GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- The county's new interim controller has a big job ahead of him, and he's in line to get big bucks for doing it.<br /><br />Keith Francis, who is leaving a position as interim finance director/treasurer for the city of Bloomfield Hills, will earn $110 per hour for his work as interim controller here, according to a contract approved Wednesday, Feb. 6, by the county Board of Commissioners.<br /><br />Francis was chosen to fill that spot by commissioners during a special meeting last week and was introduced as interim controller Wednesday.<br /><br />Board Chairman Jamie Curtis said Francis will not receive benefits in addition to his salary and will work no more than 120 days as interim controller.<br /><br />He said the $110-per-hour pay rate, which would translate to an annual salary of $228,800, is fair given Francis' background and the urgency of the situation he is walking into.<br /><br />"We're in a crisis mode," Curtis said. "We're in the middle of an audit. We want him -- the sooner the better."<br /><br />Commissioners need an interim controller as they search for a permanent replacement for George Martini, who was fired from his position last month.<br /><br />Martini has since sued the county, claiming he was wrongly fired from his job for blowing the whistle on retirement-benefit double-dipping by county Sheriff Robert Pickell.<br /><br />Pickell has said the issue of his pension collection is unresolved and that talks have been ongoing for about the past year.<br /><br />Francis, a certified public accountant, has a master's degree from Walsh College. In addition to his current position, he worked as interim controller in the city of Troy from 2011-2012 and was plant controller from 1998 to 199 at Petegrine Inc. in Flint.<br /><br />Commissioners made no comment on Francis' rate of pay during their meeting Wednesday.<br /><br />The Flint Journal could not immediately reach Commissioner Mark Young, D-Grand Blanc Twp., for comment. Young is the chairman of the a county finance committee that works closely with the controller's office.<br /><br /> Commissioner Ted Henry, D-Clayton Twp., said he was never invited to last week's special meeting.<br /><br />"I had no input," Henry said. "I was left out of the loop."