Published: August 06, 2008
City Manager Appoints New Finance Director Chief Financial Officer
Folsom City Manager Kerry Miller today announced the appointment of James W. Francis to the position of Finance Director/Chief Financial Officer, effective Oct. 5.
The position is currently held by Acting Finance Director Mark Bresolin, who will return to his duties as Financial Analysis and Reporting Manager.
Francis currently serves as Town Manager of West Hartford, CT, a town he has served in several different capacities for the last 28 years. As Town Manager, he is the chief executive officer of a full-service, chartered municipality with a population of 61,000 and an AAA/Aaa credit rating from Moody's and Standard and Poor's. He previously served as the Town's Director of Finance, overseeing accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, operating and capital budgeting, purchasing, tax collection, investment, and grant management functions.
During his tenure as Director of Finance, Francis is credited with:
Developing a strategic financial plan for a mixed-use downtown development project;
Increasing and maintaining the Town's tax collection rate at 99 percent or above;
Developing a strategic 12-year capital improvement financial plan in support of the Town's future development; and
Rewriting the Town's purchasing ordinance to allow for more consideration of life-cycle costing and better long-term decision-making, among other accomplishments.
Francis has also served as the Town's Director of Health and Director of Employee Services.
"I am very pleased to welcome Jim to the Folsom team," said City Manager Kerry Miller. "He brings a depth of experience in public finance and management that I believe will serve our city very well as we continue to navigate changing and challenging economic conditions. His experience with the Town of West Hartford's downtown development project is also directly applicable to our own historic district revitalization effort here in Folsom.
"I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mark Bresolin for his outstanding efforts as our Acting Finance Director," Miller continued. "Mark helped steer the City through a challenging budget development process, and has shown excellent leadership in managing the Finance department staff and responsibilities."
"This is a very exciting opportunity, and I am eager to get started," said Francis. "Folsom stands out from cities and towns across the nation in terms of its high quality of life and I know this will be a positive move both personally and professionally."
Francis is also an Adjunct Professor in the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy. He holds a Master of Arts in Social Ecology from the University of California at Irvine, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Western Michigan University.
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