Although Michelle Greis has been with the city for five months, she has been tapped as the new finance director once Russ Carolus retires at the end of this week.

The 35-year-old Springboro High School and Wright State University graduate will be the interim finance director starting next week and has been tapped to be the permanent director, pending City Council approval, this spring once Carolus exhausts some unused vacation days.

Going from a newly hired assistant finance director to the presumptive new finance director in a matter of months is “exciting” and appreciates the respect from City Manager Judy Gilleland.

“To me it’s a great compliment that she sees that in me and says, ‘Michelle can do this and do well at it,’ ” Greis said. “Obviously there’s always a lot to learn, but with any job there’s always stuff to learn.”

Gilleland called Greis ” a very bright individual” and “well-qualified.”

“It’s great that we were able to have a succession plan in place which will allow a seamless operation in our finance department,” she said.

Greis came to the city near the end of the 2013 budgeting process, and will continue to learn how each department interacts with the finance department. She doesn’t see any issues or challenges with a slowly improving economy and governments now having adjusted to the recent significant state financial cuts.

“I think the city’s going in a good direction,” she said.

Greis spent the last dozen years reviewing government and not-for-profit budgets, working first in the public sector for the Ohio State Auditor’s office for four years, and then in the private sector for two Cincinnati accounting firms over the past eight years.

She began her professional relationship with the city in 2005 when she performed an audit. After the assistant finance director position opened, Carolus reached out to Greis, who thought, “Maybe now is a time for a change. Time to move on.”

Carolus said Greis has “exhibited toughness and fairness” in the audits she’s performed.

“She wasn’t afraid to write us up when we did wrong, and you look for someone like that,” he said. “She has a lot of experience in knowing what not to do, and in our world knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do.”

Carolus ends on Friday his three-decade tenure working for the city of Middletown.

”I have tried to serve Middletown to the best of my ability,” he said. “When you work for a city for 30 years, part of your blood is in that city.”

He is grateful for all of his co-workers in the city, and many others who he has worked with over the years.

“Being a public servant these days is pretty much a thankless job, but one that is highly rewarding when we make people’s lives better,” Carolus said.