On Tuesday the Faribault County Board of Commissioners met for a second time this month, where a public hearing was held on the matter of a resolution which would change the position of County Auditor/Treasurer from an elected position to an appointed one.
Commissioner Bill Groskreutz says the plan is to go ahead with an appointed position. Groskreutz explained that the change is not a cost saving measure, but a way for the Board to do interviews and ensure that a well qualified person is filling the position.
He adds that an additional benefit to appointing the position is that the County Board will be able to supervise the position, where as if someone is elected, they are their own supervisor.
After lengthy discussion, the board voted to pass the resolution to change the Auditor/Treasurer position to an appointed position by a vote of 4 to 1.
There is now a 30 day period where those opposed to the change can collect signatures for a petition to bring the matter to a referendum vote.
The number of signatures required is 845 or 10% of the county’s 8,455 registered voters.