May 29 Webinar @ 11:00 a.m.
Communicating City Budgets – How to Take a Complex and Contentious Topic and Make It Interesting
The annual budget is inevitable. Tax rate changes, capital projects, and supplementals… oh my! How do you take a complex, dry, and potentially partisan topic and make it engaging to your residents? Join us as we talk with Sara Bustilloz (Round Rock) and DeAnna Phillips (Burleson) about the tips and tricks that they have used to make the budget approachable and digestible for every resident.
Sara Bustilloz, Director of Communications, City of Round Rock
Sara Bustilloz serves as the Director of Communications and Marketing for the City of Round Rock. She began her career as a newspaper reporter before transitioning to government communications in 2012 as the Public Information Officer for the City of Midland. She later served as the Public Information Officer for the Pflugerville Police Department, and, in 2018, joined the City of Round Rock’s Communications and Marketing Department, promoting to Director in December 2021. Sara earned her Bachelor of Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin in 2009 and completed the Certified Public Communicator program at Texas Christian University in 2014. She recently graduated with a Master of Public Affairs, concentrating in Public Administration, from The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley. She is also a graduate of the University of Virginia’s LEAD program. Sara has served on the Board of Directors for the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (TAMIO) since 2014 and currently serves as Vice President of Awards.
DeAnna Phillips, Director of Community Services, City of Burleson
DeAnna is the Director of Community Services for the city of Burleson, where she oversees marketing and communications, library, senior activity center and animal services. She has worked in municipal government for 18 years, serving the cities of Keller, Texas and Roswell, New\ Mexico, in roles that range from special event coordinator to economic development director to public affairs director. She graduated from Texas Christian University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Advertising and Public Relations. In 2011, she completed her Masters of Business Administration from Texas Woman’s University.