Financial Fiduciary Finale - Roundtable Discussion

Cindy Dodge joined MTA in 2006 as a Member Information Liaison, hailing from Williamstown Township in Ingham County where she served as Clerk since 2005. She had been involved with the township since 2003 in other roles, including assistant to the supervisor, planning commissioner, and assistant to the planning commission. She is currently a Michigan Certified Assessing Officer. Now an MTA Consultant, Cindy provides township officials and employees with information and resources via phone and email regarding the day-to-day functions of township government. She also assist in developing resource materials, and presents workshop and Conference sessions as well as teaching live and recorded webinar courses.

Catherine provides township officials and employees with information and resources regarding the day-to-day functions of township government. She writes for the "Hello, MTA...?" and Legal Briefs columns, and other articles in the Michigan Township Focus, develops MIS Department resource materials and webpages, authors MTA publications, and presents workshop and conference sessions, as well as live and recorded online courses.

She joined MTA in 1991, spending her first nine years in MTA's Education Department writing and editing articles for the Township Focus and MTA publications. She coordinated educational workshops and the annual MTA trade show, and assisted in coordinating the annual MTA educational conference. 

She was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 2006 and is currently the MTA Staff Attorney.

Rod joined Maner in 2023 as a senior governmental consultant. An active member of Maner’s growing Government Industry Committee, he leads the firm’s new Municipality Consulting Services team within the Consulting Solutions division of the Accounting and Outsourced Solutions department.

Rod brings more than 27 years of experience working in governmental entities to the firm. Most recently, he served as a division administrator at the State of Michigan, assisting local governments with maintaining strong fiscal and operational health. He leveraged statistical analysis to identify local units with fiscal or operational distresses and proactively worked with them to address their challenges. Prior to his time at the State, Rod worked for 11 years as the DeWitt Township manager.

In his new role as a senior governmental consultant, Rod will support Maner’s government clients in strengthening their fiscal and operational structure. Rod believes by helping local governments with best practices, good governance and long-term planning, he can play a part in ensuring that critical public services are delivered efficiently and effectively. Helping to drive change is Rod’s favorite part of his job, and he believes assisting local governments to make positive decisions will strengthen them and make them more resilient. Local government officials are dedicated to achieving their objectives, growing their communities, and ensuring that they are vibrant. Rod and the rest of the experts at Maner look to assist these communities with this mission.