‘I’m passionate about our community’; Christina Smith’s career as Brandon’s ‘number cruncher’ spans 15 years ... and counting

It seems working as the Finance Officer for the City of Brandon is the perfect fit for Christina Smith.

The Brandon Valley High School and University of South Dakota grad started her career at the HyVee supermarket on East 10th Street in Sioux Falls. She worked there during college and later became the store’s accountant. It was a natural move into the accounting department after receiving her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Smith and her husband, Jeff, were living in Brandon and built a house in 2002. Clearly, her commute each day to HyVee wasn’t a difficult one. 

She was obviously grateful for having found a position in her chosen career, but Smith said she was also looking for something more stable in regards to hours.

Working at HyVee presented its fair share of challenges. With two young boys at home, Smith had to be to work at 5 a.m. each day to get the tills up and running. The retail hours also included holidays and weekends.

She kept her eyes on any potential 8-5 accounting jobs, and when the Finance Officer position crossed her desk for the City of Brandon, she jumped at it.

“I looked at the job description, and it interested me for sure,” she said. “I applied and was hired, and it’s been great.”

That was in 2008. Over the past 15 years, she’s had a first-hand look at Brandon’s growth and how it’s changed her approach each day.

She said the workload is more, and that’s simply a reflection of the city’s growth.

“Utility accounts have increased, the requirements for reporting have increased, there’s more revenue coming in,” she said. “It’s changed a lot.”

Although the stigma of working with numbers each day may seem boring, for Smith, it’s anything but.

As seasons move throughout the calendar year, Smith said her job responsibilities change as well. Summers bring responsibilities with the city swimming pool, which morphs into annual budgeting, spring elections and then end-of-year financial reports.

“Overall, I really enjoy the job,” she said. “You kind of do the same things every day, but it changes throughout the year. It’s constantly changing in what you do. That part I enjoy.”

She said she has no intention of ever leaving her position with the city and plans to retire continuing to crunch the numbers for the people of Brandon. It’s a responsibility she said she’s happy to have.

“I love my community. I grew up here, graduated from here, and still live here,” she said. “I’m passionate about our community. I love our community and I want to make sure that continues and that we’re doing what’s best for the community.”