The Daily News
By B. SCOTT McLENDON The Daily News
September 29, 2023

GALVESTON -Mike Loftin, the city’s finance director and assistant city manager since 2014, has announced he’s retiring effective Friday.

Loftin has served five cities during his 50-year career, including Houston, Shreveport, Louisiana, Pasadena, League City and Galveston, according to the city. Loftin’s career began in 1974 as an intern with Houston’s city controller where over time he earned promotions to the role of assistant director for finance, leading the preparation of the Houston city budget.

Galveston hired Loftin in 2014 to serve as the city’s director of finance. Loftin’s work helped the city pass a bond election, mitigate the financial impact of the pandemic and navigate the settlement of a major lawsuit that resulted from Hurricane Ike, all while assisting the leadership in strengthening its pension funds and financial reserves, according to the city.

“Mike not only wrote the book on government finance, he also took the time to teach and share it with others,” City Manager Brian Maxwell said. “He is a true professional in every aspect of governmental operations and finance.”

Loftin is regarded across the region and state as a municipal budget expert and has developed innovative sales tax models that explain this most volatile of all operating revenue sources for each local area city he has served, according to the city.

In addition to his career with local governments, he also taught the public budgeting class to students in the master’s in public administration program at the University of Houston from 1988 to 2015. There, he had a hand in training numerous future finance directors, including his successor in Galveston, Csilla Ludanyi.

Ludanyi will earn about $166,000 a year in her new role, according to the city.