Auditor Carolyn (last name not specified in the transcript) told commissioners the auditor’s office needs limited pay-grade increases for six licensing and recording staff and explained why the office’s licensing workload stresses recording services.

Carolyn said the requested change is a salary-grade insertion, not additional headcount: staff would earn a higher grade after two years and certification in recording duties; she said the change would be fully funded from the auditor’s O&M fund and would not affect the general fund. "This request would be adding 1 salary grade, not a step," she said, explaining the plan to add a grade for employees who achieve recording certification and two years of service.

The auditor described licensing as a continuous drain on staff time and said licensing is not a statutory duty for the auditor’s office; she said ending in-house licensing would remove a revenue stream unless the county accepted other sub-agencies to provide the service. Carolyn said licensing generates substantial monthly revenue (she cited prior month receipts between $60,000 and $90,000) and that discontinuing in-office licensing would require alternative sub-agency arrangements and ongoing auditing responsibilities by the auditor’s office.

Commissioners questioned how many positions would be affected and what the downstream impacts would be if licensing were eliminated. Carolyn said the office has six deputy auditor staff serving licensing and recording and that the proposed small increases would cost the auditor’s O&M fund about $11,000 in 2026 and about $18,000 in 2027. Commissioners asked for follow-up analysis of the licensing/recording split and the potential cascading effects on other departments if licensing were discontinued.