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Berke Attila

Chief of Fiscal and Strategic Management Office
City of Baltimore, Department of General Services

Berke Attila was a newly hired budget analyst with Baltimore in 2011 when he used his analytical skills to help the Department of General Services improve its fleet modernization plan.

“The result was a new fleet financing plan that has replaced more than half of the city’s vehicles in three years, cut maintenance and fuel costs by millions of dollars, and freed up a $30 million sinking fund balance for new investments in street resurfacing, recreation centers and information technology,” he said.

Attila earned a bachelor’s degree in 2001 in materials science and engineering from Yildiz Technical University in his native Turkey, a Master of Business Administration in 2004 from the University of Baltimore and expects to graduate in 2019 from an Executive Education program at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University. He also completed city training on Lean Business Process Improvements in 2017.

Attila said he has benefitted from having great leaders and mentors, and as a manager, is easily accessible and always available to guide others.

“I consider myself a new breed of a public servant who recognizes that the solution to underperforming city services is usually not more money, but more thought about how to make better use of existing resources,” he said. “I am able to take complex tasks and break them down to allow my staff to learn and grow, empowering them to own a project and take the lead. I also try to make sure to share the limelight, putting my teammates in front of top brass to showcase their newly developed talents and successes.”

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