Martensville City Manager Tanya Garost is the new President of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada.
She is the 10th Canadian, and the first Canadian woman, to lead the GFOA since it was founded in 1906. The organization has a membership of about 25,000 public finance officials working in federal, state/provincial, and municipal governments throughout the United States and Canada.
“It’s an exciting opportunity,” said Garost in an interview June 24. “This is an organization that’s committed to excellence in government finance, supporting people in finance positions across the United States and Canada, and providing them with opportunities to network. Education is a huge component as well. It’s really about preparing government finance officers to do great work in their communities.”
Garost formally stepped into the position of President at the 118th GFOA convention in Orlando, Florida June 9-12. She had served as the GFOA’s President-elect for the past year after being chosen to head the organization at its convention in Portland, Oregon in May, 2023.
She will serve one year as President; and will then serve another year as Past President after the next GFOA convention, scheduled for Washington, D.C., in the summer of 2025.
Garost joined the GFOA in 2012 when she was Chief Financial Officer for the City of West Kelowna, BC. She served as a member of the GFOA’s Standing Committee for Canadian Issues, and in 2020 was named to the 18-member GFOA Board of Directors, before successfully running for the President-elect position in 2023.
Garost said she decided to put her name forward as a candidate for the post of GFOA President because she felt it’s important to provide leadership and give back to her profession.
“I’ve learned a lot during my time as a board member,” she said. “The fact is, it doesn’t matter where you come from, whether you’re Canadian or American, the focus is on providing good leadership.”
She said she has strong support from her family, and said she’s able to successfully balance her private life with her role as Martensville City Manager and GFOA President.
“The GFOA work is done almost exclusively on my own time,” she said. “There is a small bit of overlap, but I use my vacation time to devote to GFOA meetings and conventions. I’m always inspired by these conventions and strive to incorporate the ideas and solutions into my work at Martensville City Hall.”
She said municipalities across North America share common challenges; and noted that communication, networking and education are the keys to helping public officials come up with innovative solutions.
“I was at a conference in California earlier this year,” said Garost. “And one of the big discussions there was how to deal with storm water and drainage. As people may know, drainage is a challenge, not just in Martensville but in our region as a whole. It was interesting and inspiring to learn how California communities are finding creative ways to overcome that problem.”
She said in addition to infrastructure and funding challenges, the industry also needs to attract and retain employees; find new sources of revenue for municipalities; and navigate increasingly polarized political waters.
Garost said her goals for GFOA in the coming year are to continue working with governments to support their diverse communities, strive for equity for the many groups GFOA serves, and to create safe spaces for everyone.
“Not only will this assist in creating stronger communities but will also help with the attraction and retention of staff that so many of us are struggling with,” said Garost.
Prior to taking the post of Martensville City Manager last year, Garost previously served as Chief Administrative Officer for the District of Lake Country, British Columbia. She has 20 years of experience in public finance for several communities in BC, and also served as President of the Government Finance Officers of British Columbia.
The GFOA, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, represents public finance officials working in federal, state/provincial, and municipal governments throughout the United States and Canada. The GFOA’s mission is to advance excellence in public finance.
GFOA Executive Director Chris Morrill said Garost was elected by her peers because of her extensive experience in local government finance and management.
“She has been a strong leader on the GFOA Executive Board and in the government finance profession and has a passion for public service,” said Morrill.
Garost takes over from outgoing GFOA President Laura Allan of the Maryland Department of Budget and Management in Washington, DC.
The GFOA is administered by an 18-member executive board. The majority of GFOA board members are American and hail from cities, towns and counties across the continental United States, but there is one other Canadian on the executive team: Clae Hack, a former Finance Manager for the City of Warman and currently the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Saskatoon.
The GFOA annual convention features more than 300 speakers and attracts over 7,000 delegates from the United States and Canada.