Faribault County commissioners have begun searching for a new auditor/treasurer, again.
At their meeting on Tuesday, the five-member board voted unanimously to appoint Tammy Emery as an interim replacement for Amy Sathoff, who was hired last October.
But, before the vote was taken Commissioner Tom Loveall had some questions regarding Sathoff’s departure – what happened and why it happened?
He says the matter should have been included on the meeting’s agenda as a discussion item.
“I would like to know some of the details, because it is significant,” says Loveall. “I have not been briefed on it. I don’t understand it. Only two understand it. That’s a terrible place for the board to be.”
Board chairman Bill Groskreutz says Sathoff, “did not meet performance criteria during the six-month probationary period.”
Continuing to press for information, Loveall wanted to know how Sathoff was notified that she was no longer employed with the county.
County coordinator Brian Hov and Groskreutz told the board that Sathoff was informed of her termination by letter and she “signed off “ on the notice.
“I still think there is a public interest and understanding of what’s happening and that’s not what happened here,” says Loveall. “It’s not very transparent.”
Loveall was persistent in adding the “auditor/treasurer situation” to the agenda. His motion to have a discussion without violating personnel policy died for lack of a second.
Board members were assured that Emery will receive any training that is needed and assistance from former employees and the Freeborn County auditor/treasurer’s office.
The county has begun advertising the position on the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development website and Faribault County Register, the county’s official newspaper.