LAKEPORT, Calif. – A city of Lakeport staffer is making the transition into a new position.
At the end of a closed session following its Jan. 25 meeting the Lakeport City Council voted 5-0 to appoint Dan Buffalo to the interim finance manager spot.
Buffalo, 32, has held several other jobs during his nearly three years with the city.
In his most recent job, economic development manager, he worked to establish the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee (LEDAC). He's also worked in redevelopment and utilities.
He has a master's degree in public administration focusing on finance and budgeting from the University of Southern California, and in a previous job with El Dorado County he worked as a department analyst, in which capacity he gained finance experience.
For the last few months Buffalo also has helped carry out some of the finance director's duties, he said.
Last month City Manager Margaret Silveira asked the council for the go ahead to begin recruiting to fill the finance director job that had been vacant on a full-time basis since last fall, when Janet Tavernier left the city.
Silveira also suggested filling the position with a finance manager, who would be paid less but could be trained to take on full finance responsibilities.
The city had had temporary help and the assistance of a consultant in addressing the finance job, but Silveira pointed out the critical importance of a finance director to city operations.
Silveira got a 3-2 vote, with Council members Tom Engstrom and Roy Parmentier voting against her request.
In particular, Engstrom voiced concern about a major recruitment at a time when city finances are uncertain due to the state budget, and he didn't want to see other staffers laid off as a result of a hire.
Engstrom told Lake County News this week that he had wanted Silveira to look into hiring a part-time person or having somebody already on staff move into the job without having to recruit the finance director position, which along with benefits costs the city in excess of $100,000 a year.
But with Buffalo's hiring Silveira appears to have found a way to satisfy both the needs of city administration and address the reservations council members voiced at the Jan. 11 meeting.
“My concerns were addressed,” Engstrom acknowledged.
About a week after the meeting Silveira approached Buffalo “and said she would like to pursue an option of having me in the position and give me a six-month period to catch up and learn some of the finer points of finance for the city,” he explained.
At the end of the six-month period Silveira will review his performance, he said.
In the meantime, they're leaving his old job open, with Silveira and Redevelopment Director Richard Knoll exploring how to fill the position, either in a part-time capacity or with the help of a consultant.
“I think they would like to see if they could fill that position to some degree,” Buffalo said.
Engstrom said the future of Buffalo's job hasn't been addressed with the council yet, but he would also want to see the city pursue someone on a part-time basis. “I would hope we can try to find somebody locally who has some background in that area.”
With the LEDAC Committee up and running, someone with experience – such as a retiree – might want to come in and spearhead that effort for awhile, said Engstrom.
Silveira had told the council at its Jan. 11 meeting that staff had been busy trying to close up books from previous years.
Buffalo said the books for fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10 had been open as late as December.
“We went ahead and closed those so we're current,” he said.
He believes the books didn't get closed for those years due to the city's state of flux while it was out recruiting for the city manager position, which Silveira was hired to fill last spring.
After Silveira's arrival, “We tried to rectify it as soon as we could,” Buffalo said.
Buffalo said he's busy getting up to speed on his new duties, and plans to attend some upcoming trainings. A person who has worked with the city preparing its financial statements also will offer him assistance, Buffalo said.
Buffalo expressed his gratitude to the council on Tuesday for selecting him. During his time with Lakeport he said, “I've learned a great deal and I'm looking forward to learning even more.”
He also thanked Knoll and Utilities Director Mark Brannigan for mentoring him.
Buffalo told the council that he was sad to leave economic development, which he said is probably one of the city's most important functions right now due to the economy, but said he looks forward to volunteering time to help that function once he's settled into his new job.
Silveira said she was glad Buffalo was able to take over the important position.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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