Haverhill Hires its First Female Chief Financial Officer; Wills Comes From Amesbury

Angel Wills, Haverhill’s chief financial officer. (Courtesy photograph.)

Angel Wills, Amesbury’s chief financial officer since 2019, will become Haverhill’s first female finance chief when she takes over next month.

She succeeds longtime CFO and Auditor Charles “Chuck” Benevento, who is retiring at the end of this month. Wills, who begins on a part-time basis while transitioning from her current job, will earn an annual salary of $140,000.

“She is going to help us make our city budgets and spending priorities even more open and transparent, improving communication with the public and city councilors while increasing community involvement,” said Mayor James J. Fiorentini. “She was very highly recommended by everyone we talked to, and I am very much looking forward to working with her.”

Fiorentini said Wills played a significant role in Amesbury in developing and presenting transparent and easy-to-understand public budget presentations. She also has experience overseeing federal COVID-19 relief aid and programs. As an example, she secured and directed CARES Act money to support remote learning in the local school district. Wills also recently worked with school officials to merge city and school human resources and payroll departments to improve efficiency and save money.

Prior to taking Amesbury top finance position, Wills was finance director for the town of Tyngsborough from 2016 to 2019 and finance director for the Town of Wenham from 2014 to 2016. She was accountant for the Town of Newbury from 2007 to 2014.

Wills holds a bachelor’s in Business Administration from Emmanuel College in Boston and a graduate certificate in accounting from Southern New Hampshire University. She is a certified fraud examiner and certified Massachusetts School Business Administrator and holds several additional certificates in accounting and public purchasing.

“During my employment, I have been dedicated to becoming an expert in the field of government finance,” Wills said on her resume. “I have continuously worked to improve operations under my direction such as advocating for strong financial frameworks, supporting long-term fiscal planning, leveraging available resources and utilizing clear and relevant communications to engage and inform stakeholders.”

Among other duties, Haverhill’s CFO plays a leading role in helping the mayor craft the city’s annual budget, monitors the city’s financial books throughout the year and files year-end reports with the state. The position tracks city borrowing and makes regular reports to credit rating agencies in an effort to maintain Haverhill’s strong bond rating.

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