A financial watchdog for DeKalb County's government could be hired by the end of the summer after a citizen committee vets candidates for the job.
Forty-nine people applied for the independent auditor position, which will be responsible for finding fraud, reducing inefficiencies and exposing waste. The job will pay at least $130,000 a year.
The list of candidates will be narrowed down by the DeKalb Audit Oversight Committee at its June 10 meeting, and then finalists will later be interviewed by the committee.
“They’ll have a big job ahead of them,” said Harold Smith, chairman of the committee. “It will be a good thing for the citizens of DeKalb. That’s what it’s all about — transparency, independence, efficiency and objectivity.”
Smith said he’s looking for candidates with significant government auditing and management experience.
The Audit Oversight Committee will nominate between two and three candidates to serve as the auditor. Smith said he hopes to forward the candidates’ names to the DeKalb Commission for approval in late July or early August.
If the DeKalb Commission doesn't appoint one of those candidates within 30 days, the committee will then choose the auditor, according to House Bill 599, which passed last year.
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