Snoqualmie’s Chief Financial Officer, Nicholas Lee, formally resigned his position Thursday, Oct. 26, in a letter to city administrator Bob Larson.

Lee, who started with the city almost two years ago, will not be going far, though. He is taking on the role of finance director for the King County Library System, headquartered in Issaquah.

“As a proud graduate of Issaquah schools and a resident of Issaquah, this will be a good transition for me and my family,” he said Friday. The library system recently adopted a new strategic vision, he noted, and “It’s a really exciting time to kind of help operationalize those strategic plans….As sad as I am to leave the valley, I think I’ll still be serving the community, just with a broader brush.”

Lee will remain with the city of Snoqualmie through Nov. 30, and still has several goals to accomplish, he said, including completing a 2008 sewer plant bond refinancing to save the city’s sewer rate payers about $400,000.

This is the second refinancing that he’s overseen in his nearly two years with the city, he said. The first was for the city’s fire station bond, which saved tax payers about $120,000.

“We’ve been doing our best to save people money,” he said.

Lee is also looking ahead to the city’s 2018 budget, scheduled for adoption Dec. 11

“I also want to get through the budget deliberations with the council,” he said, and to help ensure a smooth transition for the next city finance director.

Lee’s transition to the King County Library System will mean an increase in budget and responsibility, but it’s not the largest budget he’s managed in his career, which included roles as a performance analyst for King County and the capital fund manager for the city of Bellevue.

City Administrator Bob Larson said the recruitment process for a new employee will take four to five months and in the interim the city will reach out to former Snoqualmie CFO Rob Orton to help with the role.