Douglas Co. to consider new auditor on Tuesday

Talk about it

ARMOUR — Douglas County commissioners will consider the appointment of a new county auditor at their next meeting on Oct. 5.

After spending roughly 10 minutes in executive session late Tuesday morning with State’s Attorney Craig Parkhurst, the board approved the motion to discuss the matter.

Parkhurst said after the motion that he recommended that commissioners place the appointment of a new auditor on the agenda for next week.

Parkhurst said he also reviewed the open meetings law and procedures on keeping items on meeting agendas with commissioners and events leading up to their meeting Tuesday.

“I didn’t get a lot of information from them,” he said. “Since I was investigating a potentially criminal charge, statements they made to me could be admissible in court.

“Hopefully, … this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”

Parkhurst received a complaint Monday about a potential open meetings law violation regarding the hiring of a replacement for current Auditor Diane Christensen, whose last day is Nov. 5.

Christensen, who submitted the complaint, said Monday that Commission Chairwoman Karen Blume, of Armour, told her and the deputy auditor on Sept. 20 that the auditor’s position had been filled.

If Parkhurst finds the complaint has merit, his options involve prosecuting a violation himself or sending a complaint to the attorney general’s office or Open Meetings Commission.

Gary Denke, the third-place vote getter in the four-person county auditor’s race in June, said Monday he called Blume two weeks ago to express interest in the auditor position.

That same week, Denke said Blume offered the position to him on condition of commissioners’ approval and he accepted it.

Blume told Denke the appointment would be discussed Tuesday, but it was not on the commission’s agenda. As a result, Parkhurst told Blume not to discuss the matter on Tuesday because of insufficient notice to place it on the agenda.

Blume again declined to comment Tuesday. Vice Chairman Ewald Fink, of Delmont, would not comment, deferring to Blume.

While Commissioner Martin Drefs, of Harrison, will consider Denke’s appointment next week, he said afterward that some changes need to be made to the county employee manual as far as hiring procedures.

Drefs said he disagreed with how Blume handled the situation in offering Denke the auditor position, saying it wasn’t the proper procedure.

“I thought the options that were developed in the commissioner meeting were … not good personnel procedures,” he said. “We have nothing on paper outlining how the commission should go at filling vacancies.”

Drefs said a deputy auditor could fill in on an interim basis while commissioners seek a replacement.

“I don’t think it was clear and I don’t think it was very open,” he said of the process used to hire Denke.

Some county employees and a local resident expressed their concern about the way Denke was offered the auditor position.

Treasurer Carol VanDerWerff said she thought the commissioners should advertise for applicants when a vacancy comes up with a county position.

“There might be somebody new that’s interested,” she said. “Just because you run for the election doesn’t mean you’re qualified.”

Denke’s experience involves working as a director of equalization in Douglas and Davison counties and most recently as an appraiser for the same office in Bon Homme County.

Assessor Jessica Goehring said she thought the commissioners should have publicized the vacancy and interviewed all potential, qualified applicants.

Though commissioners can appoint someone to fill a vacancy, Goehring said she strongly believed in the application process.

“The county jobs are good jobs and I think there’s probably a lot of qualified people out there,” she said. “I think anyone, whether they live in our county or want to move to our county, they should have the potential to apply for (those) jobs.”

Goehring added she thought the application process was more fair. She noted Denke’s place in the four-person race last June and that Deputy Auditor Kim Huebner was qualified.

“With her experience in the office, she knows what goes on into the auditor dealings,” Goehring said.

Armour resident Dorothea Tesch, a retired nurse, said she didn’t think Blume should have been authorized to offer Denke the position.

The fact that commissioners will decide whether to accept Denke’s appointment is the proper procedure to follow, she said.

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