Tami Robison, the first ever Finance Officer for Geary County, began work on Monday..
Robison previously worked as the Budget and Finance Officer for Riley County. She saw this new position as an opportunity to grow. "I previously was underneath the county clerk. This gave me the autonomy to report directly to the commissioners."
Robison cited multiple challenges that she could begin working on. "The county owned hospital, Public Building Commission, also they have a partially self-funded health insurance."
A key goal is to help save money for the county, something Robison plans to try and do. "I have a lot of ideas and I have already preliminarily started some analytical before I arrived. So I need to talk to some department heads and talk about their processes. Based on those processes then I'll evaluate what the efficiencies are that I can help out with."
There was opposition from some in the the county government ranks to creation of this job position. Robison believes she can work through that issue. "I want to build trust and collaboration. I'm not here to direct, I want to be a team leader but also a partner with the other department heads."
Previously Robison served as Treasurer, and currently serves as Secretary for the Kansas Government Financial Officers Association.