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PA’s longest-serving county controller to retire
Rachel Curry, Contributing Writer//December 17, 2025//
Alfred Whitcomb. PHOTO/ PROVIDED
PA’s longest-serving county controller to retire
Rachel Curry, Contributing Writer//December 17, 2025//
Listen to this articleAlfred Whitcomb, Cumberland County controller, is set to retire at the end of the year. With 40 years in the role, Whitcomb is the longest-tenured county controller—an elected financial watchdog—in Pennsylvania’s history.
During his time in the role, Whitcomb led Cumberland County through economic and regulatory changes. He’s known for strengthening Cumberland County’s financial stability, earning national and statewide recognition for responsible public management in the process. In 2000, Cumberland County became the only county in the state to successfully pass peer review by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The county has maintained its peer review certification every year since.
“It has been one of the great privileges of my life to serve the people of Cumberland County,” Whitcomb said in a release. “For 40 years, I have worked alongside dedicated public servants who care deeply about this county. I am proud of the systems we’ve built, the transparency we’ve championed and the trust we’ve maintained with taxpayers.”
During his tenure, Whitcomb led the modernization of financial reporting systems, improved internal audit processes and expanded public access to county financial information. He was one of Pennsylvania’s first to publish transparent annual reports and earned annual awards for outstanding achievement in financial reporting. Whitcomb also served as Treasurer of the Pennsylvania State Association of County Controllers for 28 years.
Whitcomb’s successor is the county’s current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Dana Best, who won the 2025 municipal election for the position and has worked under Whitcomb for 30 years. “I have full confidence that Dana is the right person to carry this important work forward and will hit the ground running from her first day in office,” Whitcomb said.
