MEDICAL LAKE – Koss Ronholt has been named the finance director for the city of Medial Lake. He may be new to the position, but he’s a familiar face in town, having lived in Medical Lake since he was 4 years old.
Ronholt said his longevity helped motivate him to accept the job.
“The idea of being a finance director is definitely what I was building up to,” he said. “I finished my four-year degree in Accounting and Business while I was working for the city of Cheney. Right around that time I was speculating what type of jobs to go for. Initially, I wanted to be a state auditor so I could build up a diverse understanding of local governments, which has been extremely helpful in this position.”
Having over eight years of financial and management experience, Ronholt has worked for several regional agencies. The 27-year-old described how he accumulated that experience at a reasonably young age.
“For the last eight months I was a state auditor and before that I was working for the city of Cheney in the Finance Department where I learned a lot about local government and how things work in a finance office,” Ronholt said. “Before that I was working for Umpqua Bank, and managed the local Subway for three and a half years.”
Ronholt said that his main objectives moving into the position are straightforward.
“My number one goal is financial health for the city—just making sure the office is run correctly and public funds are secured, and making sure none of the funds are mishandled,” he said. We might need to build on the internal controls of the office and get a couple of things squared away, and that will leak into the overall financial health and well-being of the city.”
According to an April 25 press release, Mayor Terri Cooper appointed Ronholt as part of an effort to bring together a team that can deliver quality services to Medical Lake residents.
“As our state and region face great challenges and opportunities, a smart unified team is imperative,” Cooper said.
Interim Deputy Administrator Katy Allen said she is also confident in Ronholt’s skills and abilities.
“We need broad yet professional perspectives,” Allen said. “Koss is simply a great fit for this job with the skills and experience he brings.
“The position was vacant for six weeks and this is a very important job to have filled. “But Medical Lake is fortunate because our revenues are strong, our reserves are strong, and we don’t have any debt we’re aware of. That’s a really good place for the city to be.”
Allen said getting the office up to current standards with documentation and policies is a top priority.
“Document control and the handling of cash can be automated, which will make the office more efficient,” she said. “It will also help us be more accountable and transparent to the public regarding services costs.”
Ronholt and Allen agree that the main steps moving forward are simply getting the office restructured to run more efficiently and not introducing any sudden significant changes.
The new finance director is confident and ready to show the city what he can do to serve them.
“I am very optimistic going in because I love a challenge,” Ronholt said.
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