Finance Director

Sumter Local Government Consulting is pleased to assist the City of Lake City, GA, in recruiting its Finance Director. The Finance Director reports to the City Manager and is a critical member of the city’s executive leadership team. Lake City is a welcoming, close-knit community located in northern Clayton County, approximately nine miles south of downtown Atlanta. Known as the "City of Friendly People", Lake City combines the charm and accessibility of a small municipality with the advantages of being located within one of the nation's largest metropolitan regions.

Incorporated in 1951, the City has maintained a strong sense of community while benefiting from the economic opportunities and transportation infrastructure of metropolitan Atlanta. Covering approximately 1.9 square miles and home to nearly 3,000 residents, Lake City offers a high quality of life characterized by friendly neighborhoods, engaged citizens, and responsive local government. The City’s size allows elected officials and staff to maintain close relationships with residents and businesses while providing personalized municipal services.

Community pride, accessibility, and customer service remain hallmarks of the City’s culture.

The City of Lake City is seeking an experienced, collaborative, and service-oriented finance professional who combines exceptional technical expertise with outstanding leadership and interpersonal skills. The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker who is equally comfortable managing the City’s day-to-day financial operations while serving as a trusted advisor to the City Manager, Mayor, and City Council. This individual will possess unquestioned integrity, excellent communication skills, and a commitment to continuous improvement while helping preserve the City’s strong financial position and identifying opportunities to modernize financial processes and enhance organizational efficiency.

The ideal candidate will enjoy working in a smaller organization where versatility, accessibility, and responsiveness are highly valued, and where they can make a meaningful impact on the organization and the community.

The Finance Director serves as a key member of the City’s executive leadership team and is responsible for planning, directing, and overseeing all financial operations of the City of Lake City. Reporting directly to the City Manager, the Finance Director provides strategic financial leadership while ensuring the integrity, transparency, and long-term sustainability of the City’s financial operations. The position is entrusted with considerable independent judgment and initiative in administering the City’s financial management systems and serves as the City’s principal advisor on all matters involving budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, investments, internal controls, and fiscal policy.

The Finance Director leads and coordinates all municipal finance activities, including budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, banking, investments, auditing, debt administration, cash management, and financial policy development. The position is responsible for maintaining the City’s financial records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), governmental accounting standards, and all applicable federal and state laws while ensuring the City maintains the highest standards of fiscal accountability and transparency.

The operating budget for FY2026 is $5,565,046. Working closely with the City Manager and department directors, the Finance Director directs the development, preparation, implementation, and monitoring of the City’s annual operating and capital budgets.

The successful candidate will provide accurate financial forecasts,…