North Miami budget director picked for deputy manager job

North Miami has selected a new deputy city manager after operating for two months without formal backup for manager Aleem Ghany.

Ghany selected his current budget director, Arthur Sorey, to take over the position that was vacated when Lumane Claude resigned from the job in May.

Claude had worked in the city for about 11 years and was previously the city’s chief of staff before being promoted to deputy manager.

“Like all the other appointments I have made during my tenure as city manager, this one is based on merit,” Ghany said in a statement.

Sorey has served with the city in various roles since 2003. He initially worked as the budget analyst for the parks and recreation department. In recent years, he has overseen the budget process and served as a coordinator for the the city’s community redevelopment agency, assisting Ghany in restructuring the CRA’s leadership.

“I’m honored and excited to embark on this new journey and hope to take the city of North Miami to new heights,” Sorey said.

His father, Arthur “Duke” Sorey, became the city’s first African-American council member when he represented District 4 from 1995 to 1999. Sorey said he learned from his dad’s time in office and it inspired his decision to study public administration in college and to pursue a career in city government.

“It was always my goal to be at the top of leadership in North Miami and to give back through public service like my dad did,” Sorey said.

Sorey will continue to make the primary decisions in the next few months as the city plans for next year’s budget, since the plans for who will take over as budget director have not been finalized. Budget administrator Terry Henley has handled most of the day-to-day operations for the department.

“I’m still actually at my seat in the budget office working on the budget,” Sorey said.

This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 3:56 PM with the headline "North Miami budget director picked for deputy manager job."