Auditor outlines reorganization, asks supervisors to receive improvement requests

Michelle Scaff, the county auditor, presented a package of staffing and structural changes for the auditor‑recorder office and asked the board to receive her improvement requests for the FY27 budget.

Scaff said the key change is creation of a deputy of real estate who would centralize parcel splits, valuations and mapping work currently spread among multiple staff. “So what I'm proposing is that we create a deputy of the real estate that would assume all of those positions,” Scaff said, adding the GIS analyst would move into that new section and one clerk 2 would be split into two positions cross‑trained with elections (50% elections / 50% real estate).

Scaff told supervisors she compared staffing to similar counties and concluded the auditor side is “understaffed in size of the population that we're serving.” She outlined per‑position costs: Scaff noted a clerk‑2 to senior‑clerk conversion would cost about $5,153.68 per person and that the deputy position was budgeted initially at 70% of a deputy salary for six months with a later increase tied to performance.

Supervisors asked about union approval, job descriptions, and whether items should be removed before the required mailing for the max‑levy notice. Scaff and staff explained job descriptions must be written and submitted to unions for any reclassification and that improvement requests could be removed from the mailed materials if the board decided against them.

After discussion the board voted to receive the auditor’s improvement requests so they will be embedded in the budget process; the receiving motion carried 5‑0.