County’s new
finance officer
says she’s here
for the citizens
On Jan. 1, Melissa Burton took her seat as Sampson County’s finance officer, filling the vacancy left with David Clack’s retirement.
Burton is no stranger to Sampson County, having worked in a role under Clack for over 24 years, and the Sampson resident brings an optimism and determination to her new role.
That determination is a trait learned growing up.
“I was a military brat. My father was in the Army,” said Burton of her childhood. “I spent time in Germany, but I grew up mostly in Fayetteville.”
After college, where she majored in accounting, Burton worked for a moving and storage company, and then a furniture company. She said her bosses pushed her to be more involved in the daily operations, handling financials, and getting experience in leadership.
Then fate intervened.
“I had lost my job,” said Burton. “I worked at a furniture store and they restructured, and I suddenly found myself unemployed at that time.”
Having lived in Sampson County since 1998, in 2000 she started working for Sampson County government as a senior finance technician, which she did for 12 years before becoming an internal auditor for the county for a couple of years, and then moving into the role as deputy finance officer for a decade.
Her longevity with Sampson County shows her love for her job. As Burton explains herself, “I enjoy coming to work every morning,” she said. “We’ve always had such a good staff between finance, human resources and administration — it’s a good team environment.”
But Burton wasn’t promoted to the role, she had to apply for the position like everyone else. After she interviewed with Sampson County Commissioner Chairman Allen McLamb, and Commissioner Lethia Lee, she was hired as the most qualified candidate for the role. She’s in an environment that she is already accustomed to at the county.
“That’s important for me, too, because I wouldn’t want the job just because of my position,” she added, noting her intentions of being hired for her work record.
Moving from deputy finance officer to finance officer has been somewhat similar, but it has its differences, Burton noted.
“It’s a lot busier,” she said of the new role. “I thought I had a lot before, ” she laughed. “But the phone calls and emails increased significantly.”
Burton isn’t the only new face in the administration office, or at least in a new position, Dinorah Lopez-Henriquez was hired to fill Burton’s former position, as deputy finance officer.
“I’m looking forward to see how our new staff works together, compared to how things have gone in previous years,” she noted, mentioning the county is now beginning its ‘budget season’ which starts in late January and goes until the fiscal plan is approved by June 30.
But then July begins tax season, she stressed. “So we begin tax season after budget season, which continues until early January.
“From an accounting perspective, you have to record your revenue when it’s earned and expenses when it occurred, so July is a busy time for us,” explained Burton. “And that process leads up to being prepared for the audit, which varies from the end of October to the end of November.”
The new finance officer said she enjoys finance and feels this is the pinnacle for her. She hopes to continue in this role until retirement. She also hopes to have a more transparent understanding with the residents of Sampson County.
“I really just want to work to the best of my ability for the citizens of Sampson County, for everything to be open and be a clerk to the public so they feel like they’re part of the government.”
She is settling into her new office space surroundings, which was Clack’s former office, “It’s kind of hectic ” she laughed, but said she is adapting to the new feel and surroundings.
She had some advice to share with anyone looking to go into accounting.
“Make sure it’s something you enjoy; accounting is a very singular type job in the private sector, so make sure you enjoy working alone. But there are other avenues related to accounting, and anyone interesting in pursuing finance and accounting should consider looking into all avenues, such as government.”
Burton said for fun she likes to go with her family to the beach jeep access at Fort Fisher. She also enjoys reading and doing puzzles, listening to music and spending time with family.