Lansing appoints new finance director to fill vacancy

Sarah Lehr
Lansing State Journal

LANSING — Lansing will have a new finance director starting Aug. 10.

Mayor Andy Schor announced Tuesday he will appoint Robert Widigan to the position.

Widigan is the village administrator in Shelby, a 2000-person community in Oceana County along Lake Michigan. Widigan will step down from that role to join the city, a Lansing spokeswoman said.

Related: Lansing treasurer will take over as city's chief restructuring officer

Widigan previously worked for the Michigan Department of Treasury as an analyst focused on identifying financial problems within local governments.

His annual salary will be $100,000.

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“I am confident that his prior experience working in both state and municipal government finance will allow him to hit the ground running here at the City of Lansing," Schor said in a statement. "Rob has expertise in developing creative strategies, both financial and operational, to maximize available budget resources for municipal governments and this is a critical skill to have on our team.”

After former Finance Director Angela Bennett resigned in September 2019, Shelbi Frayer, the city's recently-appointed chief restructuring officer, began leading the finance department on an interim basis. 

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But, Frayer announced she would be leaving her dual roles as chief restructuring officer and interim finance director July 10 to dedicate more time to family and personal endeavors.

The city created the chief restructuring officer position last year. The job description focused on identifying inefficiencies and helping the city to manage more than $700 million in unfunded long-term pension and retiree health care costs.

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Earlier this week, Schor announced treasurer Judy Kehler would be appointed chief restructuring officer, also referred to as chief strategy officer. Deputy Treasurer Cheryl Fox will fill Kehler's position on an interim basis and Budget Director Jake Brower  will work as interim finance director until Widigan starts his job.

Lansing faces financial challenges including dwindling reserve funds and millions in lost revenue due to restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Contact reporter Sarah Lehr at slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.