2019 Committee Appointments – Mayor Duncan explained that there are several vacancies on the citizen committees. City Council and City staff are in the process of identifying citizen volunteers for future appointment.

VISITORS
Jesse Haines Award, Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith – Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith shared that he presented the Jesse Haines Award to Assistant Finance Director Alice Young at the Auditor’s Annual Update meeting last December. The award was established to acknowledge local government finance professionals who have served with distinction and integrity. The award is named in honor of Jesse Haines, who served as Montgomery County Auditor for nearly 28 years. Aside from being the longest-serving auditor in Montgomery County history, Jesse Haines is also in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He congratulated Mrs. Young for her outstanding service to the city of Oakwood.

Finance Director Cindy Stafford read the comments on the Jesse Haines Award nomination form that she submitted to Auditor Keith:

“Alice began her career with the city of Oakwood on January 9, 1978 and after 40+ years will retire on September 30, 2019. Alice has worked with three city managers and four finance directors over her career. She has worked tirelessly for the residents and businesses of Oakwood and for her fellow employees. She is the backbone of the finance department and filling her shoes will be a monumental task. Alice’s knowledge of municipal finance allowed her to serve as acting finance director on many occasions throughout her career. When asked why she never wanted to be the finance director, her response was always the same: I am a worker bee and I like to be behind the scenes. She made sure that the finance department continued to provide the residents of Oakwood the same level of service despite being short-handed by putting in many long hours during the week and on weekends. Her efforts made sure that as each new Finance Director joined the finance team the transition was seamless.

She has seen the finance department evolve from reams of old paper ledgers and an old NCR cash register to sophisticated computers and computer programs… a “bring it on” attitude for whatever the latest technology so the department could work more efficiently. She has processed and trained employees in payroll, accounts payable, utility billing and all the debits and credits in between. Her favorite quote: “watch the pennies and the dollars will follow” has proven invaluable as she carefully oversees the expenses of the City.

One of Alice’s greatest assets to me is her problem solving skills. I volunteered our finance team to assist our accounting software vender in both alpha and beta testing on the development of their new accounting package. Without hesitation, Alice herself, or with another finance team member, mapped out process after process from beginning to end to ensure the integrity of the new accounting system. The following is a comment received from our vendor:

"Alice has been an alpha and beta tester for Software Solutions for years. Early on, she realized the importance of improving technology to better serve citizens. She has been instrumental in guiding and facilitating improvements in our software product for local governments. Her willingness to go above and beyond her normal duties is inspiring. She is the ideal public servant who puts community first. We are so very proud of Alice and are grateful to have her as part of our extended team. Thank you Alice."