County attorney Cameron Davis shares his thoughts during the County Board meeting last Tuesday, Aug. 1.

With the office of the county auditor/treasurer soon to be vacant, the Faribault County Board of Commissioners heard a proposal from Abdo Financial Solutions through Zoom to provide the county with the necessary financial services until a new auditor/treasurer assumes the position.

Jessica Blair, the current auditor/treasurer, has resigned effective Aug. 10. At their last board meeting the commissioners, following a public hearing, passed a resolution by a 4-1 vote to make the county auditor/treasurer an appointed position as the majority of Minnesota counties have done.

Julie McMackins, a senior manager with Abdo, outlined the scope of the services Abdo would provide. Those include audit preparation, budget preparation, preparing bank deposits, tracking collateral, banking reconciliations, printing accounts payable checks and submitting the payroll file to the bank.

Abdo would also provide continued training and mentorship for the auditor/treasurer office staff.

“We have people on our staff who are familiar with county government, including a former county auditor treasurer,” McMackins said. “We would plan on having someone in the office at least two days per week and possibly more if necessary.”

Their estimated fee for the services they would provide ranged from $152,000-$185,000 for the time period through Oct. 31.

“We would actually like to come down and begin work while Jessica is still here because each county operates a little differently,” Jean McGann, partner and president at Abdo, added. “We could also help with the transition to a new county auditor/treasurer.”

The board voted to hire Abdo Financial Solutions through Oct. 31.

The soonest the board could appoint someone to the position of auditor/treasurer is Aug. 18. That can happen unless the board receives a petition signed by a minimum of 10 percent of Faribault County’s registered voters, by Aug. 18, saying the matter to appoint or elect an auditor/treasurer should be decided by a referendum of the county’s voters.

Among the chief concerns of the commissioners voting to make the position an appointed one is the possibility that if the county/auditor position remains an elected office, someone without any qualifications or financial background could potentially be elected to the position and remain in office until the next election.

Because of the imminent departure of Blair, the board also passed a motion authorizing coordinater Mark Daly and Public Works accountant Jennifer Luhmann as interim signers for accessing the county’s financial institution’s accounts. Signatures will be required from both Daly and Luhmann until a new county auditor/treasurer or other designated official is in place.

The board also took up the topic of whether to hire a county coordinator or a county administrator.

At a work session held on July 25, and reported on in last week’s Faribault County Register, the board learned of some of the major differences in the responsibilities of the two positions.

“I am in favor of the coordinator,” commissioner Tom Loveall said. “But, I believe the duties need to be better outlined. It’s all about getting the right person. I think structurally the coordinator should not be in the county auditor/treasurer’s office. My view is they should be aligned with the Central Services office.”

Board member Bill Groskreutz also spoke in favor of a coordinator.

“One of the primary differences is an administrator, by state statute, prepares the budget,” Groskreutz reminded his fellow commissioners. “A coordinator may be tasked with preparing the budget.”

It was also brought up that if an administrator is dismissed after serving for at least one year, they have the right to ask for a hearing regarding their dismissal.

Commissioner John Roper spoke in favor of hiring an administrator.

“I feel we need someone who can come in right away and oversee the county employees,” Roper explained. “Most Minnesota counties have an administrator.”

Commissioner Greg Young and board chairman Bruce Anderson said they favored hiring a coordinator.

“Sixty four of Minnesota’s 87 counties have administrators,” Anderson admitted. “My feeling is if we can find the right person to be the coordinator they could transition into an administrator position.”

A vote was taken and the motion to hire a full-time coordinator and merge the position into the Central Services office passed on a 4-1 vote with Roper voting against the motion.