Auditor

    UNION COUNTY AUDITOR
  (1820-PRESENT)   

The Ohio Constitution of 1802 made no provision for the office of county auditor – it was not until 1820 that the office was created through a joint resolution of the Ohio General Assembly.  Initially appointive, the position became elective the following year for a term of one year.  The term was raised to two years in 1824 and in 1877 was increased to three years.  In 1919, the auditor’s term of office was increased to four years. 

The duties of the county auditor include the annual preparation of duplicate lists of property which are subject to taxation within the county.  Taxable property includes real estate, personal, and classified property, and the auditor is responsible for having this property appraised every six years.  The auditor also is required to maintain a listing of all delinquent taxes. 

The auditor serves as chief disbursing officer for the county.  Upon presentation of the proper voucher and the auditor’s certification that funds are available, claims against the county may be submitted to the board of county commissioners for their approval.  Once allowed by the commissioners, the auditor prepares a warrant against the county treasury for payment of the claim.  In addition, the auditor certifies all monies – except collections on the Tax List – into the county treasury, specifying by whom paid and the fund to which such payment is credited. 

Since 1820, the auditor has been empowered to perform many diverse duties.  The auditor became the sealer of weights and measures for the county in 1846.  During the nineteenth century the county auditor was responsible for compiling and reporting to the state auditor various statistical reports, such as the enumeration of all white males between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, assessors’ agricultural returns; and the agricultural and mineral production statistics of the county.  As a licensing agent, the auditor has issued dog licenses since 1917, show licenses since 1827, peddlers’ licenses from 1933 to 1935, cigarette vendors’ licenses since 1931 and vendor’s licenses since 1935. 

Currently, the auditor is the chief fiscal officer for Union County.  It is the auditor’s responsibly to oversee the administration and distribution of tax revenues, administration of all county funds, county payroll, the personal property tax, real estate tax, inheritance tax, property tax relief – homestead exemption, property tax rollback – tax rates, geographic information system (GIS) mapping, real estate assessments, manufactured home registrations, and the current agricultural use valuation (CAUV).  The auditor also serves as secretary of the budget commission, secretary of the board of trustees of the sinking fund (no longer active in Union County), secretary of the board of revision, and chief administrator and secretary of the data processing board.  The auditor also may serve as clerk to the board of county commissioners unless the board deems it necessary to hire a full-time clerk.  In addition, the auditor serves on the county records commission. 

  RECORDS OF THE UNION COUNTY AUDITOR