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Sandy Newmann

From Bloomingpedia

Sandy Newmann was elected Monroe County Auditor in 2004. She was born in approximately 1947 and is a lifelong Bloomington resident. The auditor's office is her first elected position; she was previously a payroll coordinator at Stone Belt Center. She has a degree in accounting technology and amassed 17 years of accounting experience before taking the Auditor position.

She is married to Monroe County Councilmember Charles Newmann.

Her tenure as Auditor was marked almost from the beginning by controversy; within the first few months she purchased a small amount of office furniture with money designated for office supplies, and hired her daughter, Sondra Berg, as a deputy auditor.

In 2006, a new computer system was implemented, but growing pains led to some public annoyance as local title companies began complaining of poor customer service, information access, and even factual discrepancies. At the same time, employee Larry Cassady was fired, and filed a lawsuit claiming age discrimination.

But it was in December of that year that frustration with Newmann reached its highest level, when some county workers were shorted on their paychecks. Problems persisted for three consecutive pay periods, and the Monroe County Commissioners requested an audit by accounting firm BKD. In June of the next year, Newmann was asked to resign by several members of the Monroe County Council. She refused, and the Herald-Times began to suggest that the auditor office was too important to be held by an elected official.

In May of 2008, Newmann was defeated in her bid for reelection in the Democratic primary by Amy Gerstman.