CHICAGO — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels this week reorganized the state’s Office of Management and Budget, appointing public finance director Ryan Kitchell to replace outgoing director Charles Schalliol, while also tapping OMB general counsel Chris Ruhl to serve as budget director.
Cris Johnston, who runs the government efficiency and financial planning group within OMB, will replace Kitchell as public finance director. He will also serve as chief executive of the Indiana Finance Authority.
“Gov. Daniels has brought the state back to fiscal solvency by operating state government more efficiently, but there are still more gains to be had. To that end, Chris Ruhl will be focused on limiting state spending using budget agency controls while I work closely with all agencies under the OMB umbrella to find efficiency gains through better coordination and integration,” Kitchell said in a statement issued Monday.
Previously, Schalliol served as both head of OMB and budget director. The changes took effect Friday. OMB oversees the Budget Agency, the Division of Government Efficiency, the IFA, several retirement funds, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Local Government Finance, and the State Board of Accounts.
Daniels also intends to include the Department of Administration under an executive order. Kitchell has managed the state’s debt since shortly after Daniels’ election in 2004. He crafted the state financing for the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where the National Football League’s Colts play, and development of the $3.8 billion lease of the Indiana Toll Road.
He previously worked in various corporate treasury and controllership roles at Eli Lilly and Co. and was a research associate for the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute.
Ruhl will remain as general counsel and policy director in OMB, and add management of the state’s budget to his list of duties.
Ruhl was an attorney at Baker & Daniels LLP before taking the OMB job in 2005. Johnston will also continue to manage the government efficiency group while taking on the added responsibilities of public finance director and running the IFA.
He previously was a partner at Crowe Chizek and Company LLC, where he worked for 13 years before joining OMB in 2005. Schalliol announced his resignation to return to the private sector last month.
The General Assembly this past spring adopted a balanced $26 billion operating budget for the fiscal biennium that begins July 1. Moody’s Investors Service changed its outlook to stable from negative last summer on the state’s Aa1 underlying issuer credit rating. Standard & Poor’s raised its issuer credit rating to AA-plus from AA early in 2006 and boosted its lease obligation debt rating to AA from AA-minus. Fitch Ratings rates the state’s lease-backed debt AA.
