Auditor

The Auditor prepares weekly, and as-needed, meeting agendas for County Board of Supervisors, provides public notice of all meetings, and maintains all official records of meeting minutes, Board voting records, resolutions, contracts, and correspondence. The Auditor publishes the minutes/proceedings and any other required legal notices. Supervisors meet in the Boardroom Mondays at 9:30 A.M. and other times as necessary. (This day and time is subject to change the first meeting each January when the Supervisors set their meeting day/time for the year.)

The auditor, as Commissioner of Elections, administers all federal, state, and local elections that take place in the county. Responsibilities include voter registrations, absentee voting, recruitment and training of precinct election officials, accurate printing of ballots, daily reconciliation of all ballots/styles, receiving nomination papers from local candidates and notifying voters of elections. The Auditor ensures that all polling places are ADA compliant and equipped with necessary supplies, forms, etc. Following an election, the Auditor prepares the necessary reports for the Supervisors to canvass the election and certifies the election results to the State and/or political subdivision for which the election was held. There is also a required Post-Election audit which requires a hand-count of a race on the ballot, to prove the election equipment worked properly on election day – to uphold the integrity of elections in Iowa. Certificates of Election are issued to the winning local candidates, by the Auditor and Board of Supervisors.

The Auditor assists the Board of Supervisors with the County budget, receives and compiles budget information from the various county departments, assists Supervisors in setting levies based on budgeted carryovers in levied funds and monitors the budget throughout the fiscal year. If the Auditor determines a budget amendment is needed, a request is made to the Supervisors to set a public hearing date for a budget amendment, and the Auditor prepares and publishes a budget amendment for approval by the Supervisors at the Public Hearing. Budgets of other governmental entities are filed with the Auditor such as: Schools, Cities, Townships, Agricultural Extension, Emergency Management, County
Assessor, E911 Service Board, County Hospital, etc. The Auditor must certify that each of the budgets was published according to required timelines and no budget was approved at higher than what was published in the entities Notice of Public Hearing, and certifies each budget with the Department of Management.

The Auditor’s financial role for the county is similar to a CFO or COO of a corporation. Beginning with the budget process described above, the auditor monitors budgets on a monthly basis, or more often if deemed necessary. At the end of every fiscal year-end the Auditor completes a “State of the County” Financial Report, which is reported on a state website for public viewing. Other financial duties in the Auditor’s office include: All county payroll is processed in the Auditor’s office, benefits, and quarterly tax reporting and IPERS reporting. All Accounts Payable are processed through the Auditor’s office for all services and materials rendered and charged to the various county departments. The Supervisors give final approval on all accounts payable. The County Auditor also works in depth with the CPA firm who audits the county’s financial records once a year, to ensure a complete and clean audit of the county’s financial records.

The Auditor's office uses the Assessor’s Abstract for assessed values, along with rollbacks (assessment limitations) set by the State of Iowa, and credits and exemptions, to calculate the taxable valuation for each property owner in the county. Using the total taxable valuation for the county – for Rural and Urban – the Auditor assists the Board of Supervisors during the budget process to set levy rates for General Basic, General Supplemental and Rural Basic levies that will be used to prepare each taxpayer’s tax statement in July each year.

The Auditor’s office enters and maintains records of all real estate transfers in the county, including credits and exemptions as applicable – such as Agland, Family Farm, Disabled Veterans, Military and Homestead. The Auditor keeps the plat maps and transfer books current so the public can examine them and determine property ownership.

The Auditor processes beer & liquor permits for businesses in unincorporated areas once approved by the Board of Supervisors.

The Auditor, under the direction of the Board of Supervisors, is responsible for the general maintenance and repair of the courthouse and handles issues involving office space and records storage.

Auditor’s office staff are certified Passport Acceptance Agents who work with applicants to provide proof of identity and citizenship with their application, and submit applications to the National Passport Agency for processing.

AT THE REQUIREMENT OF THE NATIONAL PASSPORT AGENCY, CASH CAN NOT BE ACCEPTED IN OUR OFFICE AS PAYMENT FOR APPLICATION FEES THAT MUST BE SENT IN TO THE PASSPORT AGENCY! Applicants must pay application fees by check or money order.

**The $35 Acceptance fee paid to Auditor's office CAN still be cash as that money stays in the County office. Credit cards are not accepted at our acceptance facility.  Please call us with questions.

**EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 27, 2021 passport application fees are:

• ADULT application fee $130 per application
• CHILD application fee $100 per application.
• The processing fee to the Auditor's office is $35 per passport and is set by the National Passport Agency.

If your passport is expired/near expiration and issued less than 15 years ago, you may complete the renewal process. The Auditor's office has renewal application forms and will happily assist with reviewing and assembling a renewal application before you mail it in. Stop in if you need a renewal form.

For more information about passports, visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel.html or call us.

• *WE DO NOT ACCEPT DEBIT or CREDIT CARDS.
• CHECK or MONEY ORDER is required for the application fees, payable to Department of State.
• CASH OR CHECK is accepted for the processing fee payable to Allamakee County Auditor's office.