Auditor’s office hires will upgrade dated systems

Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton has hired a face familiar to voters as her second-in-command.

Mary Kuney, a former state auditor and failed GOP candidate for county treasurer last year, will serve as Dalton’s chief deputy auditor and take control of efforts to modernize the county’s dated methods of paying its bills. Payments are still handled using a paper-based system, a process Dalton said she wanted to address several years ago but was unable to because of staffing cuts.

“What she’ll be able to do is get us moved to the next step using electronic workflow, where everything’s put into the computer,” said Dalton, the lone Democrat elected to office in Spokane County.

Joining Dalton and Kuney will be Melanie Muzatko, who has a background in finance and has collaborated with Dalton on efforts to digitize county records in the past. Muzatko will inherit the county’s motor licensing software, which needs to be upgraded.

Muzatko will collaborate with the state to bring a new vehicle licensing software system to Spokane County.

Muzatko will earn $65,336. Dalton merged the responsibilities of the outgoing manager of vehicle licensing with overseeing the office’s recording department.

The auditor’s office has taken a hit in revenue due to decreased building during the economic downturn, Dalton said. A staff of 50 in 2006 has shrunk to 41 this year.

Kuney has been hired at a base salary of $89,242. General fund contributions from other departments will cover that salary in the short term, but Dalton anticipates cost savings will more than make up for the expense in the future.

Kuney finished third in the August primary in her bid to become county treasurer.

Both Muzatko and Kuney began work in the office last week, Dalton said.