Palo Alto has appointed senior auditor Houman Boussina to head the City Auditor's Office while officials are looking for a permanent replacement for departing Jim Pelletier.

Pelletier announced last month that he will step down from his position as city auditor after 20 months to take a job in Florida. The position is one of four appointed by the City Council, along with city manager, city attorney and city clerk.

Boussina, a senior performance auditor, had joined the city in June 2010 and has been involved in audits involving contract management, the effectiveness of business processes and use of government funds, according to a city announcement. Before that, he served as performance auditor for the City of County of San Francisco, where he was promoted to audit manager before joining Palo Alto.

"During my three years at the Office of the City Auditor, I have enjoyed working with my Palo Alto colleagues on behalf of the City," Boussina said in a statement. "I am excited to have this opportunity to keep the momentum going and lead this talented team during this interim period."

Pelletier, who joined the city in January 2012, announced last month that he plans to resign to join the Institute of Internal Auditors, where he will be involved in the creation of The American Center of Government Auditing.

"I have full confidence in Houman's ability to successfully fill the City Auditor role while the Council searches for a permanent replacement," Pelletier said in a statement. "Houman has over eight years of local government audit experience and was a Performance Auditor at the City and County of San Francisco."