City CFO Towne leaving to take Natick post

Nov. 26--The city of Gloucester's chief financial officer, seen by many as a key player with Mayor Carolyn Kirk's administration in stabilizing the city's fiscal picture, is leaving to take a financial leadership post with the town of Natick.

Kirk announced through a prepared statement that she has "reluctantly accepted the resignation" of Jeff Towne, who has served in the city's top financial post since shortly after the mayor took office in 2008.

He has been named deputy financial administrator for Natick, and is expected to start in his new position on Jan. 6, Natick officials said.

Natick's current deputy town administrator and finance director Michael Walters Young has announced he is moving out of state but plans to stay with the town until mid-January. Natick is a town of just over 33,000 people in Boston's western suburbs, and may be best known as home to the Natick Mall and the Flutie family of Boston College and pro football fame.

In her announcement of Towne's pending departure, Kirk listed a string of his accomplishments that have included "substantial free cash deficits (being) reversed," adding that the city "now produces positive free cash within establish standards." Gloucester, with an apparent record surplus revenue certification of $4.8 million for fiscal 2012, had its fiscal 2013 free cash general fund surplus certified by the state's Department of Revenue last week at $4.2 million.

"Through Towne's creative financial recommendations and relentless pursuit of savings and expense reduction," the mayor said in her prepared statement, "Gloucester emerged with minimal impact on city services while, at the same time, absorbing significant cost increases associated with employee health insurance and the (Gloucester Community Arts ) charter school."

"The city of Gloucester is better off for Jeff's service," Kirk said, "and I am deeply grateful that he chose to invest his considerable talent and friendship with all of us. We wish him the best in his new opportunity in Natick.

"Any success my administration has is a direct result of the talent and professionalism of our team," Kirk said, "and Jeff has been an outstanding contributor."

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