City financial director accepts job in Phoenix

Director of Financial Services Cynthia Sneed, who stepped into her position in 2009, has left the city for a job in the private sector.
Her last day of work was yesterday.

Sneed has accepted a consulting manager position with the public accounting firm Heinfeld, Meech and Company, P.C. in Phoenix.

“This opportunity presented itself very recently and is of great interest to me so I accepted it,” she said.

Sneed had worked extensively with city departments and City Manager Brenda Fischer, who started her job in May, to put the budget in the black and to even put funds back into the reserves.

“Ms. Sneed and I worked closely together in my first couple weeks on the job,” said Fischer. “Together, with the help of the department directors, we revised the city’s budget between the budget retreat and the tentative budget adoption.”

“In that intense 10-day period, the budget was successfully adjusted from being in the red to being in the black, including the addition of services and repayment to the operating reserves,” Fischer said. “This was a challenging task and couldn't have been accomplished without her many hours of tedious work and tremendous dedication.”

Sneed said she has learned a lot through this period, and that economically stressful time has reaffirmed her principles. 

“The current economics showed the importance of having sound financial policies in place, staying true to those policies and to plan for the bad times when times are good,” Sneed said.  “Putting that theory into practice has benefitted the city of Maricopa, which is evidenced by its financial condition that it is in better shape compared with other organizations.”

Sneed said the toughest part of her job was being able to “juggle” all the projects and tasks that she was assigned. She added that everyone at city hall has been asked to do more with less, and “juggling” is something everyone has had to do.

However, going into the job with the difficult economic conditions, Sneed knew there would be other challenges that were unique.

“One of the things about Maricopa that attracted me here initially is the newness and rapid growth,” she said. “Being part of the team that sets the foundation for a city has been very interesting. It has also brought about many challenges and opportunities, which I would never have experienced in other organizations.

“There are several employees here that have been very inspiring to me by really stepping up to take on additional responsibilities. They have been delivering exceptional services, and maintaining a positive attitude while at the same time seeing no additional wages or personal benefit. That is what public service is all about and they are heroes in my book.”

Mayor Anthony Smith said, “Cynthia provided the help we needed to navigate through this terrible recession. Her expert advice and timely information gave Council the needed tools to make some very critical financial decisions.”

Sneed said her main goal prior to her departure on will be to move the budget as far as possible for council’s adoption. June 14 there will be the last public hearing before council votes to finalize the budget.

The financial services director position, which pays a minimum of $82,151 per year, is now advertised on the city’s website at http://www.maricopa-az.gov/vns/index.php/government/support-services/human-resources/current-openings.