Following more than an hour of public testimony, both for and against, Davison County Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to approve a new ordinance designed to combine the offices of treasurer and auditor into a new County Finance office.
Commission chairman Randy Reider voted “yes”.
“We’re talking about combining those titles, not the people who do the jobs,” said Reider. “There are still going to be folks to do the tasks in the auditor division, according to state guidelines…there’s still going to be people doing treasury duties according to state guidelines.”
Commissioner Chris Nebelsick voted “no”. “What if we had one unqualified person that gets elected to oversee both offices,” Nebelsick said. “That’s what made me nervous.” He added, “And that was kind of the concern that a lot of the individuals in the community that I talked to had.”
Opponents said they’d refer the ordinance to a public vote with is allowed by state law. Commissioners are currently looking to hire a deputy auditor as election season approaches.