Jeff Mascagni of Central Arkansas Water (Finalist: Public Sector CFO)

Jeff Mascagni • CFO | Central Arkansas Water | Little Rock

Jeff Mascagni likes to talk about water. “Anytime I have a chance to talk to somebody, I just talk about the importance of water,” said the CFO of Central Arkansas Water. “Sometimes people don’t think about it because it’s always there. But that in itself tells you we are doing a good job because the water is always there.”

A native of Louisiana, Mascagni, 40, has been CAW’s CFO since June 2016. Before that he was the utility’s controller and assistant CFO. He is a CPA and a Certified Government Financial Manager.

CAW employs 308 and provides water to about 145,000 customers in most of Pulaski County, including Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood and the city of Maumelle. It also provides water to districts in other counties. CAW also sells water wholesale to Jacksonville, North Pulaski County and Cabot, said Mascagni.

Its annual revenue is about $65 million.

One of the biggest challenges, Mascagni said, has been the acquisition and consolidation of the city of Maumelle into CAW. That process, which brings 7,500 new accounts into the system, is expected to be complete in the fall of 2018.

Mascagni in February discussed the Maumelle acquisition at a utility management conference in San Antonio.

For eight years in a row CAW has earned the Government Finance Officers Association’s Budget Presentation Award. For seven years in a row it has received the association’s Certificate of Achievement for Financial Reporting.

“We’re under review for the eighth,” he said, expressing pride in both awards.

Mascagni is past president of the Association of Government Accountants and is a volunteer reader with MLK Reads.

He said hiring good people is key to a good organization and he and CAW’s CEO, Tad Bohannon, are working on a new hiring process that considers personal values. “We’re kind of shifting from the methodology of somebody who has got 10 years of call experience is better, to somebody who has a passion to help people is better and we can teach them everything else.”