Alexandria City Manager Philip Sunderland has named Bruce Johnson to be the new city budget director.
Johnson, who is currently the budget director for the Administrative Office of the U. S. Courts, oversees a budget of $5 billion. He also supervises a team of 35 people who are responsible for budget formulation and management for most of the federal judiciary.
Prior to assuming his current position in 1995, Johnson was the assistant director for statistics/budget issues in the U.S. General Accounting Office. In all, he has spent 27 years in federal government service.
Johnson does have some experience with the city’s budget and budget process. He has been a member of the City Council’s Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee (BFAAC) for the past seven years. Last year he was the committee's chair.
“BFAAC has given me an opportunity to become very familiar with the city’s budget process and to work with the staff,” Johnson said. “I am looking forward to this job because when was the last time a federal budget was passed on time? The city always gets its budget passed on time. It is clear to me that the federal budget process is broken, and I am looking forward to the change.”
In making the announcement, Sunderland said, “The City of Alexandria is fortunate in having a person of Bruce Johnson’s vast experience and skills joining the city staff. This, when combined with his passion for the city and making it an even better place to live and work, makes his hiring especially noteworthy.”
Johnson will assume his new responsibilities on Oct. 6.