Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman announced today that Jim Beauchamp will be the new budget officer, starting on July 22. Mr. Beauchamp has a strong background in finance, accounting, economics, and government operations.
“Jim Beauchamp has the knowledge, skills and expertise to lead our talented budget team into the future,” said County Executive Pittman. “He is everything we were looking for in a budget officer, and I’m pleased to bring him onto our team.”
Mr. Beauchamp currently provides consulting services in financial modeling, management accounting, financial reporting and operations analysis. In addition, he has served as acting Public Works Director for the City of Annapolis and is currently the President of the three-member Town Council for Centreville (Queen Anne’s County) where he most recently ushered in a $4.9 million budget. His council term ends in October, and earlier today he abruptly withdrew from the race for re-election stating, “I am proud of what we accomplished, and although there are things I would still like to do with and for the town, I want to dedicate my efforts to performing well in this new capacity in a focused manner.”
“I am excited about the opportunity to contribute my experience to support Anne Arundel County,” said Mr. Beauchamp. “I look forward to working with the budget office team to continue the high quality work they are doing for the county.”
Assistant Budget Officer Jessica Leys was appointed acting budget officer on January 1, after long-time county budget officer John Hammond retired on December 31. Ms. Leys successfully led the budget office during budget deliberations, and the County Council passed the fiscal year 2020 budget on June 14. Ms. Leys’s status as acting budget officer expired on July 2 after six months, in accordance with the county charter. Assistant Budget Officer Hujia Hasim is now serving as acting budget officer until July 22, when Mr. Beauchamp starts his new position.
“I’d like to thank Jessica Leys for the tremendous job that she and her talented staff of budget analysts performed during the past several months,” said County Executive Pittman. “I am proud of the FY20 budget; it couldn’t have happened without the dedication and expertise of the budget staff. I am also thankful that Hujia Hasim stepped up to lead the office during this critical period of transition.”
