Hearing set on combining two offices

A March 9 meeting will give members of the public a chance to weigh in on the proposal to combine the auditor and treasurer offices in Crow Wing County.

The county board met in a special session Tuesday to consider the proposal to combine the offices and scheduled a 10 a.m. meeting time to take public comment.

Administrator Tim Houle proposed the combination, saying it would save the county money. Houle reported the governor's recent budget proposal would mean $1.6 million in more cuts for the county.

Most neighboring counties have a combined office, with the exception of Aitkin County, Houle reported. He said the average population of counties that have retained both offices is 21,964. Crow Wing County has a population of more than 61,000.

"Crow Wing County is the largest county in the state that has not yet combined these offices," Houle said. "I think we can do it, not just cheaper, but I think we can do it better."

The county isn't required to host a public hearing on the subject. The treasurer's office is typically eliminated when the offices are combined. Under state law, the offices may be combined through a county board resolution of a four-fifths majority or commissioners may require a referendum. The board's decision is subject to a reverse referendum if 10 percent of voters, from the last governor's election, sign a petition and submit it to the auditor within a specified time frame.

Because of deadlines related to when candidates file for office, if a referendum is involved and a combined office is approved, it would not begin until Jan. 1, 2015. If approved without referendum, the combined office could begin as early as Jan. 1, 2011. Both the treasurer and auditor offices are up for election in November.

Auditor Deborah Erickson said efficiencies in customer service and cost savings could be gained with a combined office. She said there are enough staff members to ensure checks and balances for the segregation of duties are maintained without two separate offices.

"I think that there are efficiencies that can be gained," Erickson said. "I definitely think there are cost savings that can be gained as well and I think it is a move the board needs to consider."

Treasurer Laureen Borden spoke against the combined office, saying there is always some measure of efficiency to be gained but she believed any costs savings would be temporary.

Borden said she has always been a working supervisor as a cost savings in her office and the treasurer's office has taken on vital records duties, which other treasurer's offices don't do, such as passport sales, marriage licenses and birth certificates. Revenue from those vital records brought in $127,600 last year. Borden said because of deadlines, she thinks tasks done in-house now - such as producing tax statements - would have to be outsourced. The additional cost to outsource the tax statements would be about $10,000, Borden said.

"We do try in every measure in the treasurer's office to save money and I'm just not sure that savings is going to continue if the offices are combined," Borden said.

Borden said the treasurer's office collects the tax money, the auditor's office checks the books and each department double checks each other's figures on a daily basis.

"I think those check and balances are very important given the measure of dollars we are working with here," Borden said.

Commissioner Paul Thiede said people should step forward and let the board know what they think. Commissioners Doug Houge and Rachel Reabe Nystrom were absent.

RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.