Town hires part-time accountant

The Town of Saukville has hired Julie Irish to be its part-time accountant.

Irish has worked for the town for several years as an independent contractor, working about two hours per month to help longtime Town Treasurer Gloria Arredondo reconcile financial statements and complete payroll before Town Board meetings.

Irish will now be a town employee paid hourly. 

“She is a great asset for the town and serves as another set of eyes on the books and another layer of internal controls to make sure everything balances out,” Town Clerk Raquel Engelke said.

Town voters will decide in the Nov. 3 election whether the treasurer position should be appointed or elected.

The Town Board approved an ordinance in July making the position appointed, but the decision must be approved by voters before it becomes effective.

Under the ordinance, the treasurer would be appointed by a majority of the three-member board to a three-year term and may be reappointed for additional terms.

Elected officials are required to be residents of the community they represent whereas appointees can live anywhere. That provides a larger pool of potential candidates from which to hire based on qualifications and experience.

An appointed person also can be fired for cause or not have his or her contract renewed when it ends whereas an elected person can be removed only by recall or through another  election.