Carroll County commissioners approve temporary finance contract as CFO resignation is handled

Carroll County commissioners on Feb. 10 approved a temporary professional services contract with Municipal Resources Inc. (MRI) to provide interim finance support while the county addresses a resignation by its chief financial officer and completes year-end work.

The contract will bring on Rita Donaldson, billed at $120 per hour, to work with county finance staff through budget season and the audit. Commissioners also approved routine items including the accounts payable register of $139,491.49, payroll of $298,681.59 and a treasurer check for $129 to reimburse a staff cell-phone allowance.

The action came amid discussion of a resignation letter from the county CFO, identified in meeting documents as Bonnie, and the county’s written response to that letter. “We did not take away the finance department from miss Batchell. We simply took the day to day supervision of the finance employees and had gave it to our executive coordinator. But she was never given responsibility for running the finance department,” a staff member identified in the meeting said, describing recent supervision changes in the department and the county’s steps to maintain continuity.

Public commenters pressed the commission for clarity on timing and contract obligations. “I did receive the letter, and I'm still kind of confused why the outside contractor CFO sent this to the delegation… The delegation didn't sign the contract with her, so I'm kind of puzzled,” resident Frank Gaines said. Another resident, Damon Spear, asked whether the county planned to provide more information about the CFO matter to the delegation.

County staff said the commission’s response letter to the CFO set an initial set of documents and tasks with a seven‑day completion expectation; staff reported they had not yet received the CFO’s reply as of the meeting. Melissa (staff member) said MRI would begin work on Wednesday and that the finance team had prepared a list of year‑end items the contractor will address, including several overdrawn line‑item transfers.

Commissioners and staff praised the remaining finance personnel for their work preparing records for the transition. “Melissa and the crew of the finance department have done a great job pulling this all together since this happened,” a commissioner said during public comment.

Votes at a glance: - Approve Rita Donaldson (MRI) contract at $120/hour to provide interim finance support (motion carried; mover/second not specified; vote: all in favor). - Approve accounts payable $139,491.49 and payroll $298,681.59 (motion carried; mover/second not specified; vote: all in favor). - Approve treasurer check for $129 (cell phone reimbursement) (motion carried; mover/second not specified; vote: all in favor). - Approve minutes of Feb. 3, 2025 (motion carried; mover/second not specified; vote: all in favor).

Next steps: MRI is scheduled to begin on Wednesday to complete year‑end work and assist with budget preparations and the audit; staff will report back to the commission as the transition proceeds.