By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Erie County Executive Joel Giambra has appointed James Hartman as the county's new budget director.
Hartman succeeds Kenneth Vetter, who left the administration for a post with the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority. Hartman has spent the past year first as interim county comptroller and then as Giambra's director of management initiatives.
Hartman says his first challenge is making sure the county ends 2005 with a balanced budget. He says for now, the county is on target to do so. The next challenge, Hartman says, is closing a projected budget gap for 2007.
Hartman says he hopes to close the gap by not raising taxes but quickly adds it's too soon for him to make any promises.
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