TOPICS
AGA Launches Project to Improve
Intergovernmental Cooperation
AGA welcomes Helena Sims to the National Office
staff as the director of Intergovernmental Relations. Sims will staff
the
Partnership for Intergovernmental Management and Accountability, a new
group that has been established by AGA to develop cooperative approaches
for improving the performance and accountability of intergovernmental
programs.
The group, which is co-chaired by Martin J. Benison, CGFM, Comptroller of
Massachusetts, and Thomas N. Cooley, CFO of the National Science
Foundation, met for the first time Oct. 12 to discuss goals and specific
projects.
Sims said the group’s
formation stemmed from discussions during the executive session at AGA’s
2007 Professional Development Conference & Exposition in Nashville.
Attendees from state, local and federal governments broke into four
groups to discuss how all three levels of government and the private
sector could work better together to solve emerging issues in financial
management. Through those discussions came a clear call for better
communication and sharing of information.
Now that the partnership has been
formed, with eight state and local representatives and eight federal
representatives, AGA will serve as a neutral third party to bring the
different levels of government together. In the end, the group hopes to
develop ‘best practices’ for improving performance and accountability of
intergovernmental programs.
Goals also include:
·
Helping government
leaders develop a consensus on problems they can work together to solve.
·
Streamlining the flow of
information that decision-makers need to make smart, informed decisions.
·
Clarifying roles and
responsibilities for programmatic and financial improvement activities.
·
Developing training
programs for officials at the federal, state and local levels of
government.
·
Agreeing on a common
approach to determining program outcomes.
Sims said she has been working on
intergovernmental projects for more than 30 years. Prior to joining AGA
in September, she was managing director for Public/Private Partnerships
at NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association. Previously, Sims was the
Washington office director for the National Association of State
Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers, where she was instrumental in the
development and passage of the Cash Management Improvement Act and the
Chief Financial Officers Act.
Sims said she looks forward to working
with the Partnership. “This is an opportunity to do something that
really makes a difference,” she said.
The governing board of the Partnership
for Intergovernmental Management and Accountability are:
Martin
Benison, CGFM, Partnership Co-Chair, Comptroller, Commonwealth of
Massachusetts
Thomas N.
Cooley, Partnership Co-Chair, Chief Financial Officer and Director,
Office of the Budget, National Science Foundation
David R. Bennett, CGFM, CPA,
Finance Director, Blount County (TN) Government, AGA National Treasurer
Cheryl Atkinson, Administrator,
Office of Workforce Security, Employment and Training Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor
Stephen Gordon, Ph.D., CPPO, FNIGP, Director of Procurement, City of Alexandria, VA
Sheila O. Conley, CGGM, CPA,
Deputy Chief Financial
Officer, Department of Health and Human Services
Clark Partridge, State
Comptroller, Department of Administration, General Accounting Office,
Phoenix, AZ
Richard T. Rasa, CGFM, Director,
State and Local Advisory Assistance, Office of the Inspector General,
Department of Education
Anthony H. Rainey, CFO, District
of Columbia Courts
Roberto Salazar, Administrator,
Food and Nutrition Service, USDA Food and Nutrition Service
Diana Jones Ritter,
Commissioner, Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental
Disabilities, State of New York
Christopher Stubbs, Deputy
Assistant Inspector General for Audit, Department of the Interior
Gwendolyn Sykes, MPA, CGFM,
Chief Financial Officer, Yale University
Danny Werfel, Acting Controller,
Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget
Kim Wallin, CPA, State
Controller, State of Nevada