Local auditors swap offices

The City of New Rockford and Eddy County have essentially swapped auditors.

Patty Williams, the former Eddy County auditor who resigned at the end of last year, has been hired as the auditor assistant for the City of New Rockford.

She will be working alongside Andrew Presnell, who took over the city auditor position when Becki Schumacher resigned last September.

And now, Schumacher has transitioned from city hall to the county courthouse, taking the auditor position for Eddy County left vacant by Williams, thus completing the circle.

Schumacher was one of two individuals who applied for interim county auditor, and Eddy County commissioners elected to offer her the position at a special meeting in January.

Schumacher accepted, and her first day was on Monday, Jan. 22.

"It was a very unexpected opportunity that presented itself, and I felt with my previous work experience, it would be a good fit," said Schumacher.

Throughout her first week, Schumacher has been receiving training from Williams, who the county has contracted to keep the county functioning smoothly while a replacement is found and trained.

Schumacher said she and Williams have been going over office procedures, payroll, emails and other day-to-day operations.

Meanwhile, Williams has also been getting up to speed at city hall.

Her first day as auditor assistant, which is a part-time position, was on January 15.

"I knew the city was looking for an assistant for Andrew and I thought it would be a good fit for me," said Williams. "The work would be somewhat similar but also different between city and county government."

At the city, Williams said she'll be working on preparation and collection of monthly utility bills, as well as any other tasks needed to provide assistance to the auditor.

For Schumacher, meanwhile, she'll soon have to begin training for the upcoming elections.

Overseeing those elections and ensuring their success at the local level is one of the most important tasks for any county auditor, and there are several training opportunities coming up.

"There is both online and mandatory training in Bismarck with the Secretary of State in March that I will be attending," said Schumacher. "I will also be attending regional training in the spring."

Eventually, Schumacher may also end up on the ballot for this year's elections.

There have been brief discussions among county commissioners about making the auditor an appointed position, but at least for now, the auditor position in Eddy County is an elected one.

That means an election eventually needs to be held to fill the office long-term, and the county commission could call a special election as early as November.

When asked, Schumacher said she hadn't yet decided if she'd run for election as county auditor.