[0:00] every county government office in Utah
[0:02] is unique because all are run by elected
[0:05] officials chosen by their community each
[0:07] has an important job and function as
[0:10] they work together to provide citizens
[0:12] with a variety of useful services let's
[0:15] visit the county auditor's office to see
[0:17] what they do think of the county auditor
[0:19] as an independent control or voice that
[0:22] represents every citizen ensuring that
[0:24] county funds are properly spent and
[0:26] accounted for in most counties the
[0:28] county auditor with some help from the
[0:30] county treasurer functions much the same
[0:33] as a chief financial officer would in
[0:35] the private sector they oversee all
[0:37] money received and distributed by the
[0:39] county to provide a wide variety of
[0:41] important services to the community this
[0:43] involves carefully reviewing and
[0:45] approving all vouchers requisitions and
[0:47] purchase orders watching especially for
[0:50] things that are either new or different
[0:51] than normal if they spot something that
[0:54] is out of the ordinary the county
[0:55] auditor
[0:56] can pause the process to gather more
[0:58] information before moving ahead another
[1:00] duty is to oversee special funding and
[1:03] called bonds which are used to pay for
[1:05] big County projects such as buildings
[1:07] transportation needs and other things
[1:09] for the community some types of bonds
[1:11] require a vote of the people but bond
[1:13] financing ensures that the citizens who
[1:16] utilize these new projects pay for them
[1:18] equally over time auditors also play an
[1:21] important role in Utah's property tax
[1:23] system they certify the official tax
[1:25] rates and submit them to the state tax
[1:27] Commission in July they send valuation
[1:30] notices to property owners giving them a
[1:33] preview of what their property tax bill
[1:35] will be in November these notices also
[1:38] include information about due dates and
[1:39] appeal options along with that auditors
[1:42] in most counties act as a clerk for
[1:44] property tax appeals heard by the County
[1:46] Board of Equalization who makes final
[1:48] rulings and the auditor also handles
[1:51] property tax relief requests called
[1:53] circuit breakers and abatements from
[1:55] landowners who qualify based on
[1:57] disability income age or military
[2:00] service the county auditor is
[2:02] responsible for
[2:03] forming internal financial and fraud
[2:05] related audits this requires monitoring
[2:07] internal controls that safeguard public
[2:10] money in these audits the auditor acts
[2:12] as the citizens watchdog to ensure funds
[2:15] are utilized appropriately in addition
[2:17] to financial audits the executive branch
[2:20] may request performance audits be
[2:21] conducted of county departments
[2:23] performance audits measure whether or
[2:25] not a department is meeting the goals
[2:27] outlined by the county in these audits
[2:29] the executive branch sets the scope and
[2:32] criteria of the audit and the auditor
[2:34] acts as an independent investigator to
[2:36] see if required goals are being met
[2:38] finally in most counties the auditor
[2:41] acts as the budget officer they review
[2:43] financial trends make recommendations
[2:45] for upcoming expenditures projected
[2:47] revenues monitor the current year budget
[2:49] make adjustments throughout the year and
[2:51] provide public notice of the budget
[2:53] process the auditor is just one of many
[2:57] important offices at your County but
[2:59] without their expertise and managing all
[3:01] of the finances it would be difficult
[3:03] for counties and all the services they
[3:05] provide to run efficiently and
[3:07] accurately for the citizens they serve
[3:10] counties are a key part of every
[3:12] community uniting local people with
[3:15] solutions to meet local needs we're the
[3:18] Utah Association of counties the
[3:20] unifying voice for county government
[3:25] you