Message from the President - Tim Collier |
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| I want to thank everyone who attended the Spring Conference at Seaside. It is always nice to see old friends and new faces, learn how to do my job better and swap stories.
One of my main goals as President this year is to have more people participate in OGFOA committees and to look to be future board members. I have been on the Hospitality committee for the last 6 years and I have found it to be incredibly rewarding. I still say that the best job at our conferences is taking lunch tickets at the door. You get to see almost everyone, tell jokes and everybody is in a good mood because they are going to lunch!!
We have multiple committees to which you can belong. Accounting Standards, Certification, Education, Membership, Legislative & Emerging Issues and the aforementioned Hospitality committee. Serving on a committee really helps you give input into our organization, guide the content of our conferences and assist in bringing new members along in the profession.
By serving on a committee for two years you can then run for the board. Being a board member is another incredibly rewarding experience. You help guide the organization, develop the two conferences, themes and sessions, and give back to the organization.
Thank you again for your membership and participation in our organization. Have a great spring and summer and we will see you in Eugene in October. |
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Seaside 2025 Spring Conference Recap |
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Thank you to everyone who attended the Spring Conference in Seaside this year. It was great to be back in Seaside and the Seaside Convention Center. The theme “Anchored in Member Success” was well suited to the education and networking opportunities this conference provided. A big thank you to the Education Committee for filling the conference with many learning options.
The conference kicked things off with the welcome reception which is a great way to network. Additionally, the Hospitality Committee offered an orientation before the reception to acquaint new members and 1st time attendees to the venue. Thank you, Hospitality Committee. Also, there was a small jurisdiction forum networking event prior to the orientation.
Monday was kicked off with the State Economist, Carl Riccadonna, presenting Oregon Outlook 2025: Resilience underpins, but risks abound. He covered issues facing Oregon such as the tariffs, inflation, and demographics. Monday’s educational offerings varied from Budget Law to Cybersecurity Risk Management. The day finished off with a banquet and bingo for the entertainment.
Tuesday began with Rocky and Cheryl Detwiler who presented Avoiding Burnout: The Power of Self Care, a topic we all needed to hear as the pressures of our jobs can lead to burnout. Their presentation was energetic and useful. Lunch featured the annual OGFOA business meeting and the election of new board members for next year, as well as the presentation of the OGFOA Honorary Life Member Award and the OGFOA Certification Awards. The Honorary Life Member Awards went to Debbie Smith-Wagar and Gulgun Ugur. There were no new Certifications awarded but several post certification awards, a separate article lists the recipients. The Board presented an amendment to the By-Laws which would have established a process for addressing ethical issues such as when a member violates the OGFOA Code of Ethics. The amendment was tabled for more discussion. The Hospitality Committee offered a wellness walk following the last session of the day. The walk took participants around Seaside to the various art murals.
Wednesday concluded the conference with two general sessions. The first presented by GFOA’s Emily Brock on the National Update with emphasis on where we are going. She went over the difference between Authorization and Appropriation and how Congress may pay for budget bill. She encouraged everyone to participate in the storyboard found at builtbybonds.com. This site is gathering information of projects funded with municipal bonds to illustrate the impact bonds have on local governments. Finally, the conference wrapped up with a session on PERS Updates. Topics covered included Roles of the different players in PERS, an overview of the 2023 valuation, background and history of “pre-SLGRP” rates, transition liabilities and surpluses and the impact when they expire, and side accounts. The presenters were Matt Larrabee, Milliman Actuary, Jake Winship, PERS Actuarial Manager, and Carol Samuels, Piper Sandler & Co. Managing Director.
Thank you for everyone that contributed to making this year’s Spring Conference a success! Mark your calendars! Fall Conference will be on October 29-31 at the Graduate Hotel in Eugene. Note the first day of the conference is on a Wednesday, not a Monday. Hope to see you there! |
| Conference was opened by Oregon State Economist Carl Riccadonna |
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Message from Past President Brian Kennedy |
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2024-25 OGFOA President Brian Kennedy |
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First, thank you to everyone that attended the Spring Conference in Seaside. We had great turnout and a fantastic program. Thank you to everyone who worked on putting the conference together including the Education Committee, Hospitality Committee, the Board and last, but in no way least, Misty Slagle.
Second, if you attended the business meeting you might be curious about what happened related to the bylaws amendment that was proposed. I want to apologize for any confusion about that part of the meeting. I believed that the amendment incorporating OGFOA’s ethics policy into the bylaws would be uncontroversial. That was not the case, and the floor debate and amendment that was offered further complicated the conversation. It’s clear to me that we need more conversation about this before considering it again.
So I want to start by explaining what the amendment would have done and why it was proposed at this time. The amendment was relatively simple. First, it requires members to comply with the GFOA Code of Ethics. The GFOA Code of Ethics was previously adopted by OGFOA. Second, it provided that if an OGFOA member resigned or was removed from a position for cause that demonstrated that they violated the GFOA Code of Ethics, the Board could remove them from the organization. This language was modeled directly off similar language used by the Oregon City/County Management Association.
It was a small change to make the OGFOA/GFOA Code of Ethics a more formal part of the organization. As I said at the conference, public finance officers are in the trust business. We play a critical role in ensuring that the public knows what government is doing and spending money on. I believe at this time when trust in government is at very low levels, we need to do everything we can to demonstrate that we’re worthy of the public’s trust. And part of that is not allowing people that have violated that trust to represent our organization.
We plan on having more conversations about this in the future and working towards incorporating our code of ethics in the bylaws. Thank you again for everything you do for OGFOA and your communities. |
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Gulgun Ugur and Debbie Smith-Wagar Honored as Honorary Life Member of Oregon GFOA |
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Tim Collier presents Honorary Life Member Award to Debbie Smith-Wagar |
Gulgun Ugur receives Honorary Life Member Award from Gloria Butsch |
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During the Spring Conference at the Tuesday business meeting, OGFOA awarded two members the Honorary Life Membership Award. This award recognizes outstanding contributions to OGFOA and entitles recipients to complimentary lifetime membership.
In recognition of her many contributions to OGFOA and the government finance profession, Gulgun Ugur was one of two recipients of the Honorary Life Member Award.
Throughout Oregon Gulgun has represented over 90 of our cities and many urban renewal agencies, school districts and special districts in a wide variety of public finance transactions. Many of us can say that over the years we have worked with her on a multitude of financing issues and have learned so much from her.
Gulgun has been an active member of OGFOA for many years. Her involvement includes organizing and presenting countless numbers of sessions at our conferences. She recently gave a presentation about continuing disclosure requirements and ballot title drafting. She has a particular interest in tax increment financing and gave a presentation regarding tracking maximum indebtedness to the Oregon Economic Development Association as well as OGFOA.
Gulgun has been involved in many of our committees and has served on our OGFOA Board of Directors. In addition, she is involved in and a member of the Oregon City Attorney’s Association, the Oregon Economic Development Association, Oregon People’s Utility District Association and the National Association of Bond Lawyers. She has also served on the board of directors of the Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission, which is appointed by the Governor.
OGFOA is a stronger organization as is our jurisdictions as we benefit from members like Gulgun Ugur.
Debbie Smith-Wagar was also awarded the honorary life membership. Debbie has been a member of OGFOA since 1997.
Debbie has more than 25 years of local government accounting, budgeting, and auditing experience. She has audited multiple cities, counties, and special districts, has worked for a software company that developed fund accounting software for local governments across the country, and has worked in the finance department of two cities along with the Port of Hood River. Debbie is a licensed CPA in Oregon and is also a Licensed Municipal Auditor in Oregon.
Having served in government, as a consultant and worked at a CPA firm Smith-Wagar has brought a diverse experience to OGFOA and the many classes she has taught over the years at our conferences and webinars. Debbie is currently serving as the Finance Director for the City of Hood River. |
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2025 Certification Program
Honors Participants | | |
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Congratulations to the OGFOA members who were recognized at the 2025 Spring Conference in Seaside for their various achievements related to the OGFOA Certification Program.
The award for completion of the Professional Finance Officers Certification Program honors the time and effort that these individuals have put into their continuing education, as well as recognizing the contributions that they have made to OGFOA through participation on committees, the Board, and/or as presenters/trainers.
The following individuals completed the requirements for their admission into the program: Mindy Holliday, Sunriver Service District
Staci Trinh, Clackamas Water Environment Services Upon admission into the program, certification may be obtained by acquiring 145 points in various categories over a period of four years of less. Once certification is achieved it must be maintained by accruing 65 points in specific categories every two years. The following OGFOA members have completed the requirements for maintenance during 2023 and 2024, and are certified through December 31, 2026.
Cindy Chauran, City of Molalla Ellie Jones, City of Cornelius Erin Blue, Clackamas Water Environment Services
Janell Burd, Oregon Public Defense Commission Lori Hooper Antram, City of Prineville Susan Duffy, City of Molalla
Achieving Certification provides recognition of dedication to continuing education, personal and professional development, and excellence in government finance. Not only is there personal satisfaction in this recognition, but the finance staff, governing bodies, and citizens of the entities that employ these dedicated public servants also benefit. Certification enhances that employees values and credibility with their governing body and citizens. As a bonus, all Certification Program participants in good standing will receive a $25.00 discount on registration fees for the OGFOA Fall and Spring Conferences each year.
The OGFOA Certification program materials are available on the OGFOA website at www.ogfoa.org. If, after reading through the information, you have any questions about the program, please contact our Association Manager, Misty Slagle at misty@ogfoa.org or any of the Certification Committee members listed on the website.
Congratulations to those who devoted time and effort to achieve or maintain their certification in 2024!! |
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2025 Fall Conference October 29-31, 2025 The Graduate Hotel Eugene, OR
Save the date, this is a variation from past Fall events and will be held Wednesday - Friday at 11:30am. |
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2026 OGFOA Spring Conference March 8-10, 2026 Sunriver Resort Sunriver, OR OGFOA ANNUAL DUES BILLING The annual dues billing for OGFOA will be emailed at the beginning of June. The dues year is from July 1 - June 30. |
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