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At the August Meet and Greet, Assistant City Manager Cecelia Gallardo-Daly teamed with Deputy City Manager Alma Reyes to present the Finance Department’s Permit Processing Specialist Elsa Barajas with the City Manager Leadership Award.
“I truly appreciate Elsa’s positive attitude and communication style which allows her to provide exceptional customer service,” Gallardo-Daly said. “She has responded to thousands of inquiries in person, over the phone and via email in both in English and Spanish. She quickly identifies customer needs, problem-solves, and offers alternative solutions and her colleagues describe her as a team player, hardworking and reliable. I am thrilled to present her this award.”
Barajas began her service with the City as temporary staff in April 2022 to assist the Treasury Division in reviewing and issuing Business Licenses. A few months later, Barajas was permanently hired as the new Permit Processing Specialist. She is the frontline staff member at the Finance front counter.
Barajas has been instrumental in implementing key projects with the Finance Department. Her many responsibilities include processing Business License requests, issuing Operator Permits (Food Trucks), Sidewalk Sale Permits, Sidewalk Vendor Permits, Firework Stand Permits, Seasonal Agricultural Permits, verifying State Contractor’s Licenses and ensuring businesses have a valid Sellers Permit in compliance with the City’s Municipal Code – which is key to the City receiving its Sales Tax revenue.
Barajas also serves as the Department’s subject matter expert for the implementation of TESSA. She’s embraced this role and used her experience at the City of El Segundo during their LMS implementation and worked diligently on questionnaires, user-testing, legacy data, training guides and finally a successful Go-Live.
In January, Barajas was asked to fill-in for the City’s Cashier position, where she handles all cash register payments made to the City, manages transactions, generates daily reconciliation, and closes balance sheets.
Barajas is a graduate of El Rancho High School in Whittier and has attended Rio Hondo College.
