The County Auditor

Similarly to the county recorder, the county auditor has existed in Indiana for a long time. While there was no provision for a county auditor in the Constitution of 1816, the Constitution of 1861 did include such a provision. If you will recall, the Indiana Constitution now states:

There shall be elected, in each county by the voters thereof, at the time of holding general elections, a Clerk of the Circuit Court, Auditor, Recorder, Treasurer, Sheriff, Coroner, and Surveyor, who shall, severally, hold their offices for four years.[1]

Also similarly to the recorder, the auditor has legislation passed which establishes the specifics of responsibility and operation of the office. Its powers are located at Indiana Code § 36-2-9-1, et. seq.

The auditor is what is called the “fiscal officer” of a county.[2] Black’s Law Dictionary defines the auditor as:

A public officer whose function is to examine and pass upon the accounts and vouchers of officers who have received and expended public money by lawful authority.

In Indiana, the duties of an auditor include, for example: replacing outdated or worn maps used by the office,[3] publishing standard forms for those doing business with the office,[4] acting as the clerk (or secretary) of the county fiscal body, which requires various actions,[5] initiate lawsuits for collection of bonds, notes, etc., owed to the county,[6] and keeping track of money collected, appropriations, and settlement of accounts, by the county fiscal body.[7] With all of that said, the auditor has some very specific real-property-related functions which are our concern here.[8]

Recall that the recorder may not record a deed of conveyance (and some other documents) without a stamp by the auditor.[9] At the time the auditor makes that stamp, the auditor may also assign a tax identification number to the parcel in question. The tax identification number is usually that established by the Department of Local Government Finance in Ind. Code § 6-1.1-5-2, entitled “Index Numbering System.” That number is defined as “a unique identifier assigned to…a real property record…[10] for use by assessment officials and the county auditor and county treasurer offices.[11] The number consists of a series of 18 digits, which are separated by hyphens, and of which each group has a meaning. The real parcel numbering system is keyed to the public land survey system,[12] and is structured as “00-00-00-000.000-000.” The first set of two numbers is the county number (such as St. Joseph being “71”), the second two are the township and range numbers, and the third is the section number. The first part of the fourth set are block numbers for urban areas – if there are no block numbers, these are zeroes. The fourth set in its entirety is the permanent parcel number assigned to a parcel of land. The last three are a two or three digit number which indicates the state-assigned taxing district in which the parcel is located.[13] This identification number is used in various ways by the recorder, assessor, and auditor for tax purposes, though it does not substitute for a legal description, as it cannot be used legally to indicate size or location of the parcel.[14]

[1] Ind. Const. art. VI, § 2.

[2] Ind. Code § 36-2-9-2(c).

[3] Ind. Code § 36-2-9-5.

[4] Ind. Code § 36-2-9-6.

[5] Ind. Code §§ 36-2-9-8, 36-2-3-6.

[6] Ind. Code § 36-2-9-10.

[7] Ind. Code §§ 36-2-9-12, 36-2-9-13, 36-2-9-15.

[8] Why do you think we’re talking about this? I suppose a general overview of the functions of county offices would be interesting in and of itself…but we’re all about the real property.

[9] Ind. Code § 36-2-11-14.

[10] May also be used in personal property records, mobile homes, oil and gas leases, a billable utility assessment, other special assessments, a distributable property record, and any other assessments which require a tax bill. 50 IAC 26-2-50.

[11] 50 IAC 26-2-50.

[12] 50 IAC 26-8-1(b)(1).

[13] This is established by 50 IAC 26-8-1(b)(2)(A)-(F).

[14] Ind. Code § 36-2-9-18(c).