Welcome to Howard County, Iowa
Duties of the Auditor's Office
The Auditor prepares meeting agendas and notifies the media, maintains all official records of meeting minutes, Board voting records, resolutions, contracts, and correspondence. The office publishes the proceedings and other legal notices.
County Commissioner of Elections
The auditor administers all federal, state, & local elections that take place in the county.
Responsibilities include: Voter registrations,
Absentee voting,
Recruitment and training of precinct election officials,
Printing and counting ballots,
Receiving nomination papers and notifying voters of Elections,
Certifying results to the state or political subdivision involved and issues certificates of election to the proper person.
Budget
The Auditor receives and compiles budget information from the various county departments and presents it to the Board of Supervisors and monitors the budget throughout the fiscal year. Budgets of other Governmental entities are filed with the Auditor such as:
Schools, Cities,
Townships,
Agricultural extension,
Emergency Management County Assessor,
E911 Service Board, etc.
Financial Officer
The Auditor completes an annual financial report at the end of each fiscal year.
Payroll is processed by this office.
Claims for all services and materials rendered and charged to the various county departments are submitted to this office for payment.
Property transfer & County Plats
The Auditor enters and maintains records of all real estate transfers in the county.
The Auditor keeps the plat maps and transfer books current so the public can examine them and determine property ownership.
Taxation
The Auditor receives the assessed valuations from the county assessor and applies the biannual equalization and annual rollback to produce the taxable valuation for each property in the county. The auditor processes taxes and produces a tax book for the county treasurer.
Permits
The Auditor processes cigarette licenses, beer and liquor permits for businesses in unincorporated areas
Passports
The Auditor's Office accepts passport applications on Behalf of the U.S. Department of State.
Citizens Planning International Travel may apply for their passports -
Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm at the Howard County Auditor's Office,
Courthouse, Cresco, IA 52136.
Phone number (563) 547-9203
For application forms, Information on documentation required, fees, and a wealth of other passport and International travel information, Visit the only Official website for passport Information: http://www.travel.state.gov For more information about Passports from the Auditor's Office.
For more information call the Auditor's Office at (563) 547-9203
Howard County Auditor's Contact
Howard County Courthouse
137 North Elm Street
Cresco IA 52136
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Phone number: (563) 547-9203
Fax number: (563) 547-9229
County Auditor: Julie Chapman
First Deputy: Amy Retterath
Part Time Clerk: Alexandria Johnston
Documents and forms used in the Auditor's office