Contact Us
Kenneth Hartlage, MS, CPA, CMA
Finance Administrator
Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
Office of Management and Budget
700 2nd Avenue South, Suite 201
Nashville, Tennessee 37210
Phone: (615) 862-6120
Fax: (615) 880-2800
Strategic Management Team Who’s Who
Kenneth Hartlage, MS, CPA, CMA
Ken joined OMB in November 2004. Prior to coming to Nashville, he co-led the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina’s strategic planning program, including the development and implementation of methodologies to cost city services resulting in the elimination of a structural budget deficit. He also oversaw budget activity and provided financial guidance to city departments. Ken has worked with the Field Division of the U.S. Census Bureau, where he led the team which designed the division’s Oracle based operations management system, and designed a scorecard for performance management.
Ken received a Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Lake Forest College. He holds a Masters of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant
Rebekah Stephens
Rebekah Stephens is the Coordinator of Strategic Business Plan development for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Since coming to the OMB in 2004, she has been an integral part of the government’s Managing for Results initiative, assisting in the creation and implementation of 37 Departmental Strategic Business Plans. Rebekah led the implementation of a centralized, web-based performance data collection and reporting system. She is the lead facilitator for Strategic Business Plan development.
In partnership with the Department of Human Resources, Rebekah designed and delivered training to provide managers performance improvement tools.
Prior to joining the OMB, she worked in the Metro Nashville’s Department of Law. Her primary responsibility was determining liability in claims made against the Metropolitan Government.
Rebekah is a member of the Association of Government Accountants, and a nationally recognized speaker in the field of strategic planning and performance management. Rebekah received a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University.
William Tharp
William Tharp is a Strategic Management Coordinator at Nashville Metropolitan Government Dept. of Finance/OMB. He previously served as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Ochs Center. His recent work includes an ICMA study of Performance Measurement in the City of Durham, North Carolina, a strategic assessment of the River City Company in Chattanooga, Tennessee, an analysis of the economic impact of a proposed coal burning power plant in Early County, Georgia, and a review of the economic benefits of the May Town Center development in Nashville Tennessee. Prior to joining the Ochs Center, William was a Finance Officer at Nashville Metropolitan Government Dept. of Finance/OMB. He holds his Ph. D. in Urban Affairs from the University of Louisville and has taught as an adjunct at Vanderbilt, the University of Louisville and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.