UPDATE: Stanislaus County leaders OK recruitment to fill auditor-controller position
Update: The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal Tuesday night to recruit and appoint a new auditor-controller to complete the unexpired term of Kashmir Gill. Here is the original story:
Stanislaus County Auditor-Controller Kashmir Gill has served notice she’s retiring more than two years before her term expires.
Tuesday evening, the county Board of Supervisors could approve a recruitment process to find an auditor-controller to serve out the term, which expires in January 2027. Gill’s retirement notification, dated Aug. 12, said her last day in the elected position will be Oct. 9.
“It has been my privilege and honor to have served the members of Stanislaus County,” Gill wrote. “I have been fortunate to be part of the organization for over 27 years. ... Through mentors, a strong leadership team, dedicated staff and support from the Board of Supervisors, I have had unimaginable opportunities to make a difference for the community.”
Gill, 59, was elected to oversee the county Auditor-Controller’s office in 2018 and ran unopposed for a second four-year term in 2022.
The county is proposing a recruitment process to fill the position when Gill leaves in October. County voters will choose a new auditor-controller in the November 2026 election. The appointed auditor would need to run for the office to serve the next term.
Board Chairman Mani Grewal said a recruitment and appointment “would be the most efficient and expedient way to the fill the vacancy. It will give us an opportunity to see who the other qualified candidates are.”
Grewal said that holding a special election would be costly for taxpayers. The retirement notice came three days after an Aug. 9 deadline for candidates to qualify for the Nov. 5 ballot.
Grewal said he wasn’t sure if a slightly earlier retirement notice, before the deadline, would have provided sufficient time for qualified candidates to step forward and organize a campaign to run for the office.
Gill cited her husband’s illness and treatment needs as the reason for retiring from county service. “I want to give more attention to family,” Gill said. “I won’t have the responsibility of being away from home as much.”
Gill will start working in October as a business and financial consultant for Alameda County’s health agency. According to a July 9 agenda item, the one-year contract with Alameda County is for $384,000, a project that will allow her to do more work remotely, Gill said.
An agenda report said the Bay Area health agency is enhancing its systems for public health finance, updating policies and procedures and needs to improve finance management due to growth since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ideally, it would have been better to hear about this a year ago, but life happens,” Supervisor Vito Chiesa said of Gill’s retirement. “She has done a good job. It’s family first. We have to respect that.”
The auditor-controller serves as the chief accountant over county operations. The office is responsible for performing mandated audits, controlling the tax roll, calculating taxes and general obligation bonds and allocating property-tax revenue to agencies.
Stanislaus County auditors perhaps are best known for serving a watchdog role in reviewing county staff purchasing card policies going back to a scandal over county credit card purchases 20 years ago.
The auditor-controller must be a public accountant or CPA. The position pays $211,931 a year, along with the standard benefits given to county department directors.
If the board approves the recruitment process Tuesday, two board members will serve on a committee overseeing the search. After a review of the candidates, the committee will recommend an appointee for a Board of Supervisors’ vote.
Gill began her 27-year career in Stanislaus County as an accountant in Behavioral Health and Recovery Services in 1997. She transferred to the auditor-controller’s office in 2008 and was assistant auditor-controller for eight years before winning the top post in November 2018.
“The best interest of the county has always been the driving force of my daily duties,” Gill wrote in her letter to the county. “I have strived to fulfill my responsibilities through transparency, accountability, collaboration and integrity.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2024 at 3:53 PM.
