MARSHALL — The office of Lyon County Auditor/Treasure has proved a difficult one to fill, county officials said Tuesday. Rather than continue the search, members of a personnel committee are proposing to restructure the county auditor/treasurer’s office.

The proposal would split the auditor/treasurer’s duties between Lyon County Administrator Loren Stomberg and Human Resources Director Carolyn McDonald. McDonald would be appointed deputy county administrator while still continuing her role as HR director.

Commissioner Charlie Sanow said the move would help the county keep an experienced employee.

“We need stability in our county,” Sanow said Tuesday. “We’ve been losing some seasoned people.”

However, Commissioner Steve Ritter and Lyon County Attorney Rick Maes suggested the board wait to take action on the proposal, so Maes could look into whether it could be done legally.

“I want to make sure it’s done right,” Maes said.

Under Minnesota statutes, counties can have a combined auditor-administrator if they have not provided for the appointment of a county auditor and if they have not combined the offices of auditor and treasurer.

Currently, Lyon County has a combined auditor/treasurer, which is an appointed position.

Commissioners voted 4-1 to table the matter until their first June meeting.

A county personnel committee has been conducting a search for auditor/treasurer candidates since former auditor/treasurer E.J. Moberg accepted a job with the city of Marshall earlier this year. Stomberg said the committee interviewed three candidates for the auditor/treasurer’s position, but they didn’t think they had found a candidate who could manage a large office. The auditor/treasurer’s office is the county’s third largest department, responsible for county finances, property tax administration, county licensing, driver’s licenses and elections.

Stomberg said the committee was proposing to split the auditor/treasurer’s office into financial services and taxpayer services. Both divisions would be supervised by county administration, with Stomberg supervising the financial side, and McDonald supervising taxpayer services. McDonald would be appointed as deputy administrator while still continuing the role of HR director at an annual salary of $118,840.

Sanow and Commissioner Paul Graupmann said the thinking was that the key skills needed for these positions were leadership and management.

“We’re looking at someone who has leadership and vision,” Graupmann said.

Ritter said he wanted to hold off on acting on the proposal until it could be reviewed by the county attorney.

“I want to know the legality of it,” he said. “I’m not supporting anything without (Maes) doing more research.”

Speaking over a Zoom connection, Maes said he also had legal questions about the proposal. He said he was also not aware of the proposal until it was placed on Tuesday’s agenda.

In response to a question from Ritter, Stomberg said the proposal was not discussed with county department heads before Tuesday’s meeting.

Commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of tabling the discussion to June 7. Sanow cast the dissenting vote.