County Manager Dan Dunbar told the Dunn County Committee on Administration that the county's finance manager 'has resigned and is not in the office currently.

Dunbar said staff are considering an extended 'open-until-filled' recruitment for the role to avoid missing candidates who might be looking now, while trying to minimize disruption to a phased ERP (enterprise resource planning) rollout that requires careful access and permissions.

'We're trying to be very careful about how we do that as a new person coming in,' Dunbar said, noting that a new hire making different decisions could 'have dramatic impacts' on the project and its timeline.

Why it matters: The finance manager position is closely tied to the county's ERP implementation and to communication of complex financial information to the board. Dunbar described two competing risks: hiring too quickly and disrupting the ERP rollout, or waiting and losing a qualified candidate who is actively searching.

What staff plan to do: Dunbar said county staff have discussed posting the position as open until filled and using an expanded budget group and staff-led vetting process to narrow candidates before bringing finalists to the committee for interviews and presentations. He said the county also has a contract with a consulting group made up of former auditors and county CFOs; a recently engaged consultant, the retired CFO from Chippewa County, has been advising the county and spending time on the ERP work.

Board members and staff discussed the geographic scope and feasibility of recruiting from outside the region. Chair McCullough said chief financial officers are 'rare as hen's teeth' in the current market and that a longer search expands options, including hiring and developing an internal candidate. Supervisors asked whether the county would pursue a national search; staff said prior national searches drew limited out-of-area hires and that most successful candidates have come from the region.

Finance reorganization tied to ERP: Staff also outlined a proposed reorganization of the finance department connected to ERP permissions, separation of duties and the county's internal controls. The presentation noted the county currently has about 18 finance positions versus neighboring counties that average roughly six. Staff said some roles that had been centralized will be redistributed to departments to improve operational decision-making, while retaining central finance oversight. Leadership shared an outline of the proposed structure with staff to solicit feedback before bringing formal recommendations to the board.

Next steps: No formal action was taken on recruitment at the meeting. Staff said they will proceed with planning, use consultants to cover expertise gaps while the position is vacant, continue soliciting department feedback on the reorganization and bring formal hires or structural changes to the committee and board for approval.