Yuma Sun e-Edition

NEW YEAR, NEW START

By the City of Yuma

THE CITY OF Yuma welcomed new directors to lead three of its departments in 2021, two of whom have previous experience in the Yuma area.

Douglas Allen took over as Director of Finance in July, bringing more than 25 years of progressive management experience in government finance and administration. Having recently been the Chief Financial Officer in Paradise Valley, Allen had previously worked as the Director of Finance and Deputy County Administrator for Yuma County.

Tim Bourcier, the Director of Planning, brings more than 10 years of experience as an urban planning professional with extensive knowledge in the areas of long-range planning, smart growth development and sustainable and resilient communities. A Michigan native, he most recently worked in Louisiana.

Chris Young, the Director of Engineering, brings 28 years of experience in engineering and administration. Young is a registered professional engineer in Arizona and California. He most recently was Director of Engineering at Yuma County.

They each responded to several questions about their new positions and the coming year.

What is the biggest challenge or opportunity facing your department in the coming year?

Allen: Honoring tradition by entering the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) in the GFOA award for excellence in financial reporting for the 40th year.

Bourcier: The City’s General Plan is up for referendum next year. The Planning and Neighborhood Services team worked side-by-side with the Yuma community on making all of the updates to the plan. We really look forward to getting it out to the voters.

Young: The Engineering team has the opportunity to deliver a wide variety of capital projects that will help to improve the lives of the residents we serve every day.

What is one project or program within your department that you are looking forward to in the coming year?

Bourcier: We are trying to focus on sustainability in our department. This will include an effort to go paperless (or as paperless as possible) and to utilize technology to allow the department to be more nimble in the face of the current pandemic or other emergencies.

Young: The Capital Improvement Program calls for the design and construction of dozens of projects throughout the City over the next few years. This includes a variety of projects, including the new multi-modal transportation facility in the old Hotel Del Sol, the Desert Dunes Water Reclamation Facility expansion, and Fire Station 7, which will be located at 32nd Street and Avenue 8-1/2E.

Allen: Introducing a new tradition with the creation of the City’s first Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR). This report is planned in the form of a pamphlet and is derived from the ACFR and Budget documents, but is much easier to read.

Since coming on board with the City, what is one thing that surprised you about Yuma or the City of Yuma organization? Young: Every City employee that I have met has been extremely welcoming and helpful. Staff is clearly committed to

The City is excited to have these three joining the team and looks forward to the contributions and progress they and all of Team Yuma will make in the coming year.

providing outstanding customer service. I’m proud to be a part of Team Yuma.

Allen: Having lived in Yuma in the early 2000s many things have changed, but what is still prevalent is the high level of professionalism and integrity at all levels of the organization and the community’s strong heritage of being welcoming and supportive, especially of local businesses.

Bourcier: On my second day, I was serving breakfast to hundreds of Yuma city employees alongside the rest of the Executive Leadership Team. Since then, there have been so many opportunities to show how much the City of Yuma appreciates all of the hard work that is going on every day. It is great to be part of this team!

The City is excited to have these three joining the team and looks forward to the contributions and progress they and all of Team Yuma will make in the coming year.

Contents

en-us

2022-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://yumasun.pressreader.com/article/281676848255383

Alberta Newspaper Group