Though Jefferson County, Ala.'s advertisement for a chief financial officer remains posted on the website, the county's new CFO started working last week.
George Tablack, 55, reports to county manager Tony Petelos. Tablack will earn $180,000 a year. He formerly was the administrator for Mahoning County in Youngstown, Ohio. Over the course of 24 years, he also served as the county's budget director and auditor, according to the Youngstown News.
In May 2011, Mahoning County commissioners decided not to renew Tablack's contract. They recently replaced the administrator's position with a director of office management and budget.
Jefferson County filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history last November with more than $4 billion of debt. Tablack, in an interview with the Birmingham News, called the financial situation "daunting."
"The seriousness of our goals ahead are what we need to stay focused on," he told the paper. "It's eating an elephant one bite at a time. Sooner or later you get the whole elephant."
Tablack replaces Jeff Hager, who was hired from the private sector in mid-2010 as the county's first CFO.
Hager later became finance director but details surrounding that job change are unknown. He resigned in December and county commissioners began a nationwide search for a new CFO earlier this year.
