Assistant City Manager Alma Reyes presented the City Manager Leadership Award for the month of July to Finance Department Payroll Coordinator Lindsey King.

“Lindsey always goes above and beyond and is ready to assist coworkers, share her knowledge, and tackle even the most challenging payroll issues with patience and professionalism,” Reyes said. “Her positive attitude, reliability, and calm demeanor have earned the trust and respect of her colleagues, making her a valued resource within the Finance Department and a trusted partner to departments throughout the city. I’m thrilled to honor her with this award.”

She joined the City of Costa Mesa in May 2021, bringing seven years of municipal payroll experience from the City of Fullerton.

From the moment she joined the Payroll Division, she demonstrated an exceptional ability to learn and adapt, quickly mastering the City’s payroll processes, Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), payroll policies, and long-standing practices.

Her strong work ethic, commitment to excellence, and dedication to serving others quickly established her as an indispensable member of the Finance Department.

King plays a critical role in ensuring the City’s bi-weekly payroll is processed accurately, on time, and in compliance with City policies and applicable MOUs.

She is responsible for every aspect of the payroll process, including auditing personnel action forms, reviewing and correcting employee timecards, processing bi-weekly payroll and so much more. She also prepares payroll data and finance reports that individual departments rely on for billing, budgeting, and financial analysis.

In addition to her daily responsibilities, she is an active contributor to the City’s HR and Payroll system implementation, where her payroll expertise has been instrumental in helping shape a successful transition to the new system.

Payroll is one of the Finance Department’s critical functions, and she approaches every payroll cycle with professionalism, precision, and an unwavering commitment to accuracy.

She consistently meets demanding deadlines while skillfully managing last-minute payroll changes without compromising quality or service.

Whether responding to CalPERS inquiries, assisting employees with payroll questions, supporting electronic timesheet issues, or researching complex payroll matters, she provides exceptional customer service and dependable support to employees throughout the organization.

King is a graduate of Katella High School in Anaheim.