State finance director budgets time to include family, fishing

When he's not crunching numbers and overseeing the state's budget office, Tony Hutchison would like to be calculating how to hook a fish.

Hutchison, named interim state finance director 13 months ago and named director in early February, is in charge of the agency that prepares the governor's budget and processes claims for payrolls and payment to vendors from most state agencies.

In addition, the state finance office has established a Web site that serves as the entry point for government services.

This past summer he and his wife visited what was her great grandfather's farm in Sweden; some relatives there took him trout fishing.

"That was the highlight of my summer,” Hutchison said.

Free time for fishing and other hobbies is rare this time of year, as the finance office meets with agency heads to hear budget requests and works with Gov. Brad Henry on preparing his budget for the 2008 fiscal year, which he will present to legislators in February.

When he gets free time, Hutchison said he spends it with his two daughters, Hannah, 15, and Emma, 12, and his wife, Jane Nelson, who is executive director of the Oklahoma Nurses Association.

He also likes to cheer on the Sooners football team.

He earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1981 and a master's degree in public administration in 1983 from the University of Oklahoma.

Hutchison, a native of El Reno, worked for six years as a policy and fiscal analyst for the state House of Representatives before leaving in 1987 to work for the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. After working there for six years, he went in 1993 to the Council of Governors' Policy Advisors in Washington.

He returned to Oklahoma and worked 12 years for the state Senate as director of economic research and later as chief operating officer. He joined the state finance office in 2005.

He served as deputy director, overseeing the agency's operations, which includes preparing revenue information for the state Board of Equalization; its members set the amount of money available for legislators each session.

The state finance office entails more than just preparing the state's budget, Hutchison said. It also includes:

•The Division of Central Accounting and Reporting, which reviews and processes claims for payrolls and payments to vendors from state agencies. The division also is responsible