Burgess is new borough finance director

The borough staff returned to normal levels Tuesday with the addition of Finance Director Lee Burgess.

The position had been vacant since the borough assembly named former finance director and Interim Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch to the manager post permanently Nov. 12.

Jabusch announced the new hire to the borough assembly at the Feb. 11 assembly meeting. Jabusch has essentially performed both functions since the borough assembly accepted former manager Tim Rooney's resignation June 25.

The borough received two applications for the position, according to Borough Clerk Kim Lane.

Born and raised in Michigan, Burgess developed a fondness for the Last Frontier on a trip to visit an aunt living in Anchorage.

"When I was young we took an extended family trip around the state, and since then Alaska has always appealed to me," he wrote in an e-mail interview. "Then during graduate school I attended a conference where I met some staff from the Alaska Crossings program, and wanted to be part of what they were doing."

Burgess worked since April 2012 as the Lead Clinician at Alaska Island Community Services' Alaska Crossings program in Wrangell. Prior to that, he worked for three years at the Juneau Alliance for Mental Health assessing behavioral health for inmates and patients at Bartlett Regional Hospital and Lemon Creek Correctional Center. His first job after college was as a clinician for the AICS Alaska Crossings program as a clinician.

In addition to assisting the borough manager with budget preparation, audits, and financial records, the finance director supervises a staff of three full-time and one part-time employees.

Rooney and Jabusch had each mentioned accounting positions with the borough, Burgess said.

"At one point last year, I was talking to (Rooney), and he was telling me that the city needs accountants from time to time," he wrote. "But I found out about this position from (Jabusch) after he began serving in both roles and he recommended I apply if that interested me."

Burgess holds bachelor's degrees in Spanish and accounting from Michigan State University, an unusual pairing based on tradition and passion, Burgess said.

"My father and grandfathers worked their entire careers in insurance and accounting, so that educational track seemed natural to me," he wrote. "Spanish was just something I enjoyed, so in keeping current with it, taking classes and traveling in Spanish-speaking countries, before long I had met all the degree requirements."

Burgess also holds a 2007 master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan, inspired in part by time spent volunteering overseas.

Burgess aims to facilitate accomplishing the big issues in Wrangell, rather than setting the agenda.

"A lot of people play a part in" framing the big issues, he wrote. "The harder it is to secure

funding for new

projects, the more of a challenge it can be to set priorities. But assuring the community is getting the most for its tax dollars also means becoming more efficient in what we already do."

It may take years for Burgess to become familiar with the position, because many of the finance director's critical functions occur only once or twice annually, Jabusch told borough assembly members in announcing the new hire.

Burgess plans to stay in the position for at least a few years.

"My wife and I love being in Wrangell, bought a home and started a family here," he wrote. "We have no plans to leave."