By CHRIS JACKETT
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK – After more than two months without a finance director, Tim McCurley will over that role for the city starting tomorrow.
McCurley, 53, retired from the same position with the city of Wayne on Wednesday in order to take the finance director position with Allen Park, which was vacated July 19 when Kim Kleinow left to become Grosse Pointe’s finance director and treasurer.
“Because I’m eligible to retire from (Wayne),” McCurley said Tuesday of his decision to take the Allen Park job, “my wife and I discussed if we wanted to retire for good. I’m just not one to stay retired. I love what I do.”
The Canton Township resident has a long history in local governments since graduating from Central Michigan University in 1979 with a bachelor of science in business administration. He worked for a public accounting firm for five years as a certified public accountant before taking a job as deputy finance director in Canton in 1984.
McCurley then followed his boss in a move to Westland as city budget director (later finance director) before taking a finance director job with Milan and then spending the past seven years in Wayne.
McCurley said he’s looking forward to his new position, but that Allen Park and Wayne already have one big similarity: Both are dealing with Ford Motor Co.’s self-imposed tax decreases. Allen Park would lose $140,000 annually, and Wayne would lose $2.2 million.
“Allen Park is better off than Wayne. It’s put a burden on Allen Park, just not as major,” McCurley said. “I’ve looked at their audits and budgets and discussed it with the mayor and city administrator.
“We’ll be working on it when I get there. There are no expectations other than to help them through these tough times.”
A four-sport student-athlete from Quincy High School, about 40 miles southwest of Jackson, McCurley said he still enjoys staying active during nonwork hours.
“Most of my free time is golf and swimming, and doing things around the house,” he said.
(Contact Chris Jackett at [email protected])