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Monroe County Auditor
From Bloomingpedia
The County Auditor serves as something of an accountant for the county, administering both property records and financial records. Duties of the office include certifying property owners, maintaining tax exemptions and deductions, administering county payroll and human resource records, and making bond payments. The auditor runs for election every four years and may not serve more than two consecutive terms. The auditor has a staff of roughly twelve people.
Some say the auditor's office is the most powerful and lucrative elected position in county government. For this reason, races are often contested heavily. From 1984 to 2000, Republicans held the office but were sometimes forced into tough primary races. In 2004, county treasurer Pat Jeffries won the Republican nomination over Marty Hawk, but lost to Sandy Newmann in the Democratic swing that swept the country. Jeffries spent $13,000 on her campaign while Newmann spent over $9,000. (1)
Newmann's first term was marked by many changes. Upon taking over the auditor's office, she requested that many of the permanent staff leave their positions. The objectivity of the replacements Newmann made, including the hiring of her daughter, Sondra Berg, were called into question. This led to former employee, Larry Cassady filing a complaint - later dismissed - with the EEOC in 2006, claiming Newmann had fired him due to his age. She made some progress towards computerizing many of the functions of the office, but early problems with county payroll caused a great deal of furor in early 2007. Her attempt to give all citizens equal access to property transfer filings led to considerable frustration on the part of local title companies, and eventually several Monroe County Council members requested that she resign. Questions were raised as to whether the issues were more performance or politically related. Newmann responded with a press conference (2) in which she enumerated her successes and reassigned her chief deputy Cathy Smith, replacing her with Mark Hazelbaker.
Newmann has since lost her party's nomination to run again for the auditor's position. In the May 6, 2008 primary, she was unseated by newcomer, Amy Gerstman.
Office holders include:
- Sandy Newmann: 2004 - Present
- Barb Clark: 1996 - 2004
- Margaret Cook: 1988 - 1996
- Rodney Brown: 1984 - 1988
