Recognition of Outstanding Public Service

Recognition of Outstanding Public Service 

By: Margaret Moggia, CSMFO Executive Director 

The Government Finance Officers of America (GFOA) Recognition for Outstanding Public Service honors individual GFOA members for their dedication to the profession, their colleagues, their organizations, and their communities. At their 2025 GFOA Annual conference in June 2025, over 50 finance professionals were recognized, and 12 of those individuals came from California. On behalf of CSMFO, we also want to extend our congratulations to the following awardees:

• Ken Al-Imam - City of San Juan Capistrano
• Tracy Bowman - Orange County Employees Retirement System
• Buffy Bullis - City of Monrovia
• Anna Dolewski - City of Costa Mesa
• Dennis Kauffman - City of Roseville
• Rosa Lara Rios - City of Delano
• Pearl Lieu - City of Alhambra
• Roberto Manchia - County of San Mateo
• Becky Robertson - City of West Sacramento
• Tommy Ryan - City of Long Beach
• Maureen Singleton - San Francisco Public Library
• Kim Sitton - City of Corona
  

CSMFO reached out to these members to hear their inspiring public service to learn and see how we all can expand our reach and support for one another. These are just a few stories of how every day members are making a difference in their own ways. 

Meet Buffy – Nominated by her City Manager, Buffy Bullis views this honor as a team award.  In March 2024, the City of Monrovia experienced the loss of over a year and half of financial data due to a system update that went awry. This was a devasting impact to a team that has critical business to complete every day, and they urgently needed to address the lost data used for reporting, forecasting and daily processing. The finance team rose to the occasion with a positive attitude and learned the value of teamwork, which extended beyond the Finance Department and across the other city departments who helped with data recovery and prioritization. Each person leaned into the situation and found a way to work with teammates, vendors, and state and federal agencies to ensure that audit reports, EMMA postings, and even award programs could be submitted. While the situation was difficult, the experience taught the team to trust one another and expand their exposure to new areas.  

Meet Rosa – Nominated by her team, Rosa Lara Rios had been with the City of Delano for years and knew her calling is to serve her community. Faced with financial stress and staff turnover, her focus was to address one matter at a time – improve internals controls, develop financial policies, achieve a balanced budget, and implement new systems.  Her passion for the work helped build her team and create an environment where each individual sees the impact their work has on their community. She also learned to be an active listener and took the time to hear her team’s input as they transformed their department.  

Meet Dennis – Nominated by a colleague, Dennis Kauffman is someone “who exemplifies the role of subject matter expert, mentor, innovator, leader, and outstanding public servant.”  Dennis has served in a variety of volunteer roles including California Society of CPA’s Government Accounting and Auditing Committee, as well as the California Committee on Municipal Accounting, which is a joint committee between CalCPA, the League of California Cities, GFOA, and CSMFO. Each volunteer opportunity expanded his confidence as a public speaker and his reach to be a contributor to technical white papers, presenter of conference sessions, ACFR reviewer, and to serve in leadership roles. Dennis credits his recognition to surrounding himself with influential friends, colleagues, and mentors who encouraged his involvement and focus on his professional development, including volunteering and actively participating in our industry. 

Who do you inspire and who can we inspire? Take a moment to recognize those in your sphere of influence and let them know that their work matters. We also know that highlighting the impact of public finance officers on their organizations and communities is also one of the best ways to attract new talent to the profession.  

If you are inspired by their stories, now is the time to share yours. GFOA will be opening the nomination period for next year’s GFOA Recognition for Outstanding Public Service in January 2026. Who will we see on next year’s list?

After a successful 28-year career, Margaret retired as the Executive Manager of Finance for West Basin Municipal Water District. An opportunity to support the Town of Discovery Bay CSD as their Finance Manager provides her the opportunity to help guide them through transformative. Margaret began her professional career at Coopers & Lybrand focusing primarily on governments and nonprofits. Margaret earned her B.A in Economics from U.C. Santa Barbara. She maintains her license as a certified public accountant (CPA).

Margaret was appointed by the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) Board to serve as Executive Director where she has overall strategic and operational responsibility for CSMFO programs and execution of its mission. Margaret served as the 2018 President for CSMFO and also served in a variety of volunteer capacities. Margaret has also been active with CMTA and GFOA. In June 2022, Margaret joined California Class, a joint powers agency, as a Board of Trustee to serve a four-year term for this local government investment pool. In April 2024, Margaret joined the NIGP Certification Commission as a public stakeholder member.