Number crunchers make the transition

Transitions can be stressful, but retiring Carlton County auditor/treasurer Kathy Korteum has had plenty of challenges in her less than two years at the helm of her department. But she's hoping to make the transition as smooth as possible for her successor, Kevin DeVriendt.

If all goes as planned, DeVriendt and Korteum should be able to spend some time sharing ideas and the long history of the department before Korteum officially retires.

That would be very unlike her first months in the role. At the time serving as deputy auditor/treasurer for Carlton County, Korteum was appointed by the county board to fill the position left by retiring Paul Gassert in 2019. Gassert announced his retirement, was in the office for two more days, and used his remaining vacation time to slip into retirement.

Up to that point, the auditor/treasurer position had been an office filled by election by voters of Carlton County. Gassert had a long career in that position, as Al Naslund had before him. The county board decided that the position should be appointed, after a new Minnesota statute made that possible.

"When I was first appointed, I had a list in my mind of changes that would make the department more efficient," Korteum said. "But events pushed those plans to the side. Three elections in this last year, the impact of Covid-19, and a continuous lack of cohesion in our office staffing took a lot of our time."

Korteum explained how illness, retirements, vacations, etc. kept a normal 10.5 office staff level impossible. She noted that not a month went by when there was a full staff, although the pandemic had some staff working from home. And, she said that in the last 10 years, 80 percent of the office staff have been learning how to face challenges in a new position.

Operating with no deputy auditor/treasurer during her tenure, Korteum was particularly proud of the investment of time to implement the electronic payroll for all county employees and training all sxff members how to run an election.

A joint interview with Korteum and the DeVriendt highlighted several parallels with these two longtime county employees. Both spoke of their roots in our area, with Kathy raised on a dairy farm and Kevin on a beef farm. Each has had 20-plus years working for Carlton County, with DeVriendt coming from a long career as an accountant at Carlton County Public Health and Human Services. Both county employees spoke of the challenges of the job. Reports to the state and federal agencies are time-sensitive, as are all dates for all election activity. All these duties are set by state statute.

DeVriendt has training as a CPA with a master's degree in business administration and has transitioned into the auditor/treasurer's department in the last two years. He admitted he had lots to learn about every aspect of the department and hoped Korteum would slowly transition into retirement. He said that the building of a new jail or justice center will put a lot of pressure on department staff.

"My main job is as a number cruncher with a focus to provide the right financial information to the county board and all the departments," DeVriendt said. "My goal is to provide a sound financial overview to help county staff provide excellent service to the people of Carlton County."