Heindel named Mat-Su Borough interim finance director

PALMER — Mat-Su Borough employee Cheyenne Heindel has been promoted to interim finance director, replacing 25-year finance director Tammy Clayton, whose last day was July 15, according to Borough Manager John Moosey.

“I have all the confidence in her and so does her staff,” Moosey said of Heindel. “We feel very fortunate we can turn to her.”

Clayton began working with the borough in 1991 as comptroller and was promoted to finance director in 1998.

Moosey said her departure had nothing to do with mismanagement of the funds or anything of the kind. He said he could not comment further on personnel matters.

“I think we’ve got an audit award consistently pretty much every year since she’s been finance director,” Moosey said of Clayton. “Her performance has been a big part of the borough the last 25 years, but moving forward, we have confidence in the team we have here that we can carry on and be successful.”

With Heindel in the interim role, Moosey said he plans to take a couple of months to review the position before making a long-term hiring decision, and in that time possibly reworking the duties of the finance department.

“It’s in line with a few things we want to to management-wise — a little reorganization,” Moosey said. “There’s been a big burden on the finance department, so we’re pulling some things out… Health insurance, workers comp, we’ll be putting those in HR (human resources) and I’ll be dealing directly with risk management; we’re bringing on a consultant to help me through that.”

At the time of her departure, Clayton was making an annual salary of $159,254, Moosey said.