Centre officials appoint new director of finance
By EMMA GOSALVEZ egosalvez @lockhaven.com
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BELLEFONTE -- Centre County has welcomed aboard a new director of financial management.
During the Tuesday meeting of the county board of commissioners, new director Thomas Martin was introduced.
Martin, who starts his new role on July 31, is no stranger to Centre County Government.
Since 2004, Martin has worked in the county controller's office, Commissioner Pipe said.
"This is an incredible opportunity, and I am truly humbled and honored to serve as the next director," Martin said at the meeting. "I have had the privilege of being able to work with many of the county employees, and their dedication and their knowledge has provided valuable services to many of the county residents."
Martin comes to the new role with more than 20 years of financial experience.
"We had a great search committee that really went out to look for our next director of finance and you were chosen, really with an enthusiastic endorsement from a lot of people on the committee, so we're really excited to have you here," Pipe said.
Prior to joining Centre County Government, Martin worked for several years as fiscal officer for the Centre County Housing Authority, according to a press release from the county. Martin has also held several financial positions for a local publicly traded company. He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and management from Lock Haven University.
Martin starts his new role with a starting salary of $77,168, Commissioner Pipe told The Express.
In other business, the commissioners are considering a contract with the McClure Company, an energy savings company, to have an energy audit and report conducted of several county buildings.
Primary buildings the audit will look at include the county courthouse, courthouse annex, Temple Court Building, Willowbank Building, county correctional facility, and the sheriff's office building, according to Jennifer Ponce de Leon, account executive with the McClure Company. The audit will take a look at energy savings and facility improvements, which will include renewable energy enhancements.
The McClure Company goes through the state's Guaranteed Energy Savings Act of 2016 to help county governments with infrastructure improvements, Ponce de Leon explained.
"It's a direct route to upgrade your facilities, using savings to pay for those costs," she said. "The savings are going to be equal or greater to the construction costs."
McClure Company did an initial scoping audit, Ponce de Leon said, where they reviewed the major energy usage areas in the county, and determined that there is a cost per square foot of approximately $1.96, on average, as there are outliers, such as the correctional facility and the courthouse, and there are some buildings that are currently operating more efficiently. The goal is to reduce the overall per square foot cost across the county and identify systems that will be more efficient if replaced or upgraded.
Action will be taken at the next meeting, on July 25, on moving forward with the in-depth energy audit, Pipe said.
If the energy audit shows favorable savings to county energy, a guaranteed saving agreement of $46,200 will be entered into between the county and McClure Company.