La Plata County has hired a new finance director.
Since February 2013, the county’s finance director had been Diane Sorenson.
Sorenson, however, moved to Minnesota in October 2018 for family reasons. Because of other staff turnover, namely the retirement of then-county manager Joanne Spina, and the fact it was budget season, county officials allowed Sorenson to work remotely.
County Manager Chuck Stevens, who took over for Spina, allowed Sorenson to continue to work remotely. Sorenson then retired at the end of July.
La Plata County announced this week the hiring of Adam Rogers as the new finance director. Rogers started in the position Monday.
According to a county news release, Rogers has spent his career in financial management, most recently serving as the chief financial officer for Montrose County School District. He has worked as a finance director and CFO in the private and public sectors for more than 20 years.
“His background in public and private sector financial management and demonstrated commitment to fiscal stewardship will serve La Plata County exceptionally well,” Stevens said in a prepared statement.
Rogers is the husband of County Attorney Sheryl Rogers.
Megan Graham, spokeswoman for La Plata County, said 28 people applied for the vacancy. The search was narrowed down to three finalists, and Graham said Rogers emerged as the best candidate for the job.
“Mr. Rogers stood out on his merits alone,” she said.
The county is taking steps to be proactive about potential conflicts that may arise, Graham said.
For starters, Graham said the county attorney answers to county commissioners, and the finance director is supervised by the county manager.
“They’re completely outside each other’s line of work and chain of command,” Graham said.
Still, county officials consulted auditors to get suggestions about best practices to avoid any potential conflicts.
“We’re implementing best practices to make sure there’s no conflict that arises as a result of Adam’s hire as finance director,” Graham said.
Graham didn’t have the specifics about the best practices Tuesday. She said county officials will meet Wednesday to sort through the protocols, identifying any potential conflicts and make sure there are internal controls in place.
Sheryl Rogers first started representing La Plata County in July 1997, working for an outside firm that served as legal counsel for the county at a time before the county had legal services in house. Those services were brought in-house in 2009, and Sheryl Rogers along with it.
Adam Rogers, according to the news release, has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Washburn University, and a Master of Business Administration from Regis University. He will oversee the eight-person Finance Department, “which is charged with promoting sound fiscal leadership, ensuring regulatory compliance and providing proper stewardship of public funds.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
