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Cieslewicz names appointee to new city treasurer position

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Also by Anthony Morgano:

Cieslewicz names appointee to new city treasurer position (October 25, 2007)
City award asks for nominations (October 24, 2007)
New hotel to be built on West Washington Avenue (October 3, 2007)
Elderly woman seventh mugging victim in week (September 28, 2007)
Madison police ask for cash (September 25, 2007)

by Anthony Morgano

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz appointed a new city treasurer Wednesday, a position recently created by the breakup of the former Department of Revenue.

Gerald Pace, who most recently worked for the Department of Revenue, will take the new position starting Dec. 3 following approval from the City Council.

According to City Council President Mike Verveer, the City Treasurer position was combined with the offices of the City Clerk and City Assessor to create the Madison Department of Revenue in the 1980s. However, Ray Fisher, the head of that department, retired last year.

“When he retired last year the mayor and City Council decided to divide up the positions again and abolish the Department of Revenue,” Verveer said. “We felt that it wasn’t an effective model any longer.”

The department was first broken into two positions, City Assessor and City Clerk-Treasurer. However, finding someone to fill the role of both Clerk and Treasurer proved difficult.

“We wanted someone of good financial background to be the treasurer,” Verveer said. “[Someone to] invest city funds in more aggressive ways.”

Therefore, the position was broken up yet again and the city hired a City Clerk and began the search for a City Treasurer.

“We recruited and advertised for it,” said George Twigg, communications director for the mayor.

One of the recruits was Pace. After passing a screening panel, he was one of a handful to have a one-on-one interview with the mayor.

“The mayor felt like he was pretty well-qualified,” Twigg said.

According to a city of Madison release, in addition to serving in the Department of Revenue, Pace also held the position of Chief Financial Officer for the Cleveland Municipal School District. In this position his responsibilities included overseeing a $600-million annual budget and $1.2 billion in assets.

Pace also worked as an Asset Manager for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Pace attended Jackson State University, where he recieved his B.S. in Finance, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for his M.S. in Finance and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his law degree.

“I’m happy we were able to find somebody with the right credentials,” Verveer said.

The City Treasurer’s office handles many responsibilities, including cash and investment assets for the city, the city’s tax roll, property tax collections and disbursal of all city funds. These assets include the Madison Metropolitan School District’s investment portfolio of $400 million.

Before Pace takes his new position, however, his nomination must be approved by City Council. Verveer said he does not foresee any problems in his approval.

“I’ve never worked with or even met the guy before, but I have every faith that everyone involved in the selection process … did a fine job. His qualifications seem to be exactly what we’re looking for,” Verveer said. “I look forward to meeting him and voting for his confirmation.”

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