State budget director Dan Villa will leave that position in about five weeks to become the next executive director of the Montana Board of Investments.
"My official start date is October 1st but I’m going to hit the finish line sprinting," says Villa.
The current executive director, David Ewer, told the Great Falls Tribune that he is retiring that same date, and that Villa will begin his new job at an annual salary of $195,000.
The board oversees the investment of about $18.5 billion in state funds, including insurance and pension funds.
Villa succeeded Ewer as state budget director in 2009 when Ewer took the Board of Investments job.
Villa has also played a key role representing the state in the Superfund consent decree negotiations for both Butte and Anaconda this year. He’ll be more involved in managing settlement funds, but will step back from the negotiations when he’s no longer budget director.
"I will be overseeing the dollars and doing the investing to get more interest earnings to have more dollars, but someone else in the Governor’s office will take over that role," says Villa.
Gov. Steve Bullock's staff said Wednesday that Villa had not yet submitted his resignation and a timeline for transitioning to the new job has not been set.
The governor's next two-year budget proposal will be unveiled in November.
