Fiscal

The County Auditor is the Chief Fiscal Officer of the county. It is his/her responsibility to account for the millions of dollars received each year by the County and to issue warrants (checks) in payment of all County obligations, including the distribution of tax dollars to the townships, villages, cities, school districts, and library systems as well as other county agencies. The Auditor’s General Accounting Department is the watchdog over all county funds and maintains the official records of all receipts, disbursements, and fund balances.

The County Auditor is the bookkeeper for all county elected officials and many other county agencies such as Human Services and Children Services. The County Auditor also keeps books for many “outside” agencies such as health departments, soil and water conservation districts, and regional planning commissions. As part of that bookkeeping responsibility, the County Auditor pays all the bills for these groups. It is the Auditor’s responsibility to serve as the paymaster for all County employees.

The County Auditor establishes the real property value and calculates the property tax for every parcel of real estate within your county. After the taxes have been collected by the County Treasurer, the Auditor then calculates how much of the money collected goes to each taxing district. Cities, villages, townships, school districts, park districts, community colleges, and others depend on the Auditor to do this quickly and accurately because these taxes are their lifeblood.

Get in Touch

Direct Line: (440) 279-1609
Phone: (440) 285-2222 (Ext. 1609), (440) 564-7131 (Ext. 1609)

Counties receive money from the state and federal governments for many county projects and programs. County Auditors must report the agency of the government that gave the county this money, the program title, and the amount spent.

The state often gives counties money from its own treasury, and sometimes money that it received from the federal government. This requires the same kind of accounting to assure taxpayers that their money is being spent as intended. The ultimate responsibility for accounting for these funds rests with the recipient agency.

The County Auditor also assists county agencies when they apply for state or federal grants to assure that the proper bookkeeping is in place when the monies are received. The Auditor must also file claims for reimbursement under several state programs.