REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL September 11, 2014 FROM: BRUCE RUDD, City Manager SUBJECT ..Title Approve the appointment of Michael Lima as City Controller ..Body RECOMMENDATION The City Manager requests that the City Council approve the appointment of Mr. Michael Lima as City Controller. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City Manager has selected Mr. Michael Lima to be Fresno's next City Controller/Finance Director, after completing a thorough national recruitment. Charter Section 705(c) states that the City Council must approve the Controller once he/she is selected by the Chief Administrative Officer. Mr. Lima's resume is attached for your review. BACKGROUND The City Manager's Office requested that Personnel Director Jeffrey Cardell conduct an extensive national recruitment for City Controller. The responsiveness was much improved from the prior recruitment effort conducted by Management Partners. The City received 23 applications of which 7 met the minimum qualifications for the position. The candidate list was further assessed with the four most qualified selected to interview with a panel of three external industry experts. The panel's recommendation was forwarded to the City Manager's Office for final selection. Mr. Michael Lima, currently the Finance Manager for the Fresno Yosemite International Airport, rose to the top in this challenging recruitment. The City Manager selected Mr. Lima to be the City Controller based on the following: * Mr. Lima's professional credentials and strong municipal financial experience make him a worthy candidate for this position. * He has experience working under a "strong mayor" form of government with a seven-member City council. * He has a strong financial background, with 25 years of government finance experience. In addition to his financial and budgetary experience he has served as an adjunct Professor of Governmental Accounting at National University. * His educational background includes a Master's in Business Administration, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accountancy. Both Degrees were earned at California State University, Fresno. Under Section 705(c) of the City's Charter, the Chief Administrative Officer appoints the Controller and the City Council approves the appointment. The City Manager respectfully requests the approval of Mr. Michael Lima's appointment for this position. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS N/A LOCAL PREFERENCE N/A FISCAL IMPACT N/A Attachments: Michael Lima's Cover Letter & Resume