Stacie Talbert, 36

By Lorna Collier

When Stacie Talbert was a middle-schooler in Rockford, she and other students had to research careers to see what they wanted to be when they grew up. “I didn’t know anyone who was an accountant, but that’s the career I chose,” Talbert said. “I just knew I wanted to be an accountant.” From that point on, Talbert never wavered in her focus. The Rockford native and Auburn High School graduate earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Saint Ambrose University and a master’s in business administration from Rockford College.

She has worked in finance, primarily for government bodies, throughout her career, starting with the Winnebago County Auditors Association and a six-year stint at Rock Valley College. In January, 2008, she became the Rockford Park District’s chief financial officer and assistant treasurer. “I love government,” said Talbert, a mother of two. “What I really like is knowing what you’re doing is helping out the community.”

Sometimes with her job, this has meant helping deal with tough budgetary problems. Last year, the park district faced a potential $625,000 shortfall after a rainy spring and early summer cut in seasonal fee revenue by 10 percent. Talbert worked with district managers to find ways to cut the budget. She and the exeutive director’s team developed and implemented a plan that included changing the maintenance schedules, reducing mowing frequency, not filling vacant positions, and cutting seasonal jobs. Result: no budget shortfall.

Talbert is continuing to take steps to save the district money. She saved the district $130,000 over nine months by switching third-party electricity vendors to one offering a cheaper rate. She brought the Rockford museums into this electricity deal as partners, so they could save on their bills as well. Talbert will be reviewing natural gas bills later this year to try to save additional money.

Park District Executive Director Tim Dimke notes that Talbert revamped the 2009 budget process by, among other things, holding one-on-one meetings with managers and developing accurate forecasting tools.

Earlier this year, Talbert began a new initiative to bring together chief financial officers from other governmental bodies in the region. She sees this as a way for members to network, share information, and possibly develop partnerships to collectively purchase goods and services.

Talbert serves on the board of directors of the Crusader Community Health Foundation; is a commissioner for the Winnebago County Crime and Public Safety Commission; and is active in the Rockford Association for Minority Management, often using her financial skills to help these groups. She also is working to achieve CPA status.

Talbert admits that during tough, recessionary times, it can be frustrating to have to “be the bad cop” and recommend layoffs, even though they may be necessary.

“With our 2009 budget, we had a $1.2 million gap we had to close,” she said. “Part of that involved eliminating four positions. That’s always a downer, because you get to know these people. But you have to balance that with doing what’s best for an organization.”

Despite these frustrations, Talbert said she is “absolutely not interested in shifting to anything else. People often say to me, ‘You can go work somewhere else and make more money.’ That may be true, but I’m happy and fulfilled with what I’m doing. It’s all I’ve ever known, and I plan to keep doing it.”