In Vermilion County, the
County Auditor is an elected position, as established by State Statute in
55 ILCS 5/3-1001. With election based on the population established by the
Federal census, the Vermilion County Auditor is one of only 17 elected
County Auditor s in the State of Illinois representing the 17 largest
counties excluding Cook.
Duties of the auditor vary in each of these 17 counties. A small
percentage are doing all the financial duties of the county. In many, such
as Vermilion County, over the years duties have been split and delegated
to other positions and offices. This removal of duties has usually been
effected through County Board action.
In Vermilion County the Auditor serves several functions. While the
Statutes in 55ILCS 5/3-1006 states that the Auditor shall "be the general
accountant of the County...", these duties are actually split between the
Auditor, the Human Resources Director, the Financial Resources Director,
and the IS department. All of these offices work closely together and
consult frequently to insure that all the accounting for the County is
accurate and reliable.
While the duties are varied and ever changing in this office, I will
attempt to list those that are primary to the County's operation. Items
listed in quotations are direct duties as outlined in 55 ILCS 5/3-1005, as
duties specific to the County Auditor.
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 "Audit all claims against the
County..." This is done by physically auditing every invoice or claim
for payment prior to a check being issued. Invoices are looked at for
accuracy in math, possible overcharges, and to insure that they are
legitimate County expenses. Payments on contracts must be verified to
be accurate in relation to those contracts. Payments for expenses to
employees must be verified to be in accordance with adopted County
policies. Vermilion County pays, on average, 500 individual invoices
per week.
Monitor budget usage. This consists of examining the budget and
spending for every item presented for payment. This means that we
continuously monitor spending patterns and usage for over 70 budgets
totaling an estimated $33.9 million, and several non-budgeted funds in
addition.
Approve all bills for payment. This duty was delegated to the
County Auditor several years ago by the County Board to insure that
payments to vendors and service suppliers was made on a continuous
basis. Any bills that are rejected by the Auditor are returned to the
various departments for correction, or taken to the County Board for
further action.
"Approve all order for supplies issued by various County officers,
before the orders are to be placed..." This is done through a purchase
order system for supply purchase and payment. Numbers and approval for
purchase orders are obtained through the County Auditor's office. Each
bill must have a purchase order attached for consideration for
payment.
"Audit all receipts of County officers and departments presented
for deposit with the Treasurer."
"Maintain continuous internal audit of the operations and
financial records of the officers, agents or divisions of the County."
Serves as an accounting consultant to all County offices. This
reduces charges from our outside accounting firms.
Recommend any financial policies that may be needed to the County
Board for adoption.
Continuously monitor usage of goods and services by all
departments. When applicable we seek bids on bulk purchases of items,
such as copy and computer papers to get a reduced cost. We also seek
group discounts on services such as cellular phones to further reduce
costs.
Seek bids on goods and services as requested by various offices.
Serves as a
Freedom of Information (FOIA) officer for the
County. All of our records are subject to this act.
Provides Notary Public services to the public.
As you can see the
office of County Auditor provides many financial and auditing services to
the County. It is our goal to maintain quality service to the
citizens, while keeping costs of your government at a minimum.
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