By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Eatonville town officials want a treasurer. Now they just have to find someone to take the job. Four months after the previous treasurer left the post to become mayor, the town is advertising for someone to fill it at least temporarily. This Friday is when officials hope to stop seeking applications and begin the process of appointing someone. The appointment would last until Dec. 31, the end of the current four-year term of treasurer that Mike Schaub won in the 2011 election. He was elected mayor last November. A new treasurer would have the opportunity of running for the office, along with any other candidates, in this fall's election. Late last week, no one had applied, officials said. If that's still the case by the end of this week, the town will be racing the calendar to keep control of the appointment process. The Town Council must make an appointment by the end of March, the latest under state law that the position can remain open, said town administrator Doug Beagle. If no one has been put in office by then, the appointment could be made by Pierce County officials, as allowed by election laws. If there are applicants by Friday, the council's Finance Committee would review their backgrounds and make a recommendation to the full council for a possible appointment. The process could include public interviews of applicants by the council, similar to last year's selection of James Schrimpsher for a vacant council seat. The town can continue efforts to attract applicants if none materialize by Friday, but will have only three weeks to get an appointment done. Prospective applicants must be culled from within Eatonville's population of approximately 2,800 residents. Because it's an elected position, the treasurer must live in the town. The treasurer position has been empty since Dec. 26, when Schaub took office as mayor. Since then, he and the council have said they support the role of treasurer. Eatonville is the only town or city in Washington with an elected treasurer. Others have non-elected administrators who manage municipal finances. In 2012, then-mayor Ray Harper proposed eliminating Eatonville's treasurer position as a way to streamline the town's government and cut some costs. The council rejected the idea, opting instead to keep a system in which the treasurer shares financial oversight with the town clerk as a way of checks and balances of financial management. The five-member council has three new members since the 2012 debate, but support for the treasurer position continues. The treasurer's salary is $11,000 per year.
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