Kleiber Retiring As County Auditor
Fayette County Auditor Kathy Kleiber will retire in October after 25 years of service to the County and 13 years at the helm of the auditor’s office.
Kleiber came to work for the County in 1995.
“At the time I was unemployed,” Kleiber recalled. “I happened to come to the courthouse and applied for a job.”
The county auditor’s office serves as the human resources department for the County, so that’s where she went to fill out an application. As it turned out, the county auditor back then, Dan von Rosenberg, had an opening in his office.
“It was pure chance,” she said. “I didn’t even know there was an opening.”
Von Rosenberg hired Kleiber as an assistant auditor. Her first day on the job was Jan. 23, 1995.
“Back then it was just four of us in the office: Dan (von Rosenberg), Laurie Karisch, Ruth Ann Wessels and myself,” she said.
Her office now employs seven. Lots else has changed since then, but the basic job remains the same.
“We have to make sure the bank statements are reconciled, all bills are paid, all payroll is processed, and we have to audit all officials’ monthly reports,” Kleiber said. “A lot of counties have separate departments for the treasurer, human resources and auditor, but we do all of it under one roof.”
The casual observer of county business might assume that the county auditor works for the county judge and commissioners court. Actually, the county auditor reports to the district judge. The arrangement serves as a check on the financial operations of all county offices, as well as fulfilling financial accounting and budget responsibilities
In 2007, von Rosenburg retired and the district judge at the time, Dan R. Beck, appointed Kleiber to her first two-year term as county auditor.
Kleiber said one of her favorite parts of the job is meeting all the different people who come to work for the County. She said she also felt gratification implementing new policies and procedures to help all employee’s and also save taxpayer dollars.
“Since we are the HR department for the county, everyone comes through here at some point in time. We get to meet everyone who works for the county.
Kleiber said counting stacks of illicit drug money is one of the more unusual duties that the Auditor’s office has to perform occasionally.
“Whenever the Sheriff’s Office has one of those big busts, our staff has to go to the bank and physically count the money,” she said. “It’s kind of scary but interesting. We have to make sure we count it and get it deposited as soon as possible.”
The County has had some financial ups and downs over the years.
When Kleiber took over as county auditor, Fayette County was self-funding its employee health insurance program. That system saved the County a lot of money until one year when several employees experienced catastrophic medical issues.
That year, funds got so tight that the four commissioners had to chip in some of their road and bridge money to cover the soaring healthcare costs. (The four commissioners oversee their own separate budgets for maintaining the county roadways, but expenses for all other county departments, including employee insurance costs, come out of the general fund.)
“We really had a hard time recovering from that,” she said.
Today, the County contracts with the Texas Association of Counties for health insurance. With guidance from Kleiber, Commissioners have implemented annual employee health fairs and issued activity trackers like Fitbits to employees. Those programs resulted not only in a healthier workforce, but lower insurance costs as well. Kleiber reported to commissioners just last week that the County’s health insurance rates will stay flat next year – an impressive feat considering the rise in healthcare costs across the nation.
When asked about the most difficult part of her job, Kleiber responded, “The ever-changing laws and statutes. That’s the biggest thing. When the Legislature meets, that next year is usually very hectic.”
Kleiber said the Hurricane Harvey flood of 2017 stands out as one of the most challenging periods during her years with the County. The state and federal government offered millions of dollars in disaster aid for local governments like Fayette County, but those funds required reams of paperworks.
“For Hurricane Harvey, we had to produce copies of direct deposits, time cards, every bill, every invoice, every purchase order,” she said. “It was a pile of paperwork we had to do.”
Last year, commissioners voted to increase the county property tax rate in order to build an emergency reserve fund. Kleiber said that move proved fortuitous this year, especially with the verdict is still out on how bad the coronavirus shutdowns will have affected the local economy.
“Overall, we’re in a lot better shape now than we were in 2007,” she said.
Kleiber officially retires on Oct. 31. She plans to use some earned time off, so her last day in the office will probably be sometime in September. Her husband Dennis retired from the County back in February. Kleiber said they plan to do some traveling, especially camping and spending time with their grandkids.
District Judge Jeff Steinhauser is seeking applicants to take Kleiber’s position after she retires. The job posting on the county website (https://www.co.fayette.tx.us, look under “Jobs”) states that qualified applicants must be “(1) a competent accountant with at least two year’s experience in auditing and accounting; (2) thoroughly competent in public business details; and (3) a person of unquestionably good moral character and intelligence.”
Kleiber said her successor will need another important trait – patience. Her successor will have to balance the needs of employees, questions from commissioners, and the complicated web of state and federal bureaucracies.
“When I’m working on something, I like to get it done, but sometimes you’re waiting for someone else to give you an answer,” she said. “You have to use your patience, and make sure you have all the correct information before you can move on. So many times, we have to get legal advice before we proceed. Patience is probably the biggest thing.”