Fiscal Services (Finance and Payroll)
The Stark County Auditor is the county’s chief financial officer. The auditor is responsible for the following functions:
• Accounting for the County’s revenues each year. • Issue warrants (checks) to pay all County obligations, including the distribution of tax dollars to the municipalities. Townships, villages, cities, school districts, library systems, and other County agencies are all included. • Serve as the payroll administrator for all County employees.
• Manage and distribute vehicle license fees, gasoline taxes, estate taxes, fines, and local government fees. In addition to real estate, personal property, and manufactured home taxes, funds must be set aside.
• Prepare and publish the County’s annual financial report, as required by law. Stark County is preparing an A Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and a Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) are both required by law.
Real Estate Taxes and Rates
The county auditor is not allowed by law to raise or lower property taxes. Tax rates are determined by the budgetary requests of each governmental unit, as authorized by popular vote, and are computed in strict accordance with procedures mandated by the Ohio Department of Taxation’s Division of Tax Equalization. Every year, the auditor is in charge of creating the general tax list.
Your tax bill is calculated by multiplying the tax rate by your valuation on this tax list. This is the case. your proportionate share of the operating costs of your local government, which includes cities, villages, townships, and schools as well as the County. The amount of taxation that can be levied without a referendum in Ohio is known as the “10 mill limit.”
Real Estate Conveyance and CAUV
This department is in charge of transferring all real estate in the County that changes ownership and collecting fees for this activity. They keep track of all ownership changes, acreage changes, real estate splits, and provide information for tax plat maps. The auditor is also in charge of overseeing the administration of the Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) Farmland can be taxed at its market value
Licensing
The auditor’s office is the County’s central point for issuing licenses for dogs, vendors, and cigarette sales. Every year, Stark County issues over 50,000 dog licenses. Vendor licenses allow businesses to sell tangible property to the public while collecting sales tax, a portion of which is returned to the local government.
Manufactured Housing
The County currently has 50 manufactured home communities in operation. Stark County has one of the highest concentrations of manufactured homes in Ohio. Owners of manufactured homes in Ohio are required by law to register their homes with the county auditor for tax purposes. Annually, Each manufactured home is assessed and a tax list is created by the auditor’s office. Each owner receives a tax bill. semiannually. The manufactured home tax is distributed in the same way to local taxing districts. in the same way that property taxes are.
The auditor is in charge of the County Information Technology Center and is the Chief Administrator of the Data Processing Board. To automate various County functions, changes in computer systems and planning must be approved by the board. Increasing financial and recordkeeping efficiency County systems will improve services, reduce costs, and provide County officials with a modern environment. Management tool for better government administration.
The Stark County Information Technology Department the Division manages all aspects of computing for the County’s government offices. Among these services are: Programming, computer hardware and software support, consultation, management, and logistical assistance as well as network services. Over 1000 nodes in the County computer network are supported by Information Services.
Striving for Continuous Improvement
The Stark County Auditor’s Office is dedicated to transparency, accountability, and efficiency throughout county government, not just in the Auditor’s Office. The Auditor and Treasurer continue to meet with the Commissioners on a monthly basis in order to keep both the Board and the public informed of the County’s financial situation. The Auditor’s Office is always looking for ways to improve its processes, such as going paperless. payroll, as well as a push for greater use of electronic banking
Striving for Continuous Improvement
With a variety of map and safety planning tools. The coming year will see us reexamine everyone who uses this critical technology to ensure we stay on the cutting edge of collaboration and implementation. Economic development is critical to the region’s short and long-term success. Stark County has recently seen encouraging signs with the reuse of the Hoover Company facility in North Canton and the ongoing development of the Alliance Industrial Park. Shearer’s Foods, a long-standing community member, and Brewster Dairy and community icon Timken Company have both made multi-million dollar investments.
Conclusion
The appointment considerations were first discussed as a response to investigations that revealed alleged illegality, malfeasance, and incompetence by the previous Stark County Auditor prior to her resignation in October of 2024