Stewart Nelson

After weeks of working my way to the top, I finally got a chance to meet with the person that controls the money! Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t actually see any “money”, we just talked about it. All kidding aside, Tom Crawford the Chief Financial Officer and I had an hour discussion today about the budgetary and financial reporting process that keeps our budget balanced and the cash flowing. I consider myself to have a strong financial and accounting background but Tom was able to hold up to my intense, pressure filled Q&A session! Must be the Wharton education! Actually the nuances of public accounting make it quite different from private accounting so I have a lot to learn. Tom has been very patient with me as I grapple with the complexity of the budget. Thanks Tom.

I continue to discover that whomever is assembling the professional team that is piloting the City must know what they are doing as once again I walked away with the opinion that Tom Crawford is the right man for the CFO job. I have had some well publicized disagreements with the senior staff in the past but most of the disagreement has been the result of the lack of transparency rather than substance. When allowed to sit down and talk about the issues person to person we almost always find some common ground. I am convinced that if everyone first looked for the common ground in all their relationships, the world would be a better place.