Yakima City Manager Cliff Moore has announced that Steve Groom has been chosen to become the City’s new Finance and Budget Director. Groom replaces Danny Agsalog, who resigned from the City earlier this year.
“The City is fortunate to have Steve Groom joining its senior management team,” said Moore. “Steve has a broad range of finance experience in both the public and private sectors. He has helped the organizations he’s worked for modernize and enhance their finance and budget operations,” said Moore. “Steve will be an outstanding addition to the City’s senior management team.”
Groom, who will begin his tenure with the City of Yakima on October 1st, served as the finance director for the City of Palestine, Texas until August of this year. He had worked for the City of Palestine since January 2016. Before that, Groom had been the chief financial officer for the City of Keller, Texas and the Beach Cities Health District (Redondo Beach, California). Groom worked for the non-profit Phoenix Houses of California, a substance abuse treatment organization, from 2000 to 2004, and Burbank, California-based UniHealth Ventures Pharmacy from 1992 to 2000.
Groom, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from California State University Northridge in 1984, brings a community focus to municipal finance. “A city budget is not about money, it’s about delivering quality services to the community, albeit with limited resources,” said Groom.
Groom has lived most of his life in California, but does have ties to the Pacific Northwest. He lived in Olympia for about three years when he was growing up and currently has two grandchildren living in Portland, Oregon. He and his wife, Kathleen, have a total of four children, all of whom are grown.
As Director of Finance and Budget, Groom will oversee a staff of about 35 employees in the Financial Services, Purchasing, and Utility Services divisions. The total budget for the City’s Finance and Budget Department in 2018 is about $4,000,000.
Groom’s starting salary will be about $110,000 a year, plus benefits.