Who Are The Commissioners?
The five commissioners are appointed by the governor to serve four-year terms.
Javier Fernandez
Appointed: January 1, 2010
Term Expires: December 31, 2013
Experience: Javier is a Senior Vice President in the Fixed Income Capital Markets Division of D.A. Davidson & Co. where he performs underwriting and financial advisory services related to the issuance of municipal debt by Oregon Jurisdictions. His duties require a deep understanding of the Oregon tax system as these revenues secure a significant portion of the debt issued by Oregon jurisdictions. He has over 7 years of experience in the field and has participated in over 250 financings totaling in excess of $2.75 billion
Reason joined Commission: "Oregon has been my home since 2002 and it was on that same year that I started working with all different types of Oregon municipalities. I have been developing my career as a public finance banker in Oregon for over 7 years and I have studied the different budgetary challenges and opportunities faced every day by Oregon municipalities. I have familiarity with Local Government Budget Law and with the importance of budgetary discipline when accessing the capital markets. It will be an honor to contribute my education background in economics and finance and my professional background to promote reliable budget processes and prudent fiscal discipline to all the TSCC members and give back to this wonderful State that I now call home.”
Susan Schneider
Appointed: January 1, 2010
Term Expires: December 31, 2013
Experience: I began my career involving people in their local government through their neighborhood in north Salem. Then, I moved on to preparing and explaining the budget for the City of Salem’s Urban Renewal and community Development Department. That included presentations to the Council and Citizen’s Budget Committee. After law school and working to advise small municipal governments on a variety of issues, I was hired by the City of Portland’s Transportation office to help devise and negotiated the agreement for sharing of road revenues with Multnomah County under new Urban Services policies. After a brief time as the City’s Urban Services Manager I went to work in Government Relations as a city lobbyist. I spent the rest of my career representing Portland on many different infrastructure issues.
Reason joined Commission: “I have found the business of understanding the policy and technical details of local government both satisfying and fascinating. I see serving on the TSCC as a way to continue public service as a volunteer on the public finance issues critical to this region.”
Terry McCall
Appointed: May 3, 2008
Term Expires: December 31, 2015
Experience: Terry is president of Portfolio Services for Government, LLC, and was Chief Financial Officer for the City of Gresham from 1996 until his retirement in 2008. Terry was a vice president with US Bank, where he worked from 1968 to 1996. Also, he was 2006-07 vice chair of the national Budget & Fiscal Policy Committee for the Government Finance Officers Association of the US and Canada.
Reason joined Commission: "I can use my local government experience as a resource to the TSCC, which will continue my public service in a volunteer capacity. The productive association I enjoy with many local government senior managers, finance professionals and elected officials may be of some assistance as well. I have long respected the TSCC for its value to the citizens."
Steven B. Nance
Appointed: February 5, 2008
Term Expires: December 31, 2015
Experience: Steve is a civic volunteer and venture capitalist after retiring in 1999 from a marketing executive career with Intel Corporation. Prior to seventeen years with Intel in a variety of management positions, Steven built and sold three private businesses. He currently serves as Vice Chair of Trillium Family Services, Oregon’s most comprehensive provider of mental health services for children and families.
Reason joined Commission: “My background and career has always revolved around open communication and decision making. So many times I hear our citizens ask about local budgets, how they get formulated, why spending occurs in certain ways, and how a particular decision was made. This is a wonderful opportunity to work with some of Oregon’s best public sector minds as well as a group of talented, experienced commissioners and dedicated staff. I intend to represent the views and concerns of my community, bringing answers back to them on our local spending and budgeting process.”
Dr. Roslyn Elms Sutherland
Appointed: October 13, 2005
Term Expires: December 31, 2012
Experience: Emeritus Vice Provost and Professor, OHSU. Roslyn, or Roz as she prefers to be called, was previously Vice Chancellor for the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. Prior to that she was the Vice President at University of Northern Colorado and Senior Consultant, for the California State Assembly Ways and Means Committee. Roz served eight years on the Oregon Energy Facilities Sitting Council, including three years as Chair, and six years on the Board of the Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Reason joined Commission: "I believe in public service and I am committed to public participation. The TSCC allows me to serve, use my skills in public policy and finance, and affords me an opportunity to increase my knowledge of Multnomah County."
Staff
Tom Linhares, Executive Director
Employed with the Commission since: April 2004
Tom oversees the daily operations of the Commission. In addition, Tom is active in the Oregon Municipal Finance Officers Association (OMFOA) and often assists with legislation affecting Oregon’s Local Budget Law and property tax system. Prior to coming to the Commission, Tom was the elected County Assessor for Columbia County, serving in that position for 17 years. During that time he served as the president of the Oregon State Association of County Assessors (1998-99) and during the 1997 Legislative Session he was the Association’s Legislative Committee Chair and helped craft legislation to implement Ballot Measure 50.
Shannon Turk, Budget Analyst
Employed with the Commission since: September, 2004
Shannon’s primary responsibility with TSCC is tracking long term debt for each district. She reviews district’s budget for compliance with local budget law and prepares reviews of those budgets for the Commission. Shannon has extensive experience working with the City of Gresham in both management auditing and budget analysis positions. She has also worked for Multnomah County, including two years in the county assessor’s office. Shannon has a masters degree in public administration from Portland State University.
Tunie Betschart, Budget Analyst
Employed with the Commission since: September, 2004
Tunie’s primary responsibility is the day to day operation on the office. She also takes a lead role in getting TSCC’s Annual Report ready for printing. Tunie reviews budgets for compliance with local budget law and prepares reviews for the Commission. She also reviews annual audits of the districts as submitted by independent accountants. Tunie spent 20 years as an administrative assistant with the Maintenance Department at PGE’s Trojan Nuclear Power Plant.