The County Board held a work session on July 25 to discuss the difference between the county coordinator and administrator positions. The board has not yet decided which position it would like to add to its county staff. Above, left to right, are county engineer and temporary coordinator Mark Daly, board chair Bruce Anderson and commissioner Greg Young.

To hire an administrator or a coordinator? That is the question the Faribault County Board weighed at a work session held on Tuesday, July 25.

The board initially scheduled the work session last June after former auditor/treasurer/coordinator Daren Esser resigned.

Esser’s resignation led to a flurry of temporary assignments to allocate his duties. Auditor chief deputy accountant Jessica Blair was temporarily appointed as county auditor/treasurer, and county engineer Mark Daly was assigned the county coordinator’s roles, responsibilities and duties.

Blair and Daly have been sharing those duties since late June, but Blair will resign from the auditor/treasurer post on Aug. 10. Therefore, time is ticking for the board to decide how to allocate the former auditor/treasurer/coordinator’s duties in the future.

The board has already decided to separate the county auditor/treasurer position from the coordinator position. Additionally, on July 18, the commissioners approved the auditor/treasurer role – previously an elected position – as an appointed position on a 4-1 vote, with commissioner Tom Loveall in dissent.

However, the commissioners have yet to determine whether they would like to hire a new coordinator, or hire a county administrator instead.

Bobbie Hillery, the current administrator and former coordinator for Fillmore County, attended the worksession via Zoom to advise the board.

“There is a lot of consistency in the two roles, but definitely some differences as well,” Hillery said.

The primary difference between the administrator and coordinator roles is that the coordinator generally does not have a supervisory role over county department heads, elected or appointed. An administrator, however, is the supervisor of all county institutions and agencies, and of non-elected department heads, if required by the board.

In general, the County Board is able to manage the coordinator’s duties more closely.

According to State Statute, a coordinator manages the affairs of the county, over which the board has authority. Their job description may include updates to the board on the county’s financial condition, making recommendations about county affairs, clerking for the board, executing the board’s actions and initiating and presenting the annual budget to the board.

An administrator, meanwhile, has the authority to hire, manage, suspend and remove county personnel. The administrator also executes all of the board’s orders and laws, provides for county purchases, prepares and submits the annual budget, builds a capital plan, recommends measures for adoption, and, like the coordinator, keeps the board updated on the county’s financial condition.

However, county attorney Cameron Davis clarified, “An administrator isn’t going to take authority away from the five of you. An administrator is going to create less of a hands-on experience for you.” 

He continued, “I think a question for the commissioners is what level of day-to-day control you’re looking for, versus the control you’re looking to hand to an administrator.”  

Davis also observed an administrator could be allocated more control over the preparation and presentation of the annual budget, which may be important if the county auditor/treasurer position remains an elected position.

Though the board voted to appoint the auditor/treasurer on July 18, it is still possible the matter will be brought to a referendum vote by some Faribault County residents.

Voters are able to petition for a referendum if they collect signatures from 845, or 10 percent of the county’s residents within 30 days of a resolution’s approval.

As of July 25, the commissioners were already aware of a petition circulating around the county. Last week, it allegedly had over 100 signatures.

“We may want an administrator if an elected auditor/treasurer comes in and isn’t competent,” commissioner John Roper suggested.

Another consideration was pay. On average, administrators receive a higher salary than coordinators.

An incomplete survey of Minnesota counties’ administrator pay scales yielded an average minimum salary of $120,181 and an average maximum salary of $165,540.

Meanwhile, Minnesota county coordinators’ payscales landed at an average minimum of $97,910 and an average maximum of $120,331.

“Administrators, on average, have to be better-qualified individuals because of the nature of their responsibilities,” Davis said, justifying the discrepancy in pay.

Though administrators tend to be more costly, data indicates they are by far the most popular option for Minnesota counties.

According to the Association of Minnesota Counties, while just 12 Minnesota counties – including Faribault County - have a coordinator, 64 counties employ an administrator.

“The trend has been to go to the administrative role, mainly to help support communities,” Hillery explained.

Counties have been providing citizens with more services in recent years, such as social services, corrections, child protection, library services, hospitals and rest homes, public health services, planning and zoning, economic development, parks and recreation, water quality and solid waste management. All of the services require oversight, which increases county staff’s duties.

Following the discussion, each commissioner present voiced their opinion on the matter.

Commissioner Greg Young favored hiring a coordinator, noting, “If we hire an administrator, it would have to be someone we really have confidence in.” 

He also suggested initially hiring an individual as a coordinator, and promoting them to the administrator role if their performance is satisfactory.

Commissioner Bill Groskreutz and board chair Bruce Anderson were in favor of hiring a coordinator, as well.

“I am confident with how we have operated our county in the past,” Groskreutz said.

Roper, however, was more interested in hiring an administrator.

“I’ve seen a lot of micromanaging (on the board),” he said. “I would like to go with the administrator, which takes a lot of those duties out of our hands.” 

Conscious that time to make the decision is dwindling, the County Board decided to put the matter on the agenda for its next meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 1.

“We’re going to have to start advertising for a coordinator or administrator as soon as we can,” Anderson said. “I think we need to move forward.”