“My fear is that you’re not going to pay enough and you’re going to attract someone with the same qualifications, or lack thereof, of Mr. Tucker,” Fitch said.
But Councilwoman Rita Heard Days, D-1st District, and Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-6th District, rejected the idea, noting that many county employees haven’t received raises in years. Trakas suggested instead that the the council remove the requirement for the auditor to be a CPA or the equivalent of the accreditation. The county, Trakas said, never heard complaints about auditors before Tucker.
“If you didn’t want $110,000, that speaks to how much you wanted the job,” Trakas said. “I’m absolutely certain that a continued search will yield qualified candidates, CPA or not.”
The council ultimately agreed to Harder’s suggestion to advertise the position again with the preference that its next auditor have accreditation, but remove it as a requirement. That will require action by the full council, which could come at its meeting on Tuesday.
The council also decided to raise the salary range, increasing it to a maximum of about $125,000.
The council had initially advertised a starting salary of between $100,000 and $119,000, basing the range on expected budget limitations, Harder said. And Harder said he would reach back out to the other five applicants for the job.
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Originally Appeared Here