On Monday, June 3, Walter C. Rossmann had his first day as Finance Director for the City of Milpitas.
Rossmann, who has worked for a total of six cities — San Diego, San Jose, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, and now Milpitas — has a wealth of experience in budget and financial management.
After working in City Hall for 2 weeks, he chatted with The Milpitas Beat about how things are going. Within days of being on the job, Rossmann got to see the City Council pass their Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Operating Budget, and he’s more than hopeful about what’s to come:
“I think it’s really exciting to see how the Council adopted a fiscally responsible budget,” said Rossmann. “We’re on the right track for the next fiscal year and really thinking long term. From a finance perspective, it’s great to be in a city that’s fiscally stable…”
Rossmann even mentioned how much he appreciated having a financial staff with a great deal of knowledge. He was also heartened by the friendly welcome across all departments. Just a few days after he arrived, there was a scheduled meet and greet, giving Rossmann the opportunity to chat with and get to know everyone.
Some tidbits about Rossmann: He’s originally from Austria, and is trilingual; he speaks English, German, and Spanish. He was an Assistant City Manager at both the City of Sunnyvale and the City of Santa Clara. And he has also served as the Budget Director for the City of Palo Alto, as well as Deputy Director of Finance for Accounting for the City of San Jose.
Although he comes in with vast knowledge and experience, Rossmann acknowledged that “there’s still a lot to absorb and learn here” in his new environment.
He is looking forward to working more with his team and with Council on upcoming projects, like setting up a new Pension Trust Fund and upgrading their financial system implementation.