MEGAN N KILGORE
Megan Kilgore is the Auditor for the City of Columbus. She is the first woman to ever hold the position for the nation’s 14th most populous city and can be credited with leading Columbus through one of its greatest challenges – the worst public health and economic crisis in a generation.
As Auditor, her office moved quickly to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, offering resources to small businesses and working families, while advising other City leaders on tough decisions to adjust for revenue loss while maintaining essential services. The City of Columbus, consistently viewed by Wall Street as a sound investment because of its pristine credit, emerged from the crisis with its finances in order and the highest level of reserves in the City’s history. Because of Kilgore’s leadership and pragmatic financial forecasting, no City layoffs or furloughs were imposed during the pandemic and the City still managed to close its books faster than any other large municipality in the country.
Since 2018, Kilgore has managed the City’s offices of income tax, financial reporting, debt management, accounting and operations, payroll services, and financial systems. As City Auditor, she oversees a nearly $5 billion debt portfolio, $2 billion investment portfolio and administers the collection of approximately a billion dollars in revenue every year.
Kilgore is nationally recognized as a leader in the public finance industry, receiving “Rising Star” awards from The Bond Buyer magazine and the Women in Public Finance. As a result of her prudent fiscal management practices, Columbus has maintained the highest possible AAA national credit rating throughout her tenure, which means record low interest rates, millions in savings for everyday taxpayers, the respect of Wall Street, and the esteem of local governments all over the country.
Prior to elected office, Kilgore was a municipal advisor, helping cities, counties, school districts and economic development districts all over the country navigate complicated financing transactions. However, she got her start in public finance in the same office she now leads, working for her mentor and predecessor, long-time Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian. Kilgore spent the first decade of her career learning the intricacies of Columbus’ finances from Dorrian, eventually working her way up to becoming his right-hand as deputy auditor.
Kilgore is a founder of the Ohio Women in Public Finance group and believes women belong in all industries previously dominated by men, like politics and public finance, because she understands the economic impact that disproportionate representation has on nearly every facet of government and life. A champion of equal pay, the leadership team in her office is comprised of a majority of women, skilled CPAs and public servants, assisting in Kilgore’s big agenda for City Hall – to rebuild a City, and an economy, stronger and fairer than ever before.
A fierce advocate for social and economic equity, Kilgore is also the first LGBTQ woman to ever be elected to the Columbus executive branch and has received numerous awards for her leadership in using economic policies to advance the public good. A native of Southeastern Ohio, Kilgore speaks often about the cost of inequality and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences around the country, proudly representing Columbus - the City she has called home for more than two decades. She also shares her expertise as an adjunct professor at her alma mater, the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University, teaching a graduate-level course in public finance.
Kilgore earned a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from Northwestern University.