MANAGEMENT PARTNERS, INC. (2011 Budget Analysis)

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Mr. David Ream Page g Ray Durant, Senior Management Advisor, has spent over 39 years in accounting and finance, including 19 years with the City of Fremont where he became assistant finance director. Ray provides financial expertise and advice on the full range of municipal finance operations, assisting local governments with their accounting functions and budgets with an emphasis on analysis. He serves as an expert advisor to executive managers, helping them bring about prudent financial management decisions. He has authored comprehensive regulations detailing various entitlement and reimbursement processes. Ray also provides leadership assistance through helping to foster teamwork and evaluating performance against the organization's goals. Mark Olson, Senior Manager, has over 20 years of consulting and public sector experience at the local, state and federal levels. His primary areas of work include financial and management audits, organization and management consulting, productivity and benchmarking studies, and other financial management and cost analysis services. Mark has served in a variety of planning, budgeting and management roles in state and local government. He served as the budget and management coordinator for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Illinois, and as the budget development coordinator for the Illinois Department of Transportation. He has been providing cost-effective advice to help management confront difficult choices, make effective decisions and implement solutions that work for the past 12 years. Linda Tran, Management Analyst, recently joined Management Partners in September 2010. Currently completing her Master's of Public Administration degree at San Francisco State University, she provides valuable analytical support on a variety of projects including strategic benchmarking, service consolidation studies, and organizational audits. Prior to Management Partners, she completed an internship with the City of San Jose, Department of Retirement Services where she helped perform quality assurance reviews and developed training presentations to enhance client consultation services. Having also worked in a variety of capacities in both domestic and international nonprofit organizations, Linda brings experience from the nonprofit sector where she has conducted organizational capacity-building assessments. Linda received both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Stanford University. References Management Partners has conducted numerous complex budget stabilization studies as well as analytical projects of all types for municipalities. Several references for budget and operational studies are provided below: San Jose, California Management Partners has been working with the City of San Jose on a variety of projects. The most recent (and continuing project) involves developing strategies for closing a projected $137 million structural deficit in the General Fund. This initial project was completed over a three- month period (from October to December 2007). Working with a City staff task force, Management Partners developed solutions valued from $115 million to $218 million in four basic categories; expenditure controls and shifts, revenue enhancements, service delivery model changes and service reductions. The project included extensive stakeholder involvement as part of the strategy development. This was accomplished using 'an electronic survey instrument for employees and community members and structured focus groups with constituency subsets. Management Partners continues to assist with the implementation of recommendations and identifying further efficiencies.