Mary Jo (McConn) Jenkins |
| Posted 2009-11-16 by Sharla |
| Norvel Owens Mortuary, Flagstaff, Arizona Mary Jo Jenkins (August 19, 1956 - April 13, 2009) Mary Jo Jenkins, who oversaw every dime going in and out of city coffers for the last 22 years and trained countless elected leaders from around the state on how to oversee a municipal budget, died Monday. She was 52. The city's management services director since 1987, Jenkins earned a reputation as a tough fiscal conservative who had an encyclopedic knowledge of every aspect of the city's finances. She retired from the city last Friday. But in her 30 years with the city helping to balance the books, fund capital projects and react to unforeseen budget problems, Jenkins always came to work with a broad smile and playful sense of humor, said Deputy City Manager Jim Wine. Wine worked alongside Jenkins for the past 28 years. "She had a wicked sense of humor," Wine said. "In budget meetings she would bring a stuffed animal that looked like a horse. If someone would bring up an issue that wasn't going anywhere, Mary Jo would start whacking it." The action was not lost on staffers consumed by pushing forward a certain agenda. "It was her way of saying, 'You are beating a dead horse,'" Wine said. Coconino County Manager Steve Peru, who met with Jenkins on a regular basis, said he felt the county had lost a member of their family. He said Jenkin's legacy could be found through the city in various capital projects. "Everything you see today with a city/county partnership ... Jenkins was directly involved with all of them," Peru said. Her efforts resulted in new fire stations for community safety, the Aquaplex for family recreation, and the popular Fourth Street bridge. She also was a key member of the team that worked on educating voters and gaining their approval for the establishment and expansion of the Mountain Line Transit System and the Tuba City Public Library. Jenkins also helped to establish the Coconino County Library District financing method that is viewed as a model for the entire state Former Mayor Joe Donaldson said Jenkins was a financial wizard. "She knew exactly how to save the money and she knew exactly how to spend the money. She was phenomenal," Donaldson said. Jenkins trained Donaldson and most of the members of the city council, as well as other politicians from around the state, at a training event after every municipal election cycle organized by The League of Arizona Cities and Towns. She regularly traveled to Phoenix to teach courses on municipal budgeting for years, said Wine. Jenkins began her career with the City of Flagstaff in August 1979. She was the city's first internal auditor and established the city's first formal internal control policy. After leaving the city briefly in 1984 to pursue a career in the private sector, she returned to the city as Management Services Director in 1987, the position she held until retirement. She was also instrumental in the public outreach and successful voter approval for all bond and tax programs while working for the city. Under her leadership the city received numerous awards from the Governmental Finance Officers Association, including Certificate of Achievement and Award for Financial Reporting and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, which the city received 15 years in a row. Jenkins once even identified an error by the state, which saved the city from losing a significant amount of money. She loved her life in Flagstaff, her chocolate Labrador retrievers, the beaches of Lake Powell, Mexico and wherever she would travel. She is survived by her husband, Ted Cornutt; sister Barbara Jenkins King; brothers John McConn Jenkins and Gerry William Jenkins; and her uncle Charles Jenkins. She was born Aug. 19, 1956, to Joseph William and Jane P. McConn. A memorial service will be Friday at 11:30 a.m. at the Flagstaff Federated Community Church, 400 W. Aspen Ave. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be sent to American Lung Association National Headquarters, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20004. |
Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.
Questions About This Project?