After 14 years living in Juneau, including four leading the city’s finance department, City and Borough of Juneau finance director Jeff Roger announced his plans to depart from his position sometime this summer.
“It’s 99.9% personal,” Rogers said in an interview with the Empire Friday evening. “I’m super sad to leave Juneau — it’s been the best job I ever had and it’s been an honor and pleasure to work with CBJ.”
Rogers said he has yet to choose a firm date of resignation, but said he wanted to give the city enough time to find the right fit to replace him along with staying through the coming budget process.
He said he doesn’t know what’s next for him in his career, but said he isn’t planning on staying in Juneau and is thinking about moving to a bigger city somewhere in the Pacific Northwest.
“I’ve been in Alaska for 14 years and I’ve stayed and stayed and stayed, and I feel like life is pulling me elsewhere and I’m excited for a new chapter,” he said. “I still love Juneau and want to be connected with this community, and I’m open to coming back.”
City Manager Rorie Watt said CBJ plans to begin open recruitment for his position sometime next week.
“We love working with Jeff, we love working with him as finance director — he’s done so much for us,” Watt said. “He’s leaving big shoes behind, but change is a normal thing so we’re just going to have to figure out how to find the next best finance director we can.”
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.
