MONROE, Ga. — Porterdale found its next city clerk just up the road.

Linda Hanna, currently the chief financial officer of Walton County, will be the next city clerk beginning March 16.

“It is quite an achievement for a small community like Porterdale to hire a person of Ms. Hanna’s skill sets and level of experience,” Mayor Arline Chapman said.

“This hire is, without a doubt, a most important step forward in boosting Porterdale’s future development.”

The city said it has signed a contract with Hanna, who lives in Covington and serves on the Newton County Solid Waste Authority.

Hanna has more than 20 years of experience in local government and finance. In her current role as CFO, Walton County has earned the Government Financial Officers Association Certificate of Achievement for Financial Reporting for fiscal years 2011-18, the most recent year available.

The county recently received a clean audit, and auditors noted their appreciation for the county finance department’s cooperation and transparency.

“City staff are counting the days until Ms. Hanna comes on board,” interim City Manager Robert Witcher said in a statement.

“We all know that we are going to learn a lot from her. This is going to positively impact all of our departments and operations in the coming months.”

Hanna has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and two master’s degrees from East Tennessee State University. She is a certified government finance officer and a certified mediator. She is on the board of Newton County Community Partnership.

Hanna is a native of East Lansing, Michigan. She came to the Walton County government in 2007 after serving as assistant finance director for the city of Covington. She took over after the previous finance director was dismissed by the Board of Commissioners and an out-of-town accounting firm was used to manage finances in the wake of an unfavorable audit.

Longtime Porterdale City Clerk Megan Reid resigned in April 2019 for the same position in Stonecrest.

City Manager Bob Thomson resigned in August after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation began looking into allegations of forgery. At the time of his resignation, the city had fallen into arrears with the Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority and with the city of Covington on utilities.

Chapman was reelected to a third term without opposition in November.