow.

To learn more about The Friendly City, visit https://www.rpcity.org.

CITY GOVERNMENTRohnert Park’s City Council is an elected council of five members each serving staggered four-year terms. The City Council appoints the Mayor from among its ranks to a one-year term. The Council also appoints the City Manager; City Attorney; and members of city commissions, committees, and boards. Under the Council-Manager form of government, the Council establishes city policies while the City Manager ensures implementation. The Mayor appoints City Councilmembers to standing city committees: Economic Development; Waste and Recycling; Water/Watershed; and Education. The Councilmembers also serve as liaisons to boards, advisory/oversight committees, and other area collaborative agencies. This November 2020, the City plans to transition from at-large city council elections to district-based elections while maintaining its rotating mayoral and vice mayoral seats.

Rohnert Park provides traditional municipal services such as public works, community services, public safety (police, fire & animal services), finance, human resources, and development

services, as well as services unique to Rohnert Park such as the Spreckels Performing Arts Center.

The General Fund budget for the current fiscal year is $43.8 million. Rohnert Park utilizes a 10-year financial model to develop the City’s budget, identifying future resources, downward trends, and capital projects. It also administers a Financial Crisis Response Plan to identify quantified economic triggers and provide responses to any fiscal crisis.

The California State Auditor’s Fiscal Health Analysis of 470 cities ranks Rohnert Park as low overall financial risk. The City values fiscal stability and has pension and OPEB trust funds to address these liabilities.

Rohnert Park’s strategic plan provides a framework for proactive multi-year goals. The City Council annually reviews goals in order to update priorities that reflect the dynamic nature of the municipality. Its current goals are:

• Practice participative leadership at all levels.• Achieve and maintain fiscal stability.• Ensure the effective delivery of public services.• Continue to develop a vibrant community.

City Mission StatementWe Care for Our Residents by Working Together to Build a

Better Community for Today and Tomorrow.

FINANCE DEPARTMENTThe Finance Director oversees a department budget of $1.9 million and a team of 12 full-time and 3 limited term positions. The responsibilities of the Department include traditional activities of financial reporting, accounting, budget preparation and administration, treasury functions, debt administration, revenue management, utility billing and business licensing. This position also serves as the City Treasurer and City Auditor and is expected to know laws, codes and standards regulating municipal finance. The Finance Director reports to the City Manager and is an integral member of the City’s leadership team providing collaborative service and support to departments and staff throughout the organization.

Rohnert Park recently selected the Tyler Munis® enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system to replace their existing system. The Finance Director serves as the functional lead (Finance and Utility) on this significant project which is anticipated to take approximately 2.5 years to implement. In support of this project, the City has added three limited term positions to ensure a smooth and successful implementation. The comprehensive ERP implementation will incorporate all the typical modules associated with Finance, Human Capital Management and Utility Billing.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATEThe ideal candidate will be a well-regarded local government finance professional with a collaborative, customer-oriented leadership style. He/she will be a curious and intelligent manager with experience successfully leading change and effectively engaging staff in the process. The future Director will be a successful relationship builder and team player accustomed to working as a member of an executive team with a clear understanding of the Finance Department’s critical role in the overall health of the municipality.

The Finance Director will be an empowering manager who trusts and respects his/her team and can effectively delegate and engage employees in achieving the Department’s goals. Highly qualified candidates will exhibit an inclusive and collaborative leadership style that motivates employees. Her or his open and transparent approach will attract talent, continuously build capacity in the Department and encourage an effective team environment. The future Director will value training, expanding staff knowledge and encourage ongoing growth and development. Through this leader’s mentoring, the Finance team will enhance the reputation of the Department as an operation that is both proficient and customer oriented. With the upcoming installation of Tyler Munis® ERP software, the Director will be adept at managing the change and transformation required for a nimble and adaptable contemporary finance department.

An engaged and collaborative colleague, he/she will be committed to building relationships that encourage open dialogue and discussions aimed at developing solutions in the

best interest of the community and that streamline operations. Inclined towards modernization and progressive in his/her approach, this individual encourages continuous process improvements and staying current on industry trends and innovations. Analytical and appropriately detail oriented, the candidate selected will be adept at identifying critical issues and resourceful in crafting feasible options to propose to colleagues and decision makers.

Articulate and credible, the ideal candidate will have excellent communication and presentation skills, particularly in addressing non-expert audiences on complex financial matters. As one who is always prepared, he/she will display an impressive command of information and sensitivity around messaging. The ability to adeptly guide and educate stakeholders in compelling and informative ways will be evaluated.

The successful candidate will possess any combination of experience and education that provides the knowledge and abilities necessary to be successful in the position with ideal candidates possessing a bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, business or public administration or a related field and five years of administrative experience in municipal finance and accounting, including two (2) years at a management level. Possession of a CPA, Master’s degree and/or municipal experience is desirable.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS The current salary range is $139,110 - $169,089; salary is supplemented by an attractive benefits package that includes, but is not limited to:• Retirement – CalPERS 2% @ 55 formula for Classic employees;

2% @ 62 formula for New Members. Rohnert Park does not participate in Social Security but does participate in Medicare.

• Auto Allowance – Approximately $5,000/year.• Retiree Health Saving Account – City contribution of $100

per month.• Medical Plan – Choice of Kaiser, Sutter or REMIF self-insured

health - plans with monthly City contribution up to $1,450. Alternate Benefit ($350) is provided to employees who show proof of health insurance coverage.

• Dental and Vision Plans – Premiums fully paid by the City.

• Paid Leave and Holidays – Annual Leave accrues at the rate of 19 days for the first two years and progresses to a maximum 29 days. There are 12.5 paid holidays per year, plus 1 floating holiday. Administrative Leave of 100 hours is granted at the beginning of each fiscal year.

• Dependent Care and Medical Spending Accounts – Contribution on a voluntary basis.

• Life/AD&D and Disability Insurance – $100,000 Life/AD&D insurance with the option to purchase additional coverage; 662/3% long-term disability insurance and 60% short-term disability insurance.

• Optional Benefits – voluntary deferred compensation (457 Plans) and others.

APPLICATION & SELECTION PROCESSThe closing date for this recruitment is midnight, Sunday, April 5, 2020. To be considered for this opportunity, upload a compelling cover letter, resume and list of six professional references using the “Apply Now” feature at www.tbcrecruiting.com. This is a confidential process and will be handled accordingly throughout the various stages of the process.

Suzanne Mason • 562.631.2500Teri Black • 424.296.3111

TERI BLACK & COMPANY, LLCwww.tbcrecruiting.com

Following the closing date, applicants with the most relevant qualifications will be granted preliminary interviews by the consultants. Candidates deemed to be the best qualified will be expected to participate in panel interviews scheduled in April, followed by additional meetings with City representatives. The City anticipates making an appointment shortly, thereafter, following the completion of negotiations and extensive background and reference checks. Please note that references will not be contacted until mutual interest has been established.