Embattled city finance chief resigns
June 5, 2008 at 10:40 am by Scott Henry in News
Janice Davis, chief financial officer for the Franklin administration, handed in a letter of resignation this morning. But, allaying the worst fears of some Atlanta officials, she won’t be departing until after the contentious city budget is put to rest.
“The budget is about to undergo open-heart surgery and she’s the only one in the room with a medical degree,” says Councilman Howard Shook, who received Davis’ two-sentence resignation by e-mail a short while ago.
A few council members have grumbled that Davis should be fired for presiding over a budget process that produced a $60 million shortfall in the current-year budget and a projected $140 million shortfall in the upcoming 2009 budget. But Shook, who chairs the Council Finance Committee, and others have argued that doing away with Davis would leave the city without a finance chief when it needs one most.
Several council members have privately speculated that Davis would leave the city’s employ shortly after the adoption of next year’s budget – and it now appears that will be the case.
According to Davis’ brief letter, she will stay on the job until July 9, then leave to accept a position in Texas. A Franklin administration spokesperson had no comment.
As of now, the Council is preparing to hold a series of budget discussions to tweak a Franklin budget proposal in an attempt to erase a proposed tax increase. The Council is scheduled to approve the final budget at a special meeting June 27.
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
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June 5th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I say good riddance. And if the Council is so worried about the budget details, why don’t they hire a financial contractor on a temporary basis to provide counsel and advice?
June 5th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Good idea paddy but the budget is 643 pages (or something close to that) and too dense for anyone to assist with before June 27. Technically, the CFO has dual reporting to the Council and Mayor and therefore IS the Council’s budget expert. Not really the best setup, I’d say.
June 6th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I feel so much better that the “expert” responsible for our crack-smoking budget is the same “expert” to help us guide it through rehab.