It’s going to cost Faribault County thousands of dollars for accounting services the next few months.
Commissioners this week voted to pay Abdo Solutions of Mankato up to a maximum amount of $175,000 through Oct. 31.
“Depending on when we get full-time trained staff in place, the amount could be more or less,” says Commissioner Bill Groskreutz. “We don’t know if we’ll be able to hire qualified people and get them trained in a couple of months.”
The cost could go up to as much as $200,000 if the County Board has difficulty filling the positions of county auditor/treasurer, auditor chief deputy accountant and chief deputy treasurer.
The hiring Abdo Solutions is being offset some by not having to pay the salaries of the three vacancies that must filled.
Abdo Solutions will send one or two accountants three or four days a week to perform the daily duties to operate the office.
Filling the auditor/treasurer vacancy could take longer if an election is needed to decide if the position should be elected by voters or appointed by the County Board.
At their July 18 meeting, commissioners voted 4-1 to make the auditor position an appointed one rather than elected.
Following the decision, a group of residents began circulating petitions to collect 845 signatures of registered voters by Aug. 18 to hold a referendum vote in November or next February.
The two resignations and a retirement in the auditor/treasurer’s office has commissioners also considering all possible options.
“We have been looking at some restructuring in the office and make operation of the office the best we can,” says Groskreutz.