City finance director leaving post

The upcoming departure of Columbia Finance Director Lori Fleming and City Manager Bill Watkins means the two officials most involved in the city’s budget development will be gone when the annual budget process begins in the summer. Next year is expected to be one of the most difficult budget years for local governments since the recession began, and Columbia will have two new faces at the helm to guide the process.
Fleming is resigning, effective Dec. 3, to take a job as an advisor to the Honduran Finance Ministry. The position is through the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Technical Assistance, and Fleming will spend the next three years helping the Honduran government comply with International Public Sector Accounting Standards.
Fleming said she found the opening through a posting on the Government Finance Officers Association Web site, and her transition has “been in the works for quite a while.” Fleming will begin training in Washington, D.C., in December and begin in Honduras in January. “I think it’s a good fit,” she said.
After the expiration of her three-year assignment, Fleming said she hopes to find another similar project through Treasury’s program.
In a news release, Watkins said Fleming, who has served as finance director since 1995, will leave the city in a good financial position.
“Especially over the last few years, as sales tax revenue has declined, Lori designed a financial plan to maintain stability and avoid drama,” Watkins stated. “That helped us maintain our bond ratings, meet our budget and continue to improve city services. We will miss her.”
Fleming’s departure comes just as the city is preparing to reform its employee pension funds. Like many plans, the city’s liabilities are outpacing the funds revenues, and the city has been upping its annual contributions to meet future payments, a situation exacerbated by the market crashes in 2007 and 2008. Fleming’s department makes the funds’ investment decisions.
Fleming said her departure shouldn’t have any effect on the city’s effort to reform the pension funds.
“There’s no one person who’s indispensable in this organization,” she said.
In the last month, Fleming, Watkins and Fire Chief Bill Markgraf have all announced they would be leaving the city, prompting expensive searches for replacements.
A nationwide search for Fleming’s replacement will begin in the coming weeks.