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Esser announces resignation

By Kevin Mertens - Staff Writer | May 21, 2023

Faribault County auditor/treasurer/coordinator Darren Esser, shown at his desk, above, made an announcement at the end of the Faribault County Commissioners board meeting last Tuesday that he is resigning.

At the beginning of the Faribault County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, May 16,, county auditor/treasurer/ coordinator Darren Esser asked that one more item be added to the agenda at the end of the meeting and that it would just be a short announcement.

As it turned out, the announcement was the biggest news of the three-hour meeting.

“I am resigning from my position with the county,” Esser said. “My intention is to stay until June 23. However, that date is flexible and I am willing to stay longer, if necessary, to help out with the transition.”

The commissioners regretfully accepted his resignation and then directed staff to begin the process of making the auditor/treasurer job into an appointed position in the future instead of electing someone for the office.

Interviewed in his office the next morning, Esser said filling the auditor/treasurer position by appointment instead of election is not uncommon.

“There is a process the county will have to follow to make the change away from an election to an appointment,” he explained. “It will involve holding a public hearing and it will take some time.”

However, he also pointed out the board will be able to appoint someone to take his place to fulfill his term and there does not have to be a special election.

Esser also shared why he made the decision to resign.

“It is a tough job,” he notes. “I have been working almost seven days a week since I was first elected a little over four years ago. That has not been good for me. I do want to stay long enough to help get the audit completed.”

He also shared his thoughts on some possible changes which should be made in the county going forward.

“I think it might be time to split the coordinator position away from the auditor/treasurer,” he commented. “It makes sense to me to keep the auditor/treasurer together as one job. It will be more expensive for the county to have a separate coordinator, but my feeling is it might be necessary. And, I think the commissioners are open to exploring the possibility of making that change.”

Esser said he does not have another job lined up at this time.

“I do really like working with county government,” he mentions. “I will have to wait and see what I do next. For now, I would maybe like to do some traveling.”