The Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) today announced that  President Carol Kellermann will be stepping down from her position around the end of 2018, once a successor has been identified. CBC’s Executive Committee will now form a search committee to begin identifying candidates who can further advance CBC’s mission and role as New York’s leading agent of fiscal accountability.

To ensure a smooth transition, CBC also announced the nomination of Walter Harris to become Chair beginning January 1, 2019. Harris, who currently serves on the CBC Executive Committee, would succeed Chair Ed Skyler, whose term expires at the end of the year. Harris’s nomination will be submitted to the trustees for election this week.

“New leadership leads to fresh thinking, and I have no doubt CBC will continue to thrive under its next president,” said CBC President Carol Kellermann. “I look forward to assisting the search committee and assuring a smooth transition.”

“Carol Kellermann has been an outstanding leader of CBC for the past 10 years, and we have been very lucky to have her,” said CBC Chair Ed Skyler. “Under her leadership, CBC has expanded the number of trustees and cemented its standing as the leading voice for city and state fiscal responsibility. Walter will make an excellent Chair. He is committed to CBC’s mission and he, along with CBC’s future president and skilled and knowledgeable staff, will continue to hold New York government accountable.”

“I am honored to be nominated as CBC’s next Chair,” said Walter Harris. “At a time when government resources continue to become more constrained and federal laws hinder our state’s economic competitiveness, the Citizens Budget Commission’s mission has never been more important. It has been great to work alongside Carol and Ed throughout their tenure at CBC. I look forward to building on the foundation they’ve laid alongside the incoming President and the talented team of staff already in place.”

Walter Harris currently serves as an At-Large member on the CBC Executive Committee. He has been a member of the Executive Committee for nearly 14 years, serving two terms as Vice Chair from 2010 to 2015, and has been a CBC Trustee since 2001. As Co-chair of the Budget Policy Committee for the last six years, Walter has played a key role in developing CBC positions on city and state fiscal issues.

Outside of his role at CBC, Walter is an insurance industry veteran with more than 30 years of insurance, legal, and tax experience. He is President and CEO of FOJP Service Corporation and also serves as President and CEO of Hospitals Insurance Company (HIC). He was previously a senior advisor to The Related Companies and was also Vice Chairman emeritus of Alliant Insurance Services, Inc., one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the country.