Mayor nominates Kristen Wilcox for city chief financial officer; candidate outlines budget priorities

Mayor presented Kristen Wilcox as the nominee for chief financial officer and invited her to address the council. Wilcox described a municipal finance career that includes a bachelor's degree in accountancy, an MBA, a certified public accountant designation transferred to Tennessee, and a certified municipal finance officer credential. She told the council she has led CAFR preparation, supervised budgeting and served in senior accounting and controller roles.

Wilcox said her immediate priorities include completing a five-year budget forecast and working individually with council members early in the budget cycle to align priorities with fiscal reality. "This next budget period, I would like to actually meet with each of you individually much earlier in the process," she said. She also described efforts to maximize grant opportunities and strengthen compliance and reporting, and said the finance office has been meeting with advisors on the five-year capital improvement plan.

Council members pressed on transparency and responsiveness. Councilman Smith asked whether Wilcox would be "open to all people" and return calls; Wilcox replied she would. Councilman McLaughlin urged a focus on preventing future tax increases, and Wilcox pointed to the five-year forecasting work and capital planning as the mechanism to do that. On debt management she said her practice is to work with financial advisors and the capital plan to understand the city's debt capacity and trade-offs.

Wilcox also outlined short-term cash-flow steps tied to council finance work and bond timing and said she would be candid about mistakes: "Any mistake I make, I will admit to." The mayor scheduled her confirmation for the council meeting next week.

Next step: confirmation vote expected at the next council meeting.