President's message.

• Author: Davidson, Linda C.
• Position: Perspectives

I am honored and privileged to start my term as president of the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. I'm especially proud of the fact that I am the first president from the State of Florida since 1982. I take great pride in furthering the GFOA's mission to enhance and promote the professional management of government for the benefit of the public.

First, I'd like to thank Len Brittain, Paul Macklem, and the members of the Executive Board for their friendship, support, and advice, and I'd like to recognize Linda Savitsky and Nancy Zielke, who encouraged me to participate on the standing committees and to apply for the executive board. I'm also eternally grateful to former Boca Raton Financial Services Director and past GFOA Executive Board member Merv Timberlake for his leadership and support of my efforts at both the state and national levels. I'm truly inspired to match their dedication and commitment to this organization. The GFOA has built a strong foundation upon the efforts of past presidents, executive boards, standing committees, and GFOA staff, particularly under the leadership of Executive Director Jeff Esser and his center directors. The GFOA is a high-performing organization that is recognized for setting a standard of excellence for state, provincial, and local governments throughout the world.

COMPELLED TO LEAD

It's been quite a year, with federal, state, and local pension reform; the talk of municipal bankruptcies; and an assault on the viability of the municipal bond market, along with proposed curbs on tax-exempt debt.

The GFOA was able to collaborate with other national organizations on the issue of public pensions and their long-term sustainability. We were able to provide timely and succinct information relating to public pension plans and, as a trustee of a local police and fire pension plan, I really appreciated the efforts of the GFOA and the other organizations to educate the public and set the record straight.

We're the ones elected officials look to for professional advice about funding the services that our residents expect and demand. We are all dealing with realities related to the recession: housing markets and impacts of foreclosures and high unemployment. Our employees are dealing with personal economic stress, with many not receiving any salary increases for the last several years while dealing with rising costs in their personal lives. We are also dealing with very...