CHICAGO -- Michigan Budget Director John Nixon is leaving the state.
John Roberts, who is now Gov. Rick Snyder's deputy chief of staff, will become the state budget director, according to a report from the state news service MIRS.
Dave Behen, the state's chief information officer, will become the new director of the Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
Nixon is moving back to Utah, the triple-A rated state he left when he agreed to join Snyder's then-new administration in Michigan.
He will become the chief business officer at the University of Utah.
The move is "the best decision for the Nixon family," he told state employees in a letter, according to MIRS. "When I was recruited to be your director over three years ago, I was asked if I wanted to be part of the biggest state turnaround in history," Nixon wrote. "We have made tremendous progress toward that goal."
Nixon's departure comes two weeks after he and Snyder unveiled a $52 billion budget for 2015 and touted stronger-than-expected revenue surpluses as evidence of the state's comeback.
Snyder and Nixon repeatedly said one of their goals is winning back Michigan's triple-A credit rating.
Since Snyder took office, the state snagged an upgrade, last April, from Fitch Ratings to AA from AA-minus. Moody's Investors Service has affirmed its Aa2 rating and revised its outlook to positive from stable. Standard & Poor's also revised its outlook to positive, while affirming its AA-minus rating.
His last day will be Feb. 28.
Nixon marks one of the few examples of high-level turnover in the Snyder administration. Last fall, Treasurer Andy Dillon left amid personal scandals.
