Meg Jakubik, Budget Director, Town of Flower Mound

Bio: Meg Jakubik, CGFO, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science from Texas Tech University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of North Texas. She has fifteen years of experience working for the City of Bedford, having served in various departments, including the Police Department, City’s Secretary’s Office, City Manager’s Office, and Finance. As the Strategic Services Manager, she is responsible for coordinating the City’s budget, overseeing municipal franchises, and other special projects.

Sessions:
Frightening Finances: Master Your Budget with Spooky
Formulas

Session Description: Struggling with the intricacies of nailing the personnel budget? Does calculating projections make your departments want to run screaming for the hills? Join GFOAT veterans to learn tips & tricks on how to approach your budgeting challenges with practical examples and tools to improve your budget process.

Deployment Reimbursement – Trick or Treat?

Session Description: Not all State deployments are created equal. Are you aware of the different reimbursement parameters your departments are deploying under? Are you maximizing reimbursable funds? How are you reinvesting in your programs with the recovered funds?

Fire Burn & Cauldron Bubble: Hot Topics

Session Description: Calling old and new finance professional to share and learn from each other. Veterans, come share common scams that haunt your working hours. New professionals, learn what scary things to watch out for when you receive cold calls and emails.

Aaron Rector, City Manager, City of Keller 

Bio: Aaron Rector is a Certified Government Finance Officer with over 15 years of municipal finance experience who has served as the Director of Administrative Services/Finance for the City of Keller, and is now the City Manager.  Prior to joining the City of Keller, he worked for the City of Cedar Park first as the Budget Manager and then as the Assistant Finance Director.  He began his career in municipal finance as a Financial Analyst with the Town of Flower Mound.  He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Texas A&M and his Master’s in Public Administration from the University of North Texas.

Sessions:

Frightening Finances: Master Your Budget with Spooky
Formulas

Session Description: Struggling with the intricacies of nailing the personnel budget? Does calculating projections make your departments want to run screaming for the hills? Join GFOAT veterans to learn tips & tricks on how to approach your budgeting challenges with practical examples and tools to improve your budget process.

Fire Burn & Cauldron Bubble: Hot Topics

Session Description: Calling old and new finance professional to share and learn from each other. Veterans, come share common scams that haunt your working hours. New professionals, learn what scary things to watch out for when you receive cold calls and emails.

Cayce Lay Lamas, Director of Finance, Town of Westlake

Bio: Cayce Lay Lamas is the Director of Finance for the Town of Westlake. She is responsible for a wonderful team providing finance, accounting, budget, and utility billing services.  Cayce has 15 years of local government experience in the DFW area, having previously worked for the cities of Fort Worth and Coppell. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Austin College and her master’s in accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington. Cayce is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Texas. She is the current chair of the Communications Committee and a member of the Program Committee for the Government Finance Officers Association of Texas (GFOAT). Outside of work, Cayce and her husband, Chris, enjoy bringing their two rescue pit bulls, Pippa and Dottie, anywhere dogs are allowed, attending World Champion Texas Rangers games, and listening to live music.

Sessions:
Frightening Finances: Master Your Budget with Spooky
Formulas

Session Description: Struggling with the intricacies of nailing the personnel budget? Does calculating projections make your departments want to run screaming for the hills? Join GFOAT veterans to learn tips & tricks on how to approach your budgeting challenges with practical examples and tools to improve your budget process.

Colin Erhardt, Assistant Director, Harvard Kennedy School
Government Performance Lab

Bio: Colin Erhardt is an Assistant Director at the Government Performance Lab, where he leads the Procurement Excellence Network (PEN). PEN is a virtual community built by and for procurement professionals offering completely-free tools, training events, and other resources designed to help governments take their procurement practice to the next level.

Prior to rejoining the GPL (Colin previously served as a Fellow and Project Leader from 2019-2022 supporting procurement improvement projects in Connecticut and Pennsylvania), Colin worked at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts overseeing a team responsible for leveraging procurement, contracting, and operational changes to overhaul the front door to its Emergency Assistance Program (Family Shelter). Colin has also worked for a corporate governance consulting firm, a criminal justice non-profit, and as an IT consultant. Colin holds a BA in Political Science from Boston College and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. In his spare time, Colin enjoys watching an endless loop of movies trailer (without actually seeing the movies), spending time with his highly energetic niece, and competing with friends on increasingly obscure board games.

Sessions:

Nightmare on Procurement Street

Session Description: Procurement best practices can play a critical role for modern governments in advancing strategic objectives, promoting organization-wide efficiency, and strengthening stewardship of limited government resources. However, some organizations don’t fully realize this potential due to outdated procurement policies, siloed and reactive staff, and convoluted processes that frustrate internal and external stakeholders.

In this session, speakers will provide practical strategies on how to overcome stakeholder feedback that procurement is too slow, too complicated, and too bureaucratic. Specific focus will be on using technology, building relationships, and creating an environment for partnerships with vendors that foster innovation, generate results, and maintain accountability.

Procurement

Session Description: State and local governments spend up to 50% of their budgets on procured goods and services, from road repairs to emergency medical services. Yet, procurement is often considered a back-office administrative function for compliance, not a tool for achieving strategic goals. Procurement processes can be a starting point for achieving improved outcomes and government priorities.

In this session, speakers will provide practical strategies to modernize the procurement function, including lessons learned from a virtual community focused on evangelizing procurement best practices. Specific focus will be on tangible tools, templates, resources, and insights to empower jurisdictions to advance their own set of procurement reforms.

Nayana Nagapurapu, Government Innovation Fellow, Harvard
Kennedy School Government Performance Lab

Bio: Nayana is a Government Innovation Fellow working with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on their procurement transformation initiative. She is currently working with the Labor and Industry department to make Active Contract management (ACM) consistent, equitable and sustainable across RFPs. She will help lay the groundwork for a data-driven strategy for procurement in the commonwealth. Nayana is also engaged with the state of Connecticut on their statewide procurement transformation. She is passionate about identifying and strengthening gender responsive procurement tools.

Prior to joining the Government Performance Lab, Nayana worked for the State of Telangana (India) where she developed a performance metrics for social workers in a nutritional program. She worked with the UNDP, private consulting firms and nonprofit organizations such as Value for Women and Center for Transformational Change.

Nayana holds an MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University with a focus on Economic and Political Development.

Sessions:

Nightmare on Procurement Street

Session Description: Procurement best practices can play a critical role for modern governments in advancing strategic objectives, promoting organization-wide efficiency, and strengthening stewardship of limited government resources. However, some organizations don’t fully realize this potential due to outdated procurement policies, siloed and reactive staff, and convoluted processes that frustrate internal and external stakeholders.

In this session, speakers will provide practical strategies on how to overcome stakeholder feedback that procurement is too slow, too complicated, and too bureaucratic. Specific focus will be on using technology, building relationships, and creating an environment for partnerships with vendors that foster innovation, generate results, and maintain accountability.

Procurement

Session Description: State and local governments spend up to 50% of their budgets on procured goods and services, from road repairs to emergency medical services. Yet, procurement is often considered a back-office administrative function for compliance, not a tool for achieving strategic goals. Procurement processes can be a starting point for achieving improved outcomes and government priorities.

In this session, speakers will provide practical strategies to modernize the procurement function, including lessons learned from a virtual community focused on evangelizing procurement best practices. Specific focus will be on tangible tools, templates, resources, and insights to empower jurisdictions to advance their own set of procurement reforms.

Bruce Haupt, Chief Finance & Administration Officer, Harris County Flood Control District

Bio: Serving as Chief Finance & Administration Officer at the
Harris County Flood Control District, Bruce leads teams of finance, supply
chain, project controls, performance, and technology staff who support and
enable our project delivery, infrastructure, and operations divisions. Before
joining the District, he worked for various public sector entities, to include
the City of Houston, Harris County, Houston ISD, the World Bank, and the
Supreme Council for Planning in Oman. In these roles he led and supported projects that improved performance, optimized finance and procurement, diversified a national economy, increased transparency, and fostered entrepreneurship. He also spent several years as a stay-at-home dad and completing his doctoral studies. Bruce has a PhD from the University of Kentucky where he studied the spread of innovations via network organizations. He also obtained a master’s in public policy from Harvard University, Bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, and Associate’s degree from Eastern Florida State College.

Sessions:

Ghost in the Spreadsheets

Session description: There’s nothing scarier than inefficiency lurking in your financial operations—or is there? Join us for a spine-chilling session where we’ll find ways to exorcise ghastly administrative tasks and summon the power of generative AI to analyze data and build spooktacular visuals. Prepare to be bewitched by bone-chilling demos with real-world examples, and a few tricks (and treats) to take back to your own organization—whether it’s transforming budget processes and reports, automating process improvement, drafting job descriptions, streamlining procurement processes, or conjuring up strategic financial plans, you’ll see how AI tools can be applied today in your organization. Don’t miss out—this session will leave you spellbound with ideas for using AI to make your finance operations more frighteningly efficient and eerily effective.

Jadelmy Mateo, Program Analyst, Harris County Flood Control District

Sessions:

Ghost in the Spreadsheets

Session description: There’s nothing scarier than inefficiency lurking in your financial operations—or is there? Join us for a spine-chilling session where we’ll find ways to exorcise ghastly administrative tasks and summon the power of generative AI to analyze data and build spooktacular visuals. Prepare to be bewitched by bone-chilling demos with real-world examples, and a few tricks (and treats) to take back to your own organization—whether it’s transforming budget processes and reports, automating process improvement, drafting job descriptions, streamlining procurement processes, or conjuring up strategic financial plans, you’ll see how AI tools can be applied today in your organization. Don’t miss out—this session will leave you spellbound with ideas for using AI to make your finance operations more frighteningly efficient and eerily effective.

Jason Hughes, Managing Director, Hilltop Securities

Bio: Mr. Hughes is a Managing Director in Hilltop Securities’ Dallas office.  Mr. Hughes has over 20 years of experience working with Texas cities, counties, school districts and other municipal entities.  He has significant experience in economic development related transactions, including working with numerous cities on the creation, development and financing for tax increment reinvestment zones and public improvement districts.  Mr. Hughes has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Economics from Texas Tech University.

Sessions:

Adding to Your Spellbook: Debt Issuance & the CGFO Test

Session description: The process of issuing debt has lots of pieces that need to be added to the mix at just the right time to be successful. This session is perfect if you’re looking to learn more about the right ingredients and you’re ready to level up with your CGFO certification. Join us to get more familiar with all the moving pieces so that you can help your organization make the best choices for its debt capacity and learn key tenets that will help you pass the debt exam.

Keith Dagan, retired

Bio: Keith Dagen was the director of finance for the City of Richardson. He began his government career with the City of Garland in 1998 and joined Richardson in 2003. Keith is a Certified Public Accountant, has an Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Dallas, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Harding University. Keith has been a member of the Government Finance Officers Association of Texas (GFOAT) since 2003, where he is currently the president-elect. Previously, he held board roles as secretary and as GFOAT’s representative to the Texas Municipal Retirement System’s Advisory Committee on Benefit Design. He also served on GFOAT’s Financial Reporting and Regulatory Response Committee from 2007 until 2019 and has represented GFOAT’s interests before the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. Keith is also a member of GFOA, GTOT, and a graduate of Leadership Richardson.

Sessions:

See You on the Other Side

Session Description: Retiring is the scariest decision that you can make and how it plays out can haunt you for years to come. Come hear what retirement is like and learn some practical advice from someone that’s been on the other side and lived to tell the tale.

Rayna Teicheira, Senior Economic Development Analyst, HdL

Bio: Rayna Teicheira is a Senior Economic Development Analyst at HdL Companies, where she partners with government agencies to provide crucial data and consultation to foster local economic growth. Her efforts include strategic planning, economic development action planning, and consulting on key tax revenue drivers. Rayna focuses on implementing programs that support business expansion, attraction, retention, and infrastructure development to stimulate economic activity.

Before joining HdL, Rayna served as the Economic Development Director for the City of Navasota, where she led initiatives in economic development, grant writing, parks and recreation, and tourism. She is deeply passionate about downtown revitalization, small business development, local entrepreneurship, and placemaking.

Rayna is a 2024 graduate of the Oklahoma University Economic Development Institute (OU EDI). She holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University (2020) and a Bachelor’s in Economics from California State University, Stanislaus (2018).

Sessions:

Haunted by Numbers: Conjuring Clarity in Sales Tax Data

Session Description: In this sales tax presentation, we’ll delve into the details of your city’s sales tax data and learn how to interpret it effectively. We’ll also discuss essential sales tax concepts that you can combine with your data to master sales tax budgeting like a pro!

Deputy Chief Brandon Barth, Town of Flower Mound

Bio: Brandon Barth serves as a Deputy Chief with the Flower Mound Fire Department and has served in this role since June 2021. Additionally, Chief Barth serves as the Region 2, North Division Coordinator for the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System. Brandon has served with the Flower Mound Fire Department since March 2014, previously serving as an Operations Manager with a private Hazardous Materials response company and serving 6 years with Baldwin County Fire Rescue in Milledgeville, GA. He is a 2007 graduate of Georgia College & State University where he received a Bachelor’s in Business Administration focusing on International Business. He is a Certified Emergency Manager(R) through the International Association of Emergency Managers, a Licensed Paramedic, Advanced Structural Firefighter, Advanced Fire Investigator, and has served on numerous regional and state-wide disaster deployments. Brandon lives in Roanoke, TX with his wife Liz and daughter Alyssa.

Sessions:

Deployment Reimbursement – Trick or Treat?

Session Description: Not all State deployments are created equal. Are you aware of the different reimbursement parameters your departments are deploying under? Are you maximizing reimbursable funds? How are you reinvesting in your programs with the recovered funds?

Todd Buikema, Assistant Director for Publications, GFOA
New to Governmental Finance • Session 6

Todd Buikema is the Assistant Director for Publications in GFOA’s Technical Services Center (TSC), and is the coeditor of GFOA’s Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting publication (GAAFR) and GAAFR Plus supplements. Todd also is a trainer for GFOA’s national training courses, in the areas of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and internal controls. Todd came to the GFOA with more than 19 years of experience in governmental accounting, auditing, and financial reporting. Immediately prior to joining the GFOA staff, Todd served as Assistant Financial Controller at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, one of the largest community colleges in the country. Before that, he obtained 14 years of experience in public-sector auditing, first as a manager at PTW, and then as a senior manager in the Public Sector Services section of Crowe LLP. Todd received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Calvin University. He is a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) in the state of Illinois and a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Illinois Society of CPAs.

Sessions:

Don’t Be Scared of the Treats of Governmental Accounting

Session Description: Like going into a haunted house for the first time, governmental accounting and financial reporting can be a little scarry at first. After this session your fear level will go down as you will have a better understanding of the treats governmental accounting offers: different types of funds, two basis of accounting, government-wide reporting, and budgetary reporting.

Philip Stringer, Assurance Senior Manager, MGO

Philip brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his work
for your organization — representing MGO’s foundation of “paying attention to details” in his service to you and instilling this approach in his teammates as well. He brings more than 18 years of experience performing an array of auditing, accounting, financial, and operational assignments for large state and local government clients of all types and sizes at both the state and local level. He is honored to serve rapidly growing urban counties, cities, school districts, state agencies, and states. He specializes in managing large and complex government audits; tackling technical issues like GASB pronouncements; conducting financial reporting and compiling financial statements; and performing tests in all governmental accounting areas. In addition, he also has experience auditing privately held companies in the manufacturing, distribution, and service-oriented industries.

Sessions:

Tales from the Crypt: Lessons Learned from the Haunting of Leases & SBITA

Session Description: We’ll navigate the spooky haunted house of leases and SBITAs, exploring the dark corners of these GASB standards for pitfalls and things that go bump in the night. Flashlights optional.

Chris Morrill, Executive Director/CEO, GFOA
GFOA Ethics Presentation • Networking Lunch

Chris Morrill is the Executive Director/CEO of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the US & Canada, a 22,000 member professional association that advances excellence in government finance to build thriving communities. He has decades of experience in local government, serving as city manager of the City of Roanoke, VA, the only seven-time All-America City, Assistant City Manager and Budget Director for the City of Savannah, GA, a budget analyst for Catawba County, NC, and downtown project manager for Lynn, MA.

Chris also served as Senior Municipal Finance Advisor to the South African National Treasury under a United States Agency for International Development project. In this position, he assisted the South African government with developing local government finance legislation, municipal budget reforms, and capacity building programs. He was in the first group of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers in the former Soviet Union, where he advised the City of L’viv, Ukraine on finance and management issues.

Morrill co-authored The Savannah Story: The Road to Equity and Sustainable Community Development in Economic Development in American Cities: the Pursuit of an Equity Agenda. He completed a three-year fellowship in the Kellogg National Leadership Program, exploring conflict resolution and community building in Peru, China, Northern Ireland, and South Africa.

Chris is a recipient of the Southern Christian Leadership Council (Roanoke Chapter) Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award.  He is an ICMA Credentialed Manager, a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and a leadership fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of the Holy Cross and a Masters of Public Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Brent Mason, CPA, Senior Manager, Government Advisory Services, Eide Bailly

Brent is a Senior Manager in the Government Advisory Services Department at Eide Bailly LLP.  Brent brings over 30 years of experience in finance departments of large municipalities. He spent 22 years with the City of Riverside, CA, including six years as Finance Director, and three years as Finance Director for the City of San Bernardino, CA, where he helped navigate the City’s exit from bankruptcy.

Throughout his career, Brent managed budgets and investment portfolios exceeding $1 billion and led financing teams issuing over $1 billion in municipal bonds. Six years ago, he joined Eide Bailly as a consultant, and he enjoys the variety of project-based work and helping clients improve their operations.

Away from work, Brent spends much of his free time enjoying his large family ( 13 kids; 11 grandchildren) and assisting his wife caring for their nine adopted special needs children.  He periodically enjoys the great outdoors golfing with friends.

Sessions:

Hauntingly Effective Year-End Practices

Session Description: Does navigating through the year end close process make you feel lost in a corn maze? Learn about the broader concepts of the technical stuff plus all the other tasks that get thrown into your bucket.

Sam Singery, CPA, Manager, Government Advisory Services, Eide Bailly

Sam Singery is a Manager in the Government Advisory Services Department at Eide Bailly LLP, where he assists state and local government clients with complex accounting and financial reporting challenges, identifying and implementing process improvements, and implementing new Governmental Accounting Standards Board pronouncements.  Prior to joining Eide Bailly, Sam worked as the Accounting Manager and Assistant Finance Director for small and medium-sized cities in California and Texas, overseeing the daily operations of the finance department in addition to coordinating all required audits, preparing financial and regulatory reports, developing enhanced policies and procedures, and implementing new Governmental Accounting Standards Board pronouncements.  

Sam holds a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in accounting from Biola University in La Mirada, California and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas. Sam is an active member of GFOA and GFOAT.

Outside of work, Sam enjoys reading, golfing and spending time with his wife and five children.

Sessions:

Hauntingly Effective Year-End Practices

Session Description: Does navigating through the year end close process make you feel lost in a corn maze? Learn about the broader concepts of the technical stuff plus all the other tasks that get thrown into your bucket.

Raquel Navarro, Finance Director, City of Pleasanton

Raquel Navarro serves as the Finance Director for the City of Pleasanton, a role she has held for the past two years. With a tenure at the city dating back to 2008, Raquel has gained extensive experience by working in nearly every department at City Hall. Her contributions have been instrumental in implementing numerous changes and updates across the organization.

Raquel considers her appointment as Finance Director to be her most significant professional achievement. She is dedicated to being an effective leader for her team, consistently striving for excellence and embracing continuous learning. Currently, she is focused on achieving the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (COA) for the City, a goal that she and her team are diligently working towards.

With three years remaining until her retirement, Raquel looks forward to the future with optimism and a commitment to leaving a lasting positive impact on the City’s financial health.

Sessions:

Hauntingly Effective Year-End Practices

Session Description: Does navigating through the year end close process make you feel lost in a corn maze? Learn about the broader concepts of the technical stuff plus all the other tasks that get thrown into your bucket

Sharon Frey, Recruitment & Staffing Administrator, City
of San Antonio

Sessions:

Tricks to Make Hiring a Treat

Session description: Do vacancies on your team make you scream? Does finding fangtastic employees seem like witchful thinking? Learn some of the tricks used by the City of San Antonio, including datapoint theory and behavioral-based interviewing, that will have you skelebrating amazing hires in no time!

Dr. Steve Nivin, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Economics/Chair of the Economics Department, St. Mary’s University)

Steve Nivin, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Economics and Chair of the Economics Department at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. He is also an economic consultant and is frequently asked to speak and provide expertise to the media on various economic issues. Dr. Nivin’s research and consulting work focuses on regional economic development, economic forecasting, cultural economics, environmental economics, hospitality and tourism, economic impact, and cost-benefit analysis.

Sessions:

Economic Outlook 2025: Continued Strong Growth or Haunted by Uncertainty?

The presentation will focus on the economic outlook for the U.S. and Texas economies in 2025. The economy has continued to grow strongly through 2024. Will that continue into 2025 or will the ghoulish specter of uncertainty scare away the growth? General economic growth measures will be discussed, as well as inflation and the potential effects of a change in administrations in the U.S.

Chet Garner, The Day Tripper
Texas is Haunted • General Session 2 (KEYNOTE)

Chet Garner is the creator, host, and executive producer of The Daytripper, a 13-time Emmy-award-winning Texas travel show airing on PBS stations across the country. 

Born in Comanche and raised in Port Neches, Texas, Chet’s love for storytelling began at a young age around the Boy Scout campfire and toting around his grandfather’s VHS video camera.

Chet earned a degree in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas at Austin and went on to graduate first in his class from Baylor Law School.  However, after practicing law for 3 years, he decided to follow his passions and simultaneously inspire folks to appreciate the beauty, history, and food of the Lone Star State.

What followed was a crash course in travel, filmmaking, marketing, and doing whatever it takes to start a successful TV show.  When not traveling Chet is at home in Georgetown, Texas with his wife and 5 children (14, 12, 9, 7, and 3) – although he’s usually got them on the road too.

Learn more about The Daytripper at http://thedaytripper.com. 

Glenn Mizell, Purchasing Manager, City of Grand Prairie

A graduate of Auburn University with a BSBA in Accounting and MBA from Belmont University. After 5 years in the private sector as an Accountant, he transitioned to the local government industry in 1993. He has almost 30 years of experience in governmental accounting, 6 of those years with the City of North Richland Hills as Assistant Director where Finance covers Accounting, Purchasing, and Utility Billing. He is now the Purchasing Manager for the City of Grand Prairie.

In addition, Glenn is a co-chair of the CGFO Committee for GFOAT. Over the past three years, he has led several initiatives which resulted in updated exams and study materials, newly implemented online exam review sessions for candidates, and updated policies and procedures for committee organization.

Sessions:

Grave New World: Earn Your CGFO

Session Description: GFOAT has a certification program designed to help you succeed in our industry. Learn about the bones of the process – testing, experience requirements, and success stories – and start your journey today.

Thomas Sweatt, Special Agent, FBI
SA Sweatt is a member of the Complex Financial Crime squad
with the San Antonio FBI. SA Sweatt has a JD from SMU and owned an oil &
gas services company before joining the FBI.

Sessions:

Stealing the Candy: Trends in Financial Crimes

Description: The session will discuss trends in fraud and financial crimes, including case examples and a practical discussion of the current landscape of financial criminal activity.

Anthony Mills, TMRS

Anthony Mills was named Director of Education Services at the Texas Municipal Retirement System in June 2023. The division provides virtual and in-person training and education to Members, city administrators, and councilpersons who participate in or administer their cities’ TMRS plans.

Prior to his current role, Anthony was named TMRS’ first Director of City Services in September 2020. Among the Education division’s functions are education and outreach to city administrators, stakeholders, elected officials and onboarding new participating cities. Anthony joined TMRS in November 2004.  

Before joining TMRS, Anthony worked for the Texas County and District Retirement System and the Employees Retirement System of Texas. Anthony was also a press aide to the late Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock.

Anthony holds a BA in History from the University of Texas at Austin.

Anthony will discuss TMRS’ new repeating COLA option. He will explain why the new COLA is a less expensive, more equitable and simpler option for cities than TMRS’ traditional COLA.

Sessions:

Preparing for the After (Work) Life: TMRS Update

Session Description: Join TMRS staff for an update on the pension system before you pass over to the other retired side.

Gwen Estrada, ARPA Executive, City of San Antonio

Gwen is an Executive Officer overseeing the City of San
Antonio’s COVID-19 funding and FEMA Reimbursements. Her professional experience includes 12 years in local government, six years in banking, and three years in retail. Her local government experience is from the City of San Antonio, the City of Garden Ridge, and Bexar County. Gwen is a San Antonio native who graduated from the University of the Incarnate Word with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Administration with a concentration in Organizational Development. Gwen is also a new author who published Passage of Evolution, a chronological collection of poems written after her father’s passing.

Sessions:

Vanishing Benjamins

Session Description: We battled through the shadows of COVID-19.  Let’s glimpse into the City of San Antonio’s (COSA) initial response and preparation for the pandemic with ARPA State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. The swift measures taken helped the most vulnerable in our communities. Fears are now looming from the chilling obligation and spending deadlines that are upon us. Learn about how COSA is brawling through the eerie trenches to devour deadlines.

Tania Askins, Managing Director, Hilltop Securities


Tania Askins, Managing Director, joined Hilltop
Securities in April of 2024 and specializes in debt issuance, quantitative
analysis and structuring for public finance clients.  She is responsible
for servicing client needs and account management including managing debt
offerings, problem solving, and communication of financial and economic
information relating to debt capital markets.  Her areas of expertise
include developing project and debt finance models, structuring pro forma cash flows, optimizing borrowing capacity, and identifying restructuring
opportunities. She has served as banker or advisor for over $25 billion in debt
financings for a broad range of sectors including cities, counties, school
districts, transportation, higher education, healthcare, utilities, convention
centers, stadiums, and economic development projects. Prior to joining Hilltop, Ms. Askins previously worked at Estrada Hinojosa, Citigroup, and the United States Department of Transportation TIFIA Office. Ms. Askins holds a BBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University and an MA in Economics from Johns Hopkins University SAIS. She is an active member of Texas Women in Public Finance and the MSRB PQAC Committee. Ms. Askins holds FINRA Series 7, 50, 52, 53, 54 and 63 registrations.

Sessions:

Pumpkin Spice & Rate-Setting Made Nice: I&S/Excess Collections

Description: Setting a tax rate for debt service payments does not have to be a scary proposition. Learn how to navigate unclear tax rate adoption worksheets and excess debt collections to illustrate a budget that supports your goals, not the State’s.

Steven Murray (Senior Vice President, Hilltop Securities)

Steven Murray, Senior Vice President, joined Hilltop Securities in March of 2024 specializing in providing municipal advisory services to cities and other municipal entities across the State of Texas. He brings expertise in delivering financing solutions to municipal clients including school districts, cities, counties, and water districts. He prepares financing plans, cash flow models, debt structuring and credit analysis and provides debt service fund budget consultation specifically for Texas municipal issuer clients. He is further responsible for reviewing legal documentation, providing quantitative modeling support, and overseeing the general processing of bond financings for the firm.  Over his 14-year career he has provided financial advisory services for over $3.7 billion of bond financings for a wide range of issuers. Mr. Murray holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Baylor University and holds FINRA Series 7, 50, 63 and 79 registrations.

Sessions:

Pumpkin Spice & Rate-Setting Made Nice: I&S/Excess Collections

Description: Setting a tax rate for debt service payments does not have to be a scary proposition. Learn how to navigate unclear tax rate adoption worksheets and excess debt collections to illustrate a budget that supports your goals, not the State’s.

Rick Menchaca, Jr., Vice President & Manager, UMB

RICK MENCHACA joined UMB Bank, in 2019, as a senior vice president for the Investment Banking Division’s Public Finance Group. His primary focus will be on UMB’s continued growth and business development in the state of Texas. 

Rick has been in public finance since 2011, after having a 22-year career in City Management. In the past eight years, he has been involved in over 350 bond transactions with over $12 billion in par value. 

Rick brings his unique experience as an issuer and public finance banker assisting cities, counties, special districts, higher education and school districts with their underwriting needs. His public service career spans over two decades as the City Manager in the cities of San Marcos and Midland, Texas, while beginning his career with the City of Lubbock as an analyst. He has been involved with local government financing including:  government infrastructure improvements, transportation, water and waste infrastructure and school districts. Rick was also a trustee on the Texas Municipal Retirement System Board for 13 years.

He received his master of public administration from Texas Tech University and bachelor of arts in government with a minor in finance from Angelo State University. 

Sessions:

Pulling Rabbits Out of Hats: Special Districts

Description: PID. TIF. TIRZ. MUD. Do these sound like spell being chanted in an ancient language? Come have the special districts de-mystified and learn how you can deploy these to benefit your community.

Clara Santos, GFOAT President and Department Fiscal Administrator, City of San Antonio

Clara has served as the Department Fiscal Administrator for the Human Resources department for the City of San Antonio since 2011.  She has over 30 years of municipal government experience in various accounting and management positions including Finance Director for City of Shavano Park and City of Boerne.  She has been a CPA since 1991.  She has served on the CORBA committee for GFOA and is the current President of GFOAT.  Clara and her husband have been married for over 45 years and have four married daughters and six grandchildren.

Sessions:

Ghosts of Directors Past, Present, and Elect

Description: Join our GFOAT Presidents around their campfire to hear tales (scary, funny, and sweet) from their work across our state.

John Zagurski, GFOAT Past President and Chief Financial Officer, Town of Flower Mound

John Zagurski is currently serving as the Director of Finance for the Town of Northlake. Mr. Zagurski has over fifteen years of government experience. For the past nine years, he has focused on local government finance, long-term planning, transparency, and municipal management. Mr. Zagurski became a member of the Government Finance Officers Association of Texas (GFOAT) in 2013 and earned his designation as a Certified Government Finance Officer (CGFO) the following year. He has served as the Chair of the GFOAT Legislative Committee, North Area Representative, Board Treasurer, and now as the President-Elect. John holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Texas and an undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of Central Arkansas.

Sessions:

Ghosts of Directors Past, Present, and Elect

Description: Join our GFOAT Presidents around their campfire to hear tales (scary, funny, and sweet) from their work across our state.

Blu Kostelich, President-Elect, and Chief Financial Officer, City of Waco

Blu brings over 18 years of service and experience in finance and operation roles, with seven of those in public sector finance. Blu is the President-Elect for the Governmental Finance Officers Association of Texas (GFOAT) and served as both the Treasurer and Chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee for GFOAT.

Blu recently served as the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Lubbock, Texas, where he managed the Finance, Accounting, Purchasing, Business and Economic Development, Risk Management, Central Warehouse, and Print Shop departments. Prior to his tenure in Lubbock, Blu worked for the City of Bridgeport as the Director of Finance and held roles in the private sector as an Operations Manager for TAMKO Building Products and a Senior Analyst for Lennox International.

Blu received his bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and his Master of Business Administration with a finance specialization from Southern Methodist University. Blu spent the first five years of his post-graduate career as an Armor and Calvary Officer in the United States Army, including a thirteen-month deployment to Baghdad from 2008-2009. Blu was awarded the Bronze Star and two Army Commendation Medals throughout his service.

Sessions:

Ghosts of Directors Past, Present, and Elect

Description: Join our GFOAT Presidents around their campfire to hear tales (scary, funny, and sweet) from their work across our state.

Danny Adams

In 30+ years of performance and improvisational comedy Danny has become a master of engaging, including and connecting with audiences.

He is famous for his ‘Kristin and Danny’ viral lip sync videos that garnered over 500 million views, and brings the same hilarity to every event in diverse and unique ways—from side-splitting special character appearances, to audience-inclusive games.

Danny’s ability to read the room, combined with his unique gifting of comedic timing is a rousing joy to experience.

Sessions:

Cackling is the Best Potion!

End your conference on a HI-larious note with our special ghost!

Bennett Sandlin, Executive Director, Texas Municipal League

Bennett Sandlin was named Executive Director of the Texas Municipal League in October 2010. Prior to that, he served as TML General Counsel where he helped cities primarily in the fields of tax, economic development, budget, and finance issues, including the municipal hotel occupancy tax and the economic development sales tax. Bennett authored the Revenue Manual for Texas Cities, and was an instructor in Public Funds Investment Training. Bennett is a 1993 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and previously worked at the Municipal Affairs Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Session- Opening Session

Martie Simpson, Executive Director, GFOAT
Executive Director Remarks • General Session 1 (OPENING)

Martie Simpson is the Executive Director for the Government Finance Officers Association of Texas. She started her municipal finance career with the City of Killeen in 1997 and finished her career with the city in 2014 as the executive director of finance.  Martie served as the finance director for the City of New Braunfels from 2014 to 2018.  Martie is a Certified Public Accountant with a degree from Baylor University and is a past president for GFOAT.

Session- Opening Session