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Asheville City Manager Gary Jackson announced that he has selected former city Budget Director Ben Durant as the city of Asheville's new chief financial officer. When Jackson announced Durant's promotion, he explained that the city's budget function would be merged with the finance department to increase coordination of the city's financial activities.
"Integrating the city's budget and finance operations will increase coordination and accountability of the entire financial organization," said Jackson. "One person will oversee the city's finance activities, making the organization more efficient. Ben is a natural fit to lead the city in this area." Durant has served as the city's budget director for nearly eight years. The budget office was previously a division located in the city manager's office. Although Durant will still report directly to the city manager, he will be responsible for managing both the city's budget process and financial operations in a separate department. In addition to continuing to manage the city's roughly $100 million budget and capital improvement program, Durant will be responsible for the city's municipal bonds and debt service program along with the accounting, customer service, purchasing and risk management divisions. Durant will be responsible for about 50 employees in his new role. He began his new position on Monday, Sept. 12. Durant holds a Bachelor's of Arts degree from Elizabeth State University and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He worked as a budget analyst for seven years in Greensboro, NC before coming to Asheville. Durant is active in numerous professional, civic and community organizations including the YMI Cultural center, where he established the first completely automated financial management and budget system for the "Ben has a proven track record of competence in budget and financial management. His knowledge and experience, combined with his commitment to the community, make him the ideal person to fill the expanded role of chief financial officer," said Jackson. (Image provided by the City of Asheville.)
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