Sonoita’s gain is Maricopa’s loss; Fink to retire

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There are reasons to believe that, even after retiring from two full-time public service jobs, Debra Fink will be working again soon, but on her own turf and at her own pace.

Maricopa’s first public employee to retire from active service, Fink has only been at her job as customer service manager since April of 2004, but people around here know that means she’s lived – and worked – through a phenomenal period of growth that took the city’s population from 4,000 to more than 30,000.

Fink, whose boss, City Manager Rick Buss calls her “the epitome of humility and professionalism,” has plans that will take her and her husband, John, to their new home on 20 acres near Sonoita, in Arizona’s southeastern plains.

Fink had spent 31 years with the city of Tempe before she retired five years ago as a city planner for that community.

What exactly does she do?

It takes four full pages of the city’s job description to detail each aspect, but suffice it to say that she is the person standing behind the counter at city hall that is often the average citizen’s first official contact with the city. Her job, and that of her colleagues, is to answer questions, direct people to the right department, provide them with official forms and other documents, and to generally represent the city they serve in the most efficient and pleasant manner possible.

Bob Jackson, now mayor of Casa Grande and still working as Maricopa’s public works director, joined the Maricopa city payroll at about the same time as Fink. “She set the tone for everything and everyone that followed,” Jackson said. “She is the most customer-conscious public servant I’ve ever known.”

Hoping to interest Fink in an on-call “personal services” arrangement, Buss added that “her welcoming and gracious demeanor is what makes her special, as well as her innate drive for equality and fairness for those she works with and for those she serves. The city owes Debra an enormous debt of gratitude for her indispensable role in building the Development Services Department from the ground up. Debra is truly a very special person and will be sorely missed,” Buss said.

Five years ago, Fink and her husband started planning ahead for what they thought would be their final retirement. They gravitated toward southeastern Arizona, not far from Douglas, where John was born. They loved the vistas, the high desert atmosphere and the relatively uncrowded, unhurried pace of rural life.

They own 20 acres and are putting the finishing touches on what Debra Fink describes as a “prairie-style” home, complete with large doors on every side, with breathtaking views of at least four mountain ranges and the vineyards, grassy meadows and cienegas (springs) the area is known for. At 5,000 feet, the climate is similar to that of Sedona, Payson or Prescott.

Temporarily based in Ahwatukee, the Finks are counting off the days until the July date when he will retire from his job with the Salt River Project in Tempe. “We’re all packed,” Fink said.

To ease the transition from full-time employment to retiree status, Fink started working a part-time regimen a month ago, and lately has been seen at work only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

She was born in Follette, a tiny town in the Texas panhandle. Fink’s parents both taught school. “They knew how limiting some small towns can be in terms of opportunties,” she said, so they moved to Casa Grande when Debra was 13, affording her a deep familiarity with Pinal County, its people, its culture and how things get done.

Full of praise for her bosses and co-workers, as well as the people she has met and become friends with, Fink also focuses on her plans for that prairie house. “We’ll have a shed and a workshop for John,” she said. “He likes to make things out of wood, and we know he’ll need a ride-on mower to keep the weeds and grasses in tow.”

But she is looking forward, too, to maintaining her own garden and cooking meals for her two sons and a daughter and their families, including two grand-daughters, who live in Las Cruces, N.M. With their new home only 150 miles from Maricopa, the Finks are sure they will be able to keep in touch with old friends. “And we love to travel and to entertain,” she said.

“I can’t wait to play hostess at our new place. In fact,” she said, with a twinkle in her eyes, “I wouldn’t be surprised if some day, we turn that place into a bed and breakfast.”

Photo by Aaron Thacker