The County Auditor is the Chief Fiscal Officer for the County. It is the Auditor’s 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 agencies. The General Accounting Department is the watchdog over all county funds and maintains the official records of all receipts, disbursements and fund balances.

The General Accounting Department includes Accounts Payable, Payroll & Benefits, Budgets and Settlements and Financial Reporting.

The Accounts Payable is responsible for the timely payment of all bills generated in each county department. Over 25,000 payments to vendors are processed through Accounts Payable annually.

The Payroll & Benefits is responsible for the bi-weekly processing of payroll and warrants for the County’s 850+ employees. This department does payroll calculation and check preparation. Over 30,000 payroll warrants are processed annually. The department also administers, eye, dental, prescription and three health insurance plans for the county employees.

The Budgets & Settlements assists in preparation of the general tax list of the County, calculates the voted and unvoted tax rates for the county and the 36 political subdivisions, and once such taxes are collected by and settled with the County Treasurer, distributes the tax receipts to the appropriate political subdivisions and agencies within the County.

The Auditor also distributes motor vehicle license fees, gasoline taxes, estate taxes, fines and local government funds in addition to real estate, personal property and manufactured home taxes.

As Fiscal Officer of the County, the Auditor is required by law to prepare the County’s annual financial report. The Auditor has prepared the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) each year since 1991. Belmont County has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association each year since 1991 for the CAFR report.