Town Names New Municipal Finance Director

The town of Nantucket has hired Aleesha Nunley Benjamin as its new municipal finance director, succeeding former director Brian Turbitt in the town's Finance Department.

Nunley Benjamin has extensive experience in high-level municipal finance roles, including most recently as the Finance Director of Marblehead, Massachusetts. She has also worked in top positions in Littleton, Medford and Gloucester and has earned Government Finance Officers Association awards for excellence in budgeting and financial reporting.

“Ms. Nunley Benjamin is an accomplished municipal finance professional with nearly 20 years of experience in governmental accounting, budgeting, and financial management,” a town of Nantucket press release reads in part. “As the next Director of Municipal Finance, Ms. Nunley Benjamin will serve as the Town's senior financial advisor and will provide executive leadership for the Town’s accounting, treasury, collections, procurement, assessing, budgeting, debt management, capital planning, and financial reporting functions.”

Nunley Benjamin is set to join the town administration in September. Turbitt stepped down in April to take a position as the Chief Financial Officer of Framingham, but has continued to appear at local government meetings, including Annual Town Meeting.

Nunley Benjamin will join the town at a critical moment for Nantucket’s finances. The town maintains an impressive AAA credit rating, and has seen high revenue in recent years, but is currently in the process of prioritizing around a billion dollars in spending for major capital projects over the next decade.