A new finance director has taken the helm at City Hall, aiming to keep budgets balanced and audits clean as economic growth picks up steam.

Rob Marshall officially stepped into the top financial role June 1, filling the vacancy left by Katie Hermanns. He brings direct experience to the position after serving as borough controller, a senior management role overseeing accounting operations, internal controls and financial reporting.

During his time as controller, he assisted Borough Manager Mason Villarma, who served a dual role as temporary finance director for five months before Hermanns was hired in November 2025.

Marshall’s journey at City Hall began in 2020 as a clerk. He spent the next six years mastering municipal operations and preparing for the demands of leading the finance department.

“This job involves forecasting, analysis and lots of communication with other departments,” he said. “And then there’s the numbers side of things — the accounting aspect.”

Working closely alongside Villarma during the transition provided practical preparation for taking over the department.

“I did get to work closely with Mason when he filled that spot, and that was definitely helpful,” he said.

Looking ahead, his immediate priority is guiding the community through the next annual financial audit with zero findings — improving on the 2024 audit, which contained just one.

“A finding is something discovered during the audit that needs to be corrected, and we have to submit an action plan for how we will fix it,” Marshall said. 

Another short-term goal includes converting accounts payable — what the borough owes on its bills — to a completely paperless system to streamline operations and boost efficiency.

Beyond daily operations, the central challenge will be balancing the budget while preparing for all of the upcoming development projects on the borough’s work list  — all without raising taxes.

“We’re looking at some serious growth in the near future, and we don’t want to raise any taxes,” he said.

“We would rather let the economic changes occur to increase our revenue and budget without raising any taxes. We will have to be careful not to overextend ourselves and keep everything functioning as it is as we see things surge over the next few years. It’s a delicate balance, and we want to see the economic development take care of the changes.”

Meanwhile, Hermanns, who moved to Wrangell after working for the Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office, will likely return in a contract role to assist with future borough land transactions, Marshall said.