Guilford County names Kimberly Slusher interim chief financial officer

Guilford County has put Kimberly Slusher in charge of its finance office at a moment when the next 90 days will shape the county’s budget, tax bills and spending plan for the coming year. Slusher became interim chief financial officer effective June 18, giving the county a finance leader with years of inside experience as commissioners prepare to resolve a property-tax delay and adopt a revised budget.

Slusher had already been serving as deputy director of finance since 2020, so the move keeps the office in the hands of someone who knows the county’s operations, reporting needs and internal deadlines. County Manager Victor Isler pointed to her financial judgment and stewardship, and the county said she brings more than 24 years of experience in local government and public education finance.

Her background reaches well beyond Guilford County government. Before joining the county, Slusher was chief financial officer for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and fiscal director for Guilford Child Development. She also spent 13 years in Wythe County, Virginia, where she held finance leadership roles for both the county and the county schools. Slusher also serves as vice president of the Women in Public Finance North Carolina chapter.

The appointment matters because Guilford County’s finance team is working through a major reset tied to Senate Bill 889, the state legislation that delayed updated property values. The county said the bill passed the North Carolina General Assembly on June 10 and was awaiting Gov. Josh Stein’s review on June 17. The county also said it would pause the planned June 18 budget adoption and instead schedule a special meeting by Tuesday, June 30, to adopt a budget ordinance under state law.

That makes the CFO role central to the county’s daily financial mechanics, from cash and debt management to financial reporting, general accounting and purchasing. Guilford County’s finance department says it operates under North Carolina’s Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act, the law that governs how local governments manage public money and balance their books. The county’s budget materials had listed a fiscal year 2027 schedule that included a May 7 presentation from the county manager, a June 4 public hearing and adoption before June 30.

The stakes are high. Local reporting has put the county’s budget gap at $83.7 million, while the county manager’s proposed 2026-27 general fund budget stood at $935 million. WUNC reported that the reappraisal delay could also take as much as $58 million out of the Guilford County Schools budget for 2026-27. With those numbers hanging over Greensboro and the rest of Guilford County, Slusher’s appointment signals continuity in a finance shop that now has to keep the county’s books steady while elected leaders decide how to close the gap.