Treasurer Sues Supervisors

Maricopa County Treasurer Charles "Hos" Hoskins has sued county supervisors in a bid to increase his department's annual budget to $3.4 million from $2.6 million and add two cashiers and two accountants.

Hoskins filed the suit last week in Maricopa County Superior Court.

The treasurer maintains that the current budget won't cover current payroll and supplies. The department was funded for five cashiers in fiscal 2009, but Hoskins said the office has only one full-time cashier.

The treasurer's office manages an investment portfolio of about $3 billion, and maintains some 1,200 accounts for schools, cities, and special districts in the county. The department has 37 employees.

In a letter to the supervisors notifying them of the suit, Hoskins said county manager David Smith and assistant manager Sandi Wilson should be fired for interfering with the treasury department.

"They demonstrate little or no respect for the responsibilities I have and deliberately persist in interfering with the operations of my office," Hoskins said in the letter.

Hoskins was appointed county treasurer in November 2007 by the board of supervisors.

The new suit is the second one filed against Maricopa by Hoskins in the last year. The earlier suit maintains that county supervisors improperly took control of the treasurer's computer system.

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