Pi Alpha Alpha to honor John Troyer

Former county Finance Director John Troyer

The University of Tennessee's Political Science Scholastic Honor Society (Pi Alpha Alpha) in conjunction with the East Tennessee Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration will honor former Knox County Finance Director John Troyer as its “Public Administrator of the Year.”

The ceremony will take place at 11:30 a.m. today in the Toyota Room of the Howard Baker Center.

Troyer left last spring to take a job with the city of Alcoa to serve as its finance director. At the time he said it was a lower-profile position and he didn't have to deal with the media as much. Also, city government is more straightforward.

Former county Mayor Mike Ragsdale tapped Troyer to serve as head county bean counter after then-finance director John Werner resigned in July 2007 amid a furor over the improper use of purchasing cards by employees in the mayor's office.

Before that, Troyer, a certified public accountant, served as the county comptroller for six years. He also worked as a finance director for the city of Bartlett, Tenn., and for Blount County.