The City of Ashland Accepts Resignation of Administrative Services/Finance Director, Mark Welch
After two years with the City, Mark Welch has been
recruited by OpenGov to become a Solutions Engineer. In his new
position, he will work directly with local government to improve
efficiency and access to public financial information. This move is a
departure from his career in public sector finance, but one that is a
natural fit for him. Since starting work for the City in May 2017, Mark
has been a strong advocate for utilizing technology to improve service
delivery and provide transparency.
Welch arrived in Ashland in the middle of a challenging budget process
already underway. Mark made it his mission to make financial details
more accessible. Mark introduced the City to OpenGov software, a
web-based portal that provides citizens direct access to real-time
financial details of the City. Not only have members of the City
Council and Budget Committee had unprecedented access to the City’s
financials, citizens and staff also have information at their
fingertips.
Mark and his family chose Ashland from a short-list of places they
wanted to live and raise their young family. The new post with OpenGov
will allow his family to remain in Ashland while he is able to work
remotely to help other local governments make the shift to a more open
government. According to Welch, “Despite the difficult budget
challenges, my time with the City overall has been a great experience;
it was a difficult decision to leave.”
While it is hard to lose a talented member of the Executive team, the
City Council, staff and City Administrator are supportive of this
professional move for Mark. Councilor Dennis Slattery shared his
appreciation for Mark’s work “I am disappointed that I will not get to
continue to work with Mark, but excited for him that he has this
wonderful opportunity that came from his great work with us over the
past two years. While we face great financial challenges as we go
forward, Mark has helped build and establish a much better process to
address those challenges.” According to City Administrator, Kelly
Madding, the City is not in a rush to replace Welch. “We have extremely
competent staff in Finance, so the City is in great shape. We can take
our time to determine our needs and find another great fit for the
Community, and one who shares Mark’s desire for fiscal stability and
transparency.” Mark is committed to helping the City through the current
budget process and will finish sometime in May.
