ARLINGTON — Kristin Garcia is still settling into her new job as finance director for Arlington, but she already sees a city that weathered the worst of the recession and is poised to take advantage of a promising economy.

“Arlington held steady and did well,” Garcia said. “This city did what it needed to do at the time, and now it has the potential to move forward in a positive way within the next year or two.”

Garcia has experience at evaluating state, county and local governments, since she performed financial statement and accountability audits for the state Auditor’s Office until 2006, when she joined the Port of Skagit as its director of finance and administration. There she developed and managed the annual report, the operating and capital budgets, debt and cash management, general oversight of all accounting, and audit and finance functions. She also served as risk manager, human resource director and manager of marina operations.

“After nine years, I was looking for a new challenge,” Garcia said. “Obviously, coming from a municipality that wasn’t dependent on tax revenue, I’m paying attention to how the property and sales taxes are affecting Arlington’s cash flow. I’m very conscious of the importance of the housing market and retail growth to our economic development.”

Having grown up in Skagit Valley, Garcia sees north Snohomish County as very much like home. Although her first day was June 1, she’s already diving in to make sure she understands what drives the revenues and expenditures for each of the city’s funds, to ensure she’ll be ready for the start of the budget process next month.

“I want to have a firm understanding of all the city’s departments,” Garcia said. “I want a big-picture perspective on all the city’s services. From there, I can get a better sense of our financial condition and where we’re headed.”

As a wife and mom with an interest in outdoor activities, Garcia is invested in her new community, and encourages citizens to come to her with concerns.

“I hope to get out into the community and engage the citizens in a proactive, transparent way,” Garcia said.