City’s Chief Financial Officer to Leave Her Position Nov. 26

Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Pattelli announced today that she will be leaving her position with the City of Boulder on Nov 26 and plans to join Weld County as its Chief Financial Officer.

Pattelli’s career, prior to joining the city in 2012, has been mostly in a county context and she has shared that she looks forward to returning to that form of government.

“My time working for the city has been extraordinary,” Pattelli said. “I’ve been blessed to work with so many knowledgeable and passionate professionals in Boulder, and I will miss them all. But this feels like the right move for me and my family at this time in my career.”

Some of the accomplishments that Pattelli leaves as her legacy include:

• The development of the Finance Department’s first-ever strategic plan;
• The completion of a Budgeting for Community Resilience grant-funded study to develop a more rigorous, data-driven approach to budgeting;
• Oversight of the city’s public assistance recovery effort related to the September 2013 flood;
• Leadership in the implementation of Munis ERP software to manage and track the city’s finances more effectively, as well as change management support through improvements to several city business processes;
• Implementation of FAST GenTax for sales and other tax licensing and payment processing; and
• Consistent awards, including the Government Finance Officers Association’s (GFOA) “Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting,” a “Distinguished Budget Award” with special recognition given for the capital budget; and “Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting.”

Perhaps most notably, or at least most recently, Pattelli helped the city navigate the painful economic landscape due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her counsel and oversight allowed the city to scale back spending to balance the budget when revenues declined, maintain strong balances in the city’s emergency reserve funds, and prepare effectively for restoration of key services as conditions improve.

“I will always be grateful for Cheryl’s steady and wise leadership during what has truly been an unprecedented time for local governments. I wish her all the best,” said City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde, “and as she leaves, I know we are in good hands. Our finances are on more solid ground, we are well prepared for next year with our recently approved 2022 budget, and we have a team that will serve as excellent financial stewards.”

Rivera-Vandermyde announced that she plans to appoint Deputy Finance Director Kara Skinner as the Interim Chief Financial Officer. Details for a hiring process for a permanent Chief Financial Officer will be developed over the next couple of months.

Pattelli holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois, an MBA with a Finance concentration from DePaul University, and is a Certified Public Accountant. She began her career at Arthur Andersen, LLP and then worked as the Chief Financial Officer of Kane County, Illinois, for over 15 years.

She is also involved in many professional organizations. Pattelli currently serves as a member of AICPA’s Government Performance and Accountability Committee, Past President of the Colorado Government Finance Officers Association (CGFOA), and Trustee of the Colorado PERA Board. She has served as the Vice-Chair of the Government Finance Officers Association Treasury and Investments Management Committee, President of the Colorado GFOA Association (CGFOA), Chair of the CGFOA Education Committee, and Chair of the CGFOA Annual Conference Committee.