Finance
Finance director Steve Charelian retires after 35 year career with the City of MB
by Mark McDermott
Finance Director Steve Charelian is retiring after a 35 year career with the City of Manhattan Beach. His final day is July 5.
Charelian has served as the head of the Finance Department since 2018, taking over after his predecessor, Bruce Moe, was named City Manager. He had big shoes to fill. Moe was lauded locally and regionally for his stewardship of city finances and particularly in helping Manhattan Beach earn its much-vaunted AAA bond rating, the highest credit rating possible for a city.
Charelian proved more than up to the task. During his tenure, the City faced one of the biggest financial challenges in its history, the COVID-19 pandemic. Charelian provided a steady, experienced hand, and the City emerged from the pandemic on strong footing. Charelian was instrumental in helping the City make some critical course corrections, such as seizing on historically low interest rates to issue $91 million in pension obligation bonds, saving an estimated $31.8 million over the next 25 years in retirement costs. Likewise, Charelian played a key role in addressing gaps in City funding, including an increase to its transient occupancy tax that generated $1.25 million annually and helped pay for 10 additional police officers; and the passage of a ballot measure last fall that provided $2.1 in annual revenue, replacing a subsidy of the City’s Storm Water Drain enterprise fund that had already bled the City’s General Fund of $6 million and threatened to take another $11.6 million over the next five years.
Moe, at the June 4 council meeting at which Charelian introduced his final budget, took a moment to praise the finance director for the vital, time-consuming, and often thankless tasks he undertook.
“Steve has just been a tremendous asset to the City,” Moe said, referencing Charelian’s accomplishments over the last six years. “The one thing I’ll say about Steve, is he’s kind of like that song, ‘Put me in coach, I am ready to play.’ It didn’t matter how much was on Steve’s plate, he would always come to me and say, ‘How can I help you?’ And that was true with the TOT, the pension obligation bonds, any of those projects. Steve was the first one to step up and say, ‘I know I’ve got a lot of shrimps on my barbie,’ as he would say, but he was always willing to take on additional. I want to publicly thank Steve for that.”
Charelian said the he as not a “maestro with words” like Moe, but offered a few words to mark the occasion. He began his career with Manhattan Beach in July, 1989, he noted, which was only two months after Moe was hired by the city.
“So we kind of had that career path together and grew together and learned and everything together,” he said. “My 35 year tenure has been filled with wonderful professional opportunities. I really want to express my gratitude to Bruce for entrusting me with the role of finance director. For nearly the last six years together, we achieved significant milestones of fortifying the city’s financial framework.”
Charelian and Moe were both devotees of former City Controller Henry Mitzner, the no-nonsense municipal philosopher who worked for the City of Manhattan Beach for 48 years before retiring in 2020. Charelian learned early in his career, by observing Mitzner, that that traditional 9 to 5 workweek meant nothing — weekends, early mornings and late nights, he’d see Mitzner come to City Hall when there was work that needed to be done. Through the years, Mitzner peppered him with words of wisdom from his own heroes — the likes of football coach Vince Lombardi and basketball coach John Wooden. Charelian recalled one of those Wooden quotes at the time of Mitzner’s retirement: “Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
At this week’s meeting, Charelian’s last, the City Council held a brief ceremony recognizing his contributions. Moe recalled an instance in which Charelian did just what that Wooden quote advised, although in a uniquely Charelianesque way. In 2008, the City’s revenue service director was retiring, Moe said, and Charelian applied for the position. Moe was hesitant, because he just didn’t think Charelian was “quite ready.”
“And Steve, being the social guy that he is, and the closer that he is, invites me to Il Fornaio for a happy hour,” Moe recalled. “So we sit there, and by the end of 45 minutes and a couple glasses of wine and a few margherita pizzas, Steve had me convinced, because he brought so many qualities… that gave me a nice runway. He was just always there, on the spot, to get things done. But it was that enthusiasm, that intangible thing that you can’t necessarily learn. It’s just part of Steve’s personality that really sold it, and I never looked back.”
Mayor Pro Tem Amy Howorth went through the many notes of recognition sent by neighboring cities as well as MBUSD, State Senator Ben Allen, U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu, and even more unusually — particularly for a finance director — the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and State Treasurer Fiona Ma.
“So you have touched not just all of us and the residents in our town, but obviously been a presence in the county and have been recognized by state leaders,” Howorth said. “It is so well deserved and well earned. You have done excellent work with your whole heart, and you’ve even convinced some of my colleagues that they were wrong, I’ve been told…. [which speaks to] how much we have trusted your judgment and how much that has meant to all of us in our community. Because there’s numbers on a page, but they tell a story, and you have helped us understand that story, and write the story for our community.”
Councilperson Steve Napolitano, who was first elected to council in 1992, three years after Charelian began his career, said he was among those sometimes convinced to change his mind by Charelian’s arguments.
“I want to say, Steve, as a friend, we’ve shared a lot of thoughts together and dedication to this city,” Napolitano said. “And you know that thing about being wrong and changing gears? We’ve had so many great discussions over the years where I think we’ve pushed each other to get outside the norm and our comfort zones. We’ve gotten — you’ve gotten — a number of things passed that have put this city on a financial foundation that is going to keep us in good stead, especially our recent vote on storm drains. You’ve helped get us 20 years of good budgets, and now we need to address our CIP [Capital Improvement Projects] and you’ve set us up for that.”
“The good folks who work in any institution, especially here in the City, are the ones who leave the place better than how they found it,” Napolitano said. “And Steve, you’ve done an amazing job here. You’re leaving Manhattan Beach in a better place than you found it…As a dedicated employee who bleeds Manhattan Beach, you can’t look for a better employee than someone who just believes in what they’re doing.”
Councilperson Richard Montgomery, who worked closely with Charelian as mayor during the Great Recession and then again as mayor at the onset of the pandemic, said that so much of what Charelian has done is work that is essential but unknown to the general public, such as successfully “clawing” for federal reimbursement for funds needed during the pandemic.
“All these things you don’t see behind the scenes, this is the guy who made it happen,” Montgomery said. “Along with Bruce, and learning from Howard Fishman in Risk Management, and Henry Mitzner from the old Finance days. It’s a long succession of leaders here, and in finance you don’t see them all, and all the work goes unheralded. But we know what they do.”
Mayor Joe Franklin presented a gift from the City, a green street sign that said, “Charelian Way.”
“We are going to add that to Google Maps, right?” Franklin said.
Charelian closed with some brief remarks, thanking his wife, RC, and his sons Knox and Chase, as well as the council and the City employees he worked alongside. Charelian, a Manhattan Beach resident whose unconventional professional journey began at El Camino College, vowed to remain steadfast in his dedication to the community.
“I leave with a profound sense of gratitude for the privilege of serving a City of Manhattan Beach employee for the past 35 years,” he said. “The lessons learned and relationships forged will forever hold a special place in my heart. Thank you all for this incredible opportunity and for being part of my remarkable journey. This isn’t goodbye, but I’ll see you later.” ER
Within the global manufacturing industry, maintaining a competitive edge requires a delicate balance between driving internal efficiency and fostering strong external relationships. For Applied Materials, a leader in materials engineering solutions for the semiconductor industry, this challenge became the foundation for a strategic finance transformation program, with an SAP Taulia solution emerging as a key enabler.
The journey began in early 2019 with the launch of Agile Finance, an end-to-end transformation initiative designed to support the company’s aggressive growth trajectory, which included a goal to double in size. The initiative was built around three strategic pillars: enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the finance organization, promoting career fulfillment, and establishing a robust digital operating model. The impact was significant, with the finance function achieving approximately 35% productivity gains in its labor force.
The third pillar—the move to a digital operating model—is where the partnership with SAP Taulia began.
“The SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting solution was introduced not merely as a cost-cutting measure, but as a strategic tool to transform and digitize the interaction with Applied’s extensive, global supplier base,” Junaid Ahmed, corporate VP, Finance at Applied Materials, says. “We understood that to reap the benefits of digitization, we had to ensure the suppliers were on board. It needed to be a win-win outcome.”
Unprecedented flexibility for suppliers
The program empowers suppliers—thousands of them worldwide—to self-select which approved invoices they wish to discount for early payment. This is not a continuous, all-or-nothing commitment but rather a decision made on an invoice-by-invoice basis. This flexibility allows suppliers to manage their working capital needs with greater precision, taking advantage of early payment during their own critical periods, such as quarter-end or year-end, to help meet their own financial targets.
The system also drastically improves transactional efficiency. Suppliers no longer have to call Applied to track invoice status, approval, or payment date. All this information is available 24/7 in the SAP Taulia solution, reducing resource allocation on both sides and ensuring both reap the benefits of moving to an integrated, digital system.
Strategic benefits for Applied Materials
For Applied, the program is a testament to its focus on balancing efficiency with strong supplier relationships. The philosophy is a “win-win” built on a crucial spread: Applied Materials, as a Fortune 500 company with strong cash flow, has a significantly lower cost of capital than many of its suppliers. By funding the discounts, Applied captures a return—the discount income—while offering its suppliers funding at a rate close to their cost of capital, but with greater convenience.
This relationship-focused approach is critical. Applied’s supplier account managers actively support the program because they recognize its mutual benefit, not viewing it as a finance mandate to push costs onto the supply base.
Furthermore, the “dynamic” nature of the discount rates is a powerful risk mitigation tool. Unlike fixed contractual discounts, the rates can be adjusted in response to global economic changes, such as shifts in interest rates. When interest rates rose after the pandemic, Applied was able to adjust the discount rates accordingly with minimal pushback, as the core proposition remains the valuable spread between the parties’ cost of capital.
The SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting solution has been rolled out globally, giving all suppliers the opportunity to use it. This has been critical over the last 12 months as many businesses around the globe have been subject to new and often unexpected tariff costs impacting their margin and their liquidity.
“The flexibility of the solution means suppliers can access funds when they need them, which helps them navigate some of the economic uncertainty that many businesses are facing,” Dirk Holoubek, managing director, Finance Shared Services, explains. “2025 saw a 23% increase in usage of the discounts, reflecting the pressures that suppliers are feeling right now on their cash flow.”
The solution’s capability to drive sophisticated analytics is also a major strategic asset. It helps provide insights into the different costs of capital between Applied and its supplier base. This data allows for targeted outreach and communication, ensuring that the offer of capital support is proactively extended to the suppliers that need it most.
The strategic value of the solution is further cemented by its ownership. The acquisition of Taulia by SAP brings several advantages.
“Trust is really important to both us and our suppliers,” Ahmed says. “For our suppliers to adopt a new solution, they need to know its technology they can rely on in the long term. Being part of SAP creates that assurance in the long-term future of the program.”
Looking forward, Applied Materials is already focused on the next stage of the transformation project: Agile Finance 3.0, which is focused on enabling the organization to become AI-first. The company is deploying a global, organization-wide AI assistant to drive personal productivity, but the strategic application of AI in the supplier management space is even more profound.
AI is expected to transform decision-making enablement by analyzing critical information and communicating effective options. In the future, AI will be able to proactively assess the specific needs and attributes of the supplier base, enabling Applied to address issues more quickly and resolve them earlier. The benefits are already tangible in e-invoicing: AI has made the solution more flexible and “human-like,” capable of reading minor changes in invoice format that would have previously caused electronic errors. This reduced rigidity and increased flexibility are directly contributing to the overall efficiency of the digital operating model.
By leveraging the SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting solution, Applied Materials has not only digitized a process but also strategically transformed its financial operations, creating a system that is agile, resilient, and focused on maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with its global supplier ecosystem.
Cedric Bru is CEO of SAP Taulia.
Finance
Houston budget amendment would give financial assistance to help those impacted by a trash fee
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houston City Council could soon consider whether to offer financial assistance to help those who may struggle to afford a proposed trash fee.
This month, council will approve a budget. In it, Mayor John Whitmire doesn’t increase taxes.
However, he does want to charge a $5 monthly fee to cover trash services. A plan to help close the city’s nearly $200 million deficit that doesn’t add up to some.
Speaking in front of council on Wednesday, Super Neighborhood 64 president Lindsay Williams brought more than concerns, she had numbers surrounding the mayor’s proposed $5 monthly trash fee.
A plan his team says could climb to $25 a month by 2032. If it does, Williams told council that $300 annual cost would be just .15% of a $200,000 income.
For someone making $15,000, it’s two percent. “More than 13 times the burden for the same trash, same truck and same fee, but not the same pay,” Williams explained.
However, Controller Chris Hollins said the mayor’s not being truthful about the real cost.
“Houstonians are not stupid,” Hollins said. “We should not treat Houstonians like they’re stupid.”
Hollins said the cost may need to be $40 a month. Whitmire didn’t respond to Hollins during the meeting when he asked if he plans to increase the fee.
No matter the cost, some council members want to offer financial relief. Right now, there are no exceptions.
However, an amendment council will consider from Council Member Alejandra Salinas next week would change that.
“If they for whatever reason met the threshold and need an additional need because of the administrative fee, our amendment would allow them to apply for funds through the water fund,” Salinas said.
The trash fee wasn’t the only item from the mayor’s seven and a half billion dollar budget proposal that sparked debate. Hollins said a plan to divert money away from water utilities could drain a billion over the next five years from infrastructure money.
Whitmire disagrees saying there’s more than enough funds to handle the change, and continue with projects.
“We’ve all admitted the budget’s not perfect, but certainly it’s a first start that Houstonians understand and it’s a shame it’s being so politicized because it’s literally people’s lives and death,” Whitmire said.
Council will vote on amendments next week. It has to have a new budget in place by the end of the month.
Copyright © 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Reader question: My spouse has little interest in our financial position. As we age, this concerns me. I try to share some basic information (income, spending, account balances, debt, and so on) each month but rarely get a response. I think graphs or charts might be of more interest to her than a bunch of numbers. What recommendations would you have for illustrating our financial position so that I am not the only person aware of how we are situated? Thanks!
Answer: Your situation is pretty common. Most couples I know develop a division of labor over time, where one person is in charge of financial matters and the other person is less involved. That’s definitely the case for my husband and me. He’s in charge of paying all the monthly bills and preparing our tax returns, but the financial planning and investment decisions are up to me. This type of arrangement might work well for a long time, but can become less sustainable with age, particularly if the “finance person” in the relationship dies or develops a major health issue.
Online tools and mind maps
Illustrating your financial situation with charts and graphs is a great idea that might help your spouse become a little more involved. Morningstar’s Portfolio X-Ray tool includes a variety of images that help illustrate your financial situation. Websites for most major brokerage firms also include some visual tools. Schwab, for example, offers a Portfolio Checkup and a bar graph illustrating your account’s monthly income from dividends and interest income. Vanguard has a Portfolio Watch tool and a variety of performance illustrations, tools, and calculators.
A mind map, which we used with clients when I worked for a financial advisory firm, can be another way to picture your entire financial situation on one page. There are various softwaretemplates for drawing a mind map, or you can simply sketch it out with a large sheet of paper and a pencil. Start with your names at the center of the page. Then draw spokes connecting to various categories, such as names of other family members; investment accounts; real estate and other assets, insurance policies, estate plans, key goals and values, and contact information for accountants, estate planners, and other professionals. It can be helpful to go through the mind map together and make any updates needed at least once a year.
Other ways to communicate about money
A few other ideas—though not related to charts and graphs—might also be useful.
I like the idea of putting together a net worth statement that itemizes cash, taxable accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, and debt for each member of the couple as well as items owned jointly. It’s a good idea to update this document at least once a year and discuss it as a couple. If you set up the document as a spreadsheet, you can include columns with additional information such as account numbers, what each account is used for, which accounts are subject to required minimum distributions, or tax issues like potential capital gains.
Many couples also put together a binder (sometimes humorously called a “Doomsday Book”) that contains information about where to find important paperwork, insurance policies, how bills are paid, what each account is for, steps the surviving spouse will need to take, final wishes, and any other critical information.
A well-qualified financial adviser can bridge the information gap
Finally, you could consider working with a good financial adviser, who can help involve your spouse in financial matters while you’re still living and step in to fully manage investments and personal finance decisions if you pass away before your spouse. Make sure the adviser holds the Certified Financial Planner designation and charges fees that are reasonable. Although a 1% fee is still the industry standard for accounts of $1 million or less, it’s possible to find advisers who charge significantly less, including a few who price their services based on hours worked instead of a percentage of assets under management.
_____
This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.
Amy C. Arnott, CFA, is a portfolio strategist for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.
Related links:
What If This Turns Out to Be a Terrible Time to Retire?
https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/what-if-this-turns-out-be-terrible-time-retire
Bill Bengen: ‘Inflation Is the Greatest Enemy of Retirees’
https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/bill-bengen-inflation-is-greatest-enemy-retirees
3 Big Questions to Ask Your Aging Parents
https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/3-big-questions-ask-your-aging-parents
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
-
Oregon1 minute agoOregon resumes SNAP renewal interviews as advocates warn more could lose benefits
-
Pennsylvania4 minutes agoPennsylvania hunting licenses to soon go on sale
-
Rhode Island9 minutes agoRhode Island DCYF discloses fatality of 18-year-old
-
South-Carolina16 minutes agoDECISION 2026: What to know about primary elections in South Carolina
-
South Dakota19 minutes agoUSF becomes South Dakota’s first ‘cardiac ready’ campus
-
Tennessee24 minutes ago2026 Tennessee football preview: Grady Dangerfield
-
Texas31 minutes agoFort Worth police launch drone program to speed response times
-
Utah34 minutes agoGot cargo? Utah Highway Patrol, DPS want you to secure your load before you drive
