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Board interviews two finalists for auditor‑controller, defers decision to April 15
Summary
Contra Costa County supervisors interviewed two finalists to fill the auditor‑controller vacancy and agreed to continue consideration on April 15 while they review options including whether to keep the post elected, make it appointed, or combine it with another office.
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on April 1 interviewed two finalists for auditor‑controller to fill the unexpired term of Robert Campbell, who retired. The board did not appoint a successor at the meeting and directed staff to return with additional information at the board’s April 15 meeting.
Nicole Bilich, Human Resources manager, opened the interviews. The candidates were Peter Karumbe, the county’s auditor‑controller division manager and a certified public accountant with 13 years in the office; and Donna Schmidt, a private‑sector finance executive with about 30 years of experience who described multiple system implementations in her career.
The board questioned both candidates on priorities for the office and major ongoing projects: leveraging the county’s Workday finance system, payroll systems, property tax system replacement, and reducing payment delays to nonprofits and vendors. Peter Karumbe described his role as a functional lead on the county’s Workday implementation and said the office can further leverage Workday for procurement, inventory and capital assets. Donna Schmidt emphasized her experience selecting and implementing enterprise systems, including NetSuite and ADP payroll, and described steps she would take to map current processes, secure stakeholder buy‑in and plan rollouts.
Supervisors also asked both candidates whether they would run for the office if appointed. Both said they would be prepared to run if required by law. The board discussed broader options for the auditor‑controller position, including converting it to an appointed office, combining it with the elected treasurer‑tax collector, or designating an interim from the assistant auditor positions while the board considers structural changes. Several supervisors noted that changing the office to an appointed position would require items to go on the ballot, but an ordinance could combine the auditor with the treasurer‑tax collector without a public vote.
Public comment on the interviews included no Zoom callers but one in‑chamber commenter; the board also held extended public comment after a scheduled Cesar Chavez event before resuming deliberations. The board agreed to place the matter on the April 15 agenda for a more robust discussion and to determine whether to appoint someone to the remainder of the term or designate an interim.
