Ben Wyatt is a municipal budget consultant who comes to Pawnee, Indiana, to try to save the city from going bankrupt. He winds up spending much time in and around the Parks and Recreation department. His job was to move around the state consulting on various cities' finances.He developed this expertise on public budgeting after a harrowing experience in which he was elected mayor of his small Minnesota town at the age of 18 and drove it into bankruptcy after investing much of its resources into a winter sports complex called Ice Town. Publicly shamed and ridiculed -- causing emotional scars that still make it difficult for him to talk about it, especially in the media -- Ben is deeply committed to sound fiscal policies, even if it means getting rid of pet programs that people love. He works under Chris Traeger, who came to the city at the same time, and often is forced by Chris into giving the bad news to people that money is not available to fund their projects.Ben is an avid sci-fi fan who loves Game of Thrones, Batman and Star Trek, but he wasn't a fan of Peter Jackson's interpretation of Lord of the Rings. His eBay username is Tall Typrion Lannister, a reference to a dwarf character in Game of Thrones. After spending weeks in a cheap motel in Pawnee, Ben moves in with Andy and April and proceeds to show them how to live like adults after being shocked at the conditions of their living situation. He also starts to develop a crush on Leslie. His favorite food is calzones and he, at one point, takes up claymation.