All about Oakridge’s new Finance Director, Melody Cornelius

On September 9, a committee organized by Oakridge City Administrator James Cleavenger announced the appointment of the city’s new Finance Director, Melody Cornelius. On September 19, Cornelius’ employment contract was officially approved by the City Council.

Cornelius will be replacing the former FD who quit in June. The resignation left the city with a rush to finish its fiscal year 2024-2025 budget that required the city to call in Eric Kytola, another previous FD, as an Interim to help finish leftover work before the budget deadline, who was then replaced by Cornelius.

Cornelius first came to Oregon after moving from Georgia to the town of Westfir with her family. “My husband and I wanted to raise our family in an area that was nature based and had a lot of outdoor activities,” said Cornelius. “We have two boys and so this was the area that we chose.”

After moving, she quickly found a place in the community as their City Recorder, which she served as from 2015-2019. She was responsible for making a number of fiscal improvements for Westfir, such as a consistently balanced budget and grants that helped improve the park area in town. “I found that all very interesting and challenging at the same time but also rewarding” said Cornelius. “It had a positive impact on the community.”

Her success in the position would eventually lead her to being elected as the Mayor of Westfir, which she served from 2021-2022. Though she had to leave her job in Westfir to recover after the loss of her husband, her appreciation for the community was strengthened further when they came together for her. “It made me stay, how the community really gathered to support me when that happened,” said Cornelius.

Now, she’s ready to give that support back and reenter the workforce as the Oakridge FD, with some goals in mind to help the city fiscally. “I would like to see the budget be a little bit clearer, have more transparency as far as what money is coming in, what money is going out, how it’s being used, and also seek out more funding and save money in more areas,” said Cornelius.

She also feels that next year’s budget process will be smoother than the last. “I think next year will be more comprehensive because I will have more time to prepare it,” said Cornelius. “I’m closely tracking how things are spent so that when the budget season comes up I’ll have a good grasp on where we’re headed.”