Bloomington City Controller Jessica McClellan will step down from her role later in December, Mayor Kerry Thomson said in a press release Thursday.
Former Monroe County Councilmember Geoffrey McKim was appointed to take her place and will assume the role in mid-January.
The controller’s office helps manage the city’s budget and financials, assures its compliance with state and federal requirements and maintains records of its transactions. McClellan has served in the role since 2024, for all of Thomson’s tenure. She previously served as Monroe County treasurer from 2017-23 and unsuccessfully ran for Indiana treasurer in 2022.
“Managing the City’s finances is a complex and often invisible job, and Jessica has done it with clarity, transparency, and poise,” Thomson said in the release. “Bloomington is better for her service, and we are grateful for the foundation she leaves as she takes this next step in her career.”
McKim served on the Monroe County Council from 2009-24 and was the fiscal body’s president from 2010-14. He also taught information systems at Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs for nine years as an adjunct lecturer.
He currently works as a recreation fee program manager for the National Park Service and is an IU alumnus.
In the press release, Thomson said Bloomington was moving towards a more transparent budgeting system, which she referred to as ‘Outcomes-Based-Budgeting'.
The budgeting approach is described as one “that allocates resources based on the results a program or service is expected to achieve.”
“Geoff brings the analytical rigor and community-minded approach this work demands. He understands that every dollar we steward must advance the priorities our residents have identified,” Thomson wrote.
