97-22317 RESO
RESOLUTION NO.
97-22317
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CONSENTING TO AND
CONFIRMING THE APPOINTMENT OF PATRICIA D. WALKER AS
FINANCE DIRECTOR FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH.
Whereas, the City Manager has appointed Patricia D. Walker as the Finance Director; and,
Whereas, pursuant to Section 4.02 of the City of Miami Beach Charter, as well as Section 2-3 of
the City Code, the City Manager has power to appoint directors of City departments with the consent
and confirmance of the Mayor and the City Commission; and,
Whereas, the Mayor and the City Commission wish to consent and confirm the appointment of
Patricia D. Walker as Finance Director for the City of Miami Beach.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND THE CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and the City
commission have consented to and confirmed the appointment of Patricia D. Walker as
Finance Director of the City of Miami Beach.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this
5th
day of
March
, 1997.
Attest:
Ro ~a- PllA-~
APPROVED J$ TO
FORM & lANGUAGE
& FOR EXECUTION
City Clerk, Robert Parcher
f: \cmgr\$all\comm - memo 97\ walker .res
~~~17
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
http:\\ci.miami-beach.fl.us
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM NO.l59..::9.1
TO:
Mayor Seymour Gelber and
Members of the City Commission
DATE: March 5, 1997
FROM:
Jose Garcia-Pedrosa ~
City Manager if"V
SUBJECT:
CONSENT TO THE APPOINTMENT OF PATRICIA D. WALKER AS
FINANCE DIRECTOR
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the Resolution.
BACKGROUND:
The present Finance Director, Robert N. Nachlinger, has announced his intention to leave the employ
of the City of Miami Beach as his retirement date approaches. It is expected that Mr. Nachlinger
will conclude his service to this City no earlier than the end of March, 1997.
For several months, the Administration has been engaged in the process of searching for a suitable
replacement. Advertisements were placed in national publications (including The Wall Street
Journal, the Government Finance Officers Association Newsletter, The Miami Herald, El Nuevo
Herald, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and other efforts were made to publicize the opportunity
and to interest capable candidates. More than 160 resumes were received. Bob Nachlinger reduced
the number of resumes being considered to 20, and I reduced the number further to 13. Together,
Bob Nachlinger and I then arrived at 10 candidates, three of which were in the general geographic
vicinity. We also decided to interview those three first, leaving for later the decision as to whether
to interview the non-local candidates; this decision was also based on the fact that at least two of the
local candidates appeared to be among the strongest in the entire group. Deputy City Manager
Sergio Rodriguez participated in these interviews.
After interviewing the three candidates, checking out their references, and discussing their
qualifications, the Deputy, Bob Nachlinger, and I came to the conclusion that Patricia D. Walker,
c.P.A., should be given first consideration. Further interviews were conducted, and a satisfactory
arrangement was arrived at with Ms. Walker. She is prepared to begin work promptly and will thus
be able to have a transition period with Mr. Nachlinger.
AGENDAITEM~1 S
DATE 3-S-Q 1
1
ANALYSIS:
Patricia D. Walker, whose resume is attached, has a very strong financial background and extensive
experience in public financing and in a variety of investment instruments. She has worked with
many of the persons involved in the City's finances both locally and in New York, and she is very
knowledgeable about the kinds of financial challenges and opportunities that the City faces. Her
prior employers and colleagues in the industry recommended her unanimously. I believe that she
combines the talent, experience, and leadership necessary to deal with the complex issues relating
to the various financial projects and activities with which the City is currently involved.
CONCLUSION:
The appointment of Patricia D. Walker as the City's Finance Director should be consented to by the
Mayor and Commission as being in the best interest of the City.
JGP:pp
Attachment
f: \cmgr\$all\comm -memo 97\ walker .com
2
PATRICIA D. WALKER, C.P.A.
10820 Griffing Boulevard
Biscayne Park, Florida 33161
" 305-895-0Bq3) Home
. . I 954-3'59-6118 Office
954-359"6183 FAX
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
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Broward County Aviation Department
Director of Airports
February 1995
Present
Responsible for the effective administration and operation of Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International
Airport and one general aviation airport annually handling in excess of 10 million passengers and
exceeding 350 thousand aircraft operations,
Responsible for the development of airport system policy, procedure, priorities and development and
coordination of operational and financial matters with federal, state and local government agencies.
Additional functions include: negotiation of contracts with interested groups, agencies and potential
users of airport properties and facilities; and representation of the Airport's interests before the Board
of County Commissioners, with the air carriers and the community.
ResponSible for $100 million of annual airport generated revenues; the development and execution of
a total budget in excess of $250 million; and superviSion of in excess of 300 employees in the areas
of operations, maintenance, planning, facilities design and construction, finance, properties, marketing
and administration. Responsible for a $900 million capital improvement program including development,
planning, financing strategy and execution, PFC and grant programs, design and construction.
Deputy Director of Aviation
May 1992
February 1995
ResponSible for the administration and direction of the daily functions of Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood
International and North Perry Airports to ensure proper coordination and compliance with policies,
procedures and priorities. Directed the activities of the five functional divisions including operations,
maintenance, planning and development, finance, properties and coordination of police and fire rescue
operations, Developed and implemented a participative budget process to insure control of costs,
maximization of revenues and compliance with department objectives.
Director of Finance
January 1992
May 1992
Chief Financial Officer responsible for the financial and administrative functions for Ft. Lauderdale _
Hollywood International and North Perry Airports. Managed and directed the following functions:
general accounting, financial, statistical and management reporting, credit and collection, contract
t:ompliance, personnel, payroll and purchasing. Additionally, responsible for formulation of
departmental financial policies and procedures, development and execution of the annual operating and
capital budgets, derivation of rates and charges, development of financing strategies and ensuring
Departmental compliance with bond resolution covenants and the airline use agreement.
Assistant to the Director
April 1991 - December 1991
ResponSible for numerous' assignments dealing with complex operating, technical, financial and
administrative matters. Functions include analysis, evaluation and development of recommendations
and/or programs in the areas of properties, operations, facilities planning, debt financing, financial
systems, and administrative pOlicy and procedure. Additionally, have initiated proposed changes to the
airline use agreement, and developed user rate and charges methodologies. Responsible for the
development of the passenger facility charge strategy for the airport.
Patricia D. Walker - page 2
Jerry's Inc.
Chief Financial Officer
October 1990 - April 1991
Chief Financial Officer responsible for the operating and financial functions for Jerry's Inc., a publicly
held company operating airport food, beverage, and gift concessions and providing in-flight catering
services in 25 locations throughout the Southeastern United States.
Dade County Aviation Department
Comptroller
June 1980 - September 1990
Chief Financial Officer responsible for all financial and administrative functions for Miami International
Airport and five general aviation airports, handling over 25 million passengers and generating over $350
million in annual revenues, including the development and execution of the annual operating budget.
Responsible for effective financial management of various commercial ventures, operated under
management agreements, generating over $125 million in annual revenues. Developed rates and charges
methodologies and models for establishing all user charges and participated in negotiations with airlines,
commercial operators, users and tenants.
Developed and managed the information systems function from 1980 through 1986. Managed the
design, development and implementation of various computerized mainframe and PC-based management
information systems and specialized applications. Proficient in various personal computer applications.
Successfully planned and executed approximately $1 biilion of financing. Participated in Rating Agency
presentations for each offering. Additionally, responsible for the development and administration of a
capital improvement program expending over $100 million annually.
Developed credit and collection policy and program, which reduced outstanding balances over $ eight
million in the year of inception. Also, created a staff function to administer these policies. Formulated
departmental financial policies and procedures, coordinated annual external and internal audits, as well
as contractual and operational audits for all entities and commercial operations.
Chief of Accounting
November 1978 - June 1980
Responsible for the operation of daily financial affairs for the airports through a staff of 35 personnel.
Participated in various financing activities and managed various special financial projects. Acted as
liaison with external auditors, internal auditors and financial consultants.
Price Waterhouse & Co.
Senior Auditor
August 1973 - October 1978
Responsible for all phases of audit examinations from initial planning to financial statement preparation,
including SEC. reporting. Client experience in a variety of fields and industries including aviation,
manufacturing, real estate, retail and government. Clients included both private and publicly held
corporations.
EDUCATION
Master of Science in Management
Bachelors of Science (Accounting)
Certified Public Accountant
Florida International University
Florida State University
Florida Certificate No. 4585
June 1973
June 1972
REFERENCES
Personal and professional references available upon request.
Patricia D. Walker - page 3
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
· Structured, recruited and developed a senior management team and operated the
airports under a participative management concept.
· Created and implemented a strategic planning process, involving all levels of the
organization, to manage short and long term departmental goals and objectives, which
enabled the organization to maintain focus and dramatically increase productivity.
· Successfully recruited a number of domestic and international air carriers to serve the
South Florida market from Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport including
Southwest Airlines.
· Restructured the Operations Division through creation of a new personnel program
which maximized the flexibility of staff through training and development and
promoted career opportunities for women and minorities.
· Moved the Airport toward a "Common Use Facility" business philosophy to maximize
the utilization of existing facilities and provide opportunities to attract new carriers to
the South Florida market.
· Successfully negotiated recovery of approximately 50% of gates which had been
exclusively leased to signatory carriers resulting in more than $12 million annually in
additional airport operating revenues.
· Created the Airport's "Rates and Charges" strategy and was successful in reducing
rates and charges annually, for four years resulting in a proposed landing fee of
$.9011000 Ibs. and an average terminal rental of approximately $20/SF.
· Developed an innovative Passenger Facility Charge program providing a method to
recover significant amounts of otherwise unrecoverable qualified capital expenditures.
· Successfully completed the acquisition of land for the extension of the south runway
within necessary time frame and budgeted amounts.
· Developed renovation strategy for all existing terminals incorporating new concession
programs, improved passenger flows, providing a higher profile of Broward County and
with a special sensitivity for disabled passengers and other users.
· Formalized the relationship between the Airport and Port Everglades by creating a
participative program for senior management of both agencies, working in a cooperative
effort, to maximize all potential operational and business strategies.
· Developed an aggressive grant strategy with emphasis on identifying and acqUiring
federal and state grants resulting in a significant increase in grant dollars received.