The Schuylkill County Salary Board on Wednesday hired an accountant/ auditor in the Controller's office and set her salary at $37,447.

Former bank manager Sharyn Yackenchick of Wayne Township will fill that position.The job opening came about after another staff member's duties were shifted to payroll responsibilities.The board also created the position of interim deputy in the controller's office.The hiring came about after the county decided to again have Controller Christy D. Joy's office assume all payroll duties.That's the way payroll was handled until the late 1990s, when then-Controller Gary Hornberger was in office. Then, the job was moved to the human resources office."As controller, I was responsible for completing the various tax forms and completing the withholdings. This was by tradition, not by (county) code. I had asked the board of commissioners if they would prefer moving the payroll process to human resources or bringing it wholly under my supervision," Joy said.He said commissioners had considered hiring an outside consultant to handle the tax forms, and that that consultant advised moving the payroll work to the controller's office."The board of commissioners felt that based on the education and experience of my staff, payroll would be better suited in the controller's office," Joy said. "Human resources will still be used to interpret union contracts and county policy."He told the commissioners that if they wanted his office to supervise payroll, he'd need another person in order to "keep my audit function whole."Joy said he chose the best candidate for the job."I had 85 candidates send me resumes. I interviewed seven. I had a certified public accountant, but he wanted more money," Joy said.Commissioner Gary J. Hess questioned Joy on the cost.Joy said the salary was reasonable, given the skills needed and the experience and knowledge Yackenchick has.He said that even with the additional staff, his office is still within its annual budget.