Beverly Hills' New CFO Punches In

There's a new face over at City Hall, one with a good deal of responsibility given our society's focus on measurement and accountability these days.

He's Don Rhoads, a certified public accountant who is Beverly Hills' new Chief Financial Officer and Director of Administrative Services.

Rhoads started work last week, after being selected for his new role in mid-March.

Rhoads replaces Scott Miller, who retired last fall after seven years with the city.

Rhoads, who is in the process of completing a Masters in Liberal Arts from Harvard University, pledged in a statement to maintain "the highest level of clarity, transparency and integrity in the City’s financial reporting.”

That pledge is certainly likely to appeal to Mayor John Mirisch, who only last week convened his Sunshine Taskforce, designed to take the city's level of accountability to the next level.

Rhoads will presumably also aspire to maintain the  triple-A bond rating from all three major bond rating firms that he inherited from Millar.

Rhoads comes to Beverly Hills from Monterey, California, where he was the city's finance director since 1999. Rhoads has also worked in private sector for Dennis Hylton & Company and Grant Thornton International, Ltd.

We'll be sitting down with Rhoads some time soon for a conversation. So send your questions for him our way by posting in the comments.