Board directs staff to prepare interim treasurer appointment; former treasurer willing to serve

County Counsel Sarah Hansen briefed the Columbia County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday about a vacancy in the county treasurer position and the statutory obligation to appoint an interim treasurer until the next general election.

Hansen said the county received a formal resignation for the treasurer slot following the departure of the finance director and that state statutes require the board to appoint an interim treasurer to serve until the next general election in November 2026. “The statutes do provide that the board has an affirmative obligation as the appointing authority to appoint a vacant, appointed, interim treasurer to fill that role until the next general election,” Hansen said.

Hansen told the board she had spoken with Mary Anne Guest, a former county treasurer, and that Guest is willing to fill the role in the interim. The board directed staff to prepare an appointment letter so the commissioners can place the appointment on a future consent agenda for formal approval. There was no formal vote recorded at the meeting on the appointment itself; the action was direction to staff to prepare paperwork for a future consent item.

Hansen said she had provided commissioners a memo with statutory detail on the appointment process and offered to answer questions. The board did not request additional recruitment steps before preparing the appointment letter.

The board’s direction initiates an administrative appointment process for a temporary treasurer that, if placed on a consent agenda, would be ratified at a subsequent meeting.