The new year will bring a new face to the county administrative staff.

Anita Radcliffe joins Beaufort County government as its new finance director/chief financial officer for the county. She will replace outgoing CFO Mark Newsome on Jan. 11. Newsome announced his resignation last month.

Radcliffe comes to the county office from just down the street at the City of Washington, where she served as the city’s assistant finance director for over 15 years, according to Beaufort County Manager Brian Alligood.

Alligood said Newsome will be helping with Radcliffe’s transition into the role, as the county is currently wrapping up the year-end audit, with 2016-2017 budget planning right around the corner.

“That’s going to be the big focus then — we’re going right back into the budget,” Alligood said.

Radcliffe’s accounting degree from East Carolina University, state certification as a finance officer and her years of experience with the city means she is extremely knowledgeable about local government finance, according to Alligood.

“We hired the best candidate we could find,” Alligood said. “She’s got a work ethic that’s unmatched. In the time I worked with her, I never saw her miss a deadline. And she’s great at what she does.”

In her role as finance director/CFO for the county, Radcliffe will oversee the activities of the finance department including the accounting and reporting of revenues and expenditures for both the general fund and the enterprise funds, management of the county’s investment funds and preparation of the annual budget in conjunction with the county manager.

Radcliffe is a resident of Pinetown.