The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 105, No. 14 - March 31, 2016 Inside This Issue Candidate Q & A.................3 Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................14 Classifieds............................4 Community Briefs...............4 Crossword/Sudoku.............2 Film Review..........................4 Legals............................ 12,13 Letters................................2,6 Real Estate.....................7-11 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast Thank You to El Segundo’s Finest For a Job Well Done The El Segundo Middle School Builders Club honors El Segundo’s finest! Builders Club members stuffed a personalized thank you card and candy into a goodie bag for each member of both the El Segundo Police and Fire Departments as a way of saying how much they are appreciated for serving and protecting our community. Photo by Greg McMullin. • City Hires Joseph Lillio to Head Finance Department By Brian Simon After the departure of long-time Finance Director Deborah Cullen last May, the City of El Segundo brought on Misty Cheng in an interim capacity to help oversee the budget process and recruitment of an eventual full-time replacement. The search led to the hire of Joseph Lillio, who became the City’s Finance Director on March 14. Lillio’s resume includes over 17 years of finance experience—11 of those in the government sector. Most recently, he served as Chief Financial Officer with the City of Oxnard, preceded by stints as Finance Manager with Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, Senior Accountant/Acting Finance Manager with the City of San Fernando, and Financial Analyst with the City of Santa Clarita. Earlier in his career, he was also a forensic auditor with the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and handled financial management assignment with Princess Cruises for six years. “Joseph brings extensive experience in strategic planning, budgeting, financial management, and enhancing organizational efficiency and effectiveness through streamlining and improving processes, evaluating departmental policies and procedures, and implementing technology solutions,” El Segundo City Manager Greg Carpenter noted. Born in the West Los Angeles area and raised in the San Fernando Valley where he attended Catholic school from elementary through secondary, Lillio went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/ Accounting at Cal State LA, followed by a Master’s in Public Administration at Cal State Northridge. Lillio’s father served in the Navy during the Korean War and his mother is registered nurse who tended to patients in the oncology unit, including youngsters with leukemia, for over 30 years. “The commitment to serve the community by my parents definitely influenced who I am today,” Lillio said. An accounting and budgeting class during high school sparked Lillio’s interest in finance. “Along with honors math and history, it was one of the few classes I had a passion for and my mom did not have to ‘remind’ me to complete all assignments,” he recalled. “In college, I took government accounting courses along with forensic accounting— which was a new course at the time—where I continued to foster my passion for accounting.” After beginning his career in the private sector with the aforementioned cruise line, Lillio transitioned to government finance. “It was because I recognized the important role that finance professionals play in maintaining the stewardship of public funds—and also because I enjoy the serving the public,” he explained. As a forensic auditor with the FTB’s criminal investigations unit, Lillio was fascinated by the way his accounting knowledge could help put away criminals by holding them accountable for their fraudulent actions. “I participated in search warrants of financial records and arrest warrants,” he said. In Santa Clarita, Lillio was involved in budgeting, audits, general accounting, bond issuance to finance capital projects, and management of that city’s $200 million-plus investment portfolio. “I am proud of being able to serve a community and provide transparency and accountability to city finances,” he said. El Segundo’s unique attributes played a major role in coaxing Lillio to the South Bay. “The city’s small town charm, friendly residents and business community, robust economic development as well as positive financial outlook were factors in my decision to apply for this position,” he said. “My 17 years of broad finance experience, along with my commitment and passion to effectively serve the community through accountability, transparency, exercising prudence and integrity as well as an emphasis on providing excellent customer service are some of the unique skills I bring to the table.” While busy from day one to quickly get up to speed with City operations and meeting with his new colleagues, Lillio already has a game plan in mind. “My key goal for the short term is to continue building the Finance team and fill five vacant positions within our department that are critical to the ongoing operations of the City,” he said. “I would also like to evaluate how to improve busi- See Joseph Lillio, page 5 Friday Sunny 65˚/54˚ Saturday Sunny 67˚/56˚ Sunday Mostly Sunny 68˚/54˚
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