County Assessor

The County Assessor is elected to a four-year term and is not subject to term limits. The assessor functions under the direction of the state board of tax commissioners and can be removed only by that board. The Allen County assessor manages a staff of certified assessors to handle the assessment of all Allen County properties except Wayne Township properties. Wayne Township has its assessor who works with the county Assessor. The Allen County Assessor is paid upwards of $95,000.

The primary duties of the county assessor are
    • Assesses Land and Buildings for Residential & Agricultural Uses
    • Assesses Land and Buildings for Commercial/Industrial Uses
    • Processes Application for Property Tax Exemptions
    • Annually Conducts the Cyclical Reassessment
    • Serves as Secretary to the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals
    • Ensures Countywide Uniform Property Assessment Equalization
    • Administers the Sales Disclosure Process
    • Certifies Annual Assessments to the County Auditor’s Office
    • Establishes Boundaries for Neighborhoods within their Townships
    • Utilizes Recent Sales of Land to Establish Base Market Rates and Values
    • Determines and Certifies Mobile Home Assessments to County Auditor
    • Processes and Certifies Personal Property Assessments


www.allencounty.us/assessors-office

County Auditor

The  Auditor is elected for a four-year term from the county at large and cannot serve more than two terms in 12 years. The Auditor is the Chief Financial Officer of the County and  serves as Secretary of the board of commissioners and county council.  The Auditor is also part of the financial team that is also comprised of the county Treasurer and Assessor. The Allen County Auditor supervises an office  that contains a  Finance and Budget Division,  and Property Tax and Deductions  Division. The Allen County Auditor is paid upwards of $95,000.

Duties of the Auditor' office include;

• Maintaining the county's financial records.
• Issuing warrants for the claim payment following expenditures audits. 
• Tracking all budgets for county expenditures, preparing an annual expenditure report, and balancing all county funds with the treasurer on a regular basis. 
• Providing all taxing entities with estimates of assessed valuation and estimate of taxes to be received.
• Calculate Tax increment financing (TIF) and real estate abatement on an annual basis.
• Preparing budgets for the county and receiving budgets from each taxing unit including rates and levees once adopted by the taxing units that might be published in the form of a proposed tax rate. 
• Processing the payroll, W-2s, and 1099s for county employees as well as paying the payroll tax withholdings and employee pensions. Allen County has a workforce of 1,800 county employees.
• Maintaining the fixed asset ledger. 
• Maintaining the ditch records for the collection of drain fees.

The auditor works with the County Clerk to verify property owners' signatures on a petition of remonstrance and with the County Treasurer when selling properties at tax sale.

https://www.allencounty.us/auditors-office

The Clerk of the Circuit Court (aka County Clerk)

Clerks are elected for a four-year term and can serve no more than two terms in 12 years. Clerks serve dual roles as state election law administrators and administrators to the judiciary. The Allen County Clerk manages a staff of 50 employees and process financial transactions of more than $90 million per year. The Allen County Clerk is paid upwards of $86,000.

The judicial functions of the Clerk include the following;
    • Attending either in person or through a deputy, sessions of the circuit court, and any other county courts.
    • Filing, recording, and entering orders that involve civil, juvenile, and criminal matters.
    • Issuing testimony letters, letters of administration, and letters of guardianship
    • Recording will’s, inventories of estates, sale bills, inheritance tax orders, and final accounts of probate  proceedings.
    • Issuing notifications to the Clerk of the County of judgments related to divorce actions.

As the state election law administrator, the Clerk also serves as a member of and secretary to the County Election Board. They appoint the other members of the county election board, based upon nominations made by the Party chairpersons, and receive candidacy filings from people seeking certain elective offices. Note, that in counties with populations less than 125,000, the registration officer is the Clerk, otherwise the County Chairs of the two major political parties appoint a Board of Registration to handle voter registrations.

In addition, the county clerk has other duties, such as but not limited to; issuing marriage licenses, paying out support monies, and issuing receipts in dependency cases, recording birth certificates, and sending copies to the department of health. 

https://allencoclerk.us/

County Commissioner

The board of commissioners consists of three elected individuals elected from separate districts. They must reside in the district from which they are elected, but they serve the county at large. Their term is four years, and the terms are staggered. Their duties include; controlling, maintaining, and supervising county property, supervising construction and maintenance of roads and bridges, contracting with private people or corporations for ambulance services, establishing solid waste districts and serving on the district boards; making appointments to boards, commissions, and other agencies as provided by law; and providing zoning and planning for the county.  Allen County Commissioners are paid approximately $80,000.

The commissioners are required to do the following;  monthly meetings,  furnish and maintain a courthouse, jail, and public offices for the elected county officials, audit the books of the county treasurer and county auditor. They are also required to preserve legal paperwork and deliver said paperwork to the successor of each office. 

The commissioners appoint the following boards and commissions;
    • Merit Board
    • Park Board
    • Plan Commission
    • Weights and Measures Board
    • Capital Improvement Board
    • Redevelopment Commission
    • Health Department
    • Highway Department
    • Weights and Measures Board
    • Hospital Board
    • Drainage Board
    • Building Commission

https://www.allencounty.us/commissioners

County Council

The County Council, holding the financial power, serves as a check on the County Council and Treasurer. Allen County consists of four districts, with one council member elected from each district. These council members are elected by the citizens living in the same district of their residence. There are an additional three council members elected to serve the entire county. All council members are elected to staggered 4-year terms. Allen County Council members are paid approximately $19,000.

The duties of the County the Council are;
    • Adopt the annual budget based on estimates submitted by the various county agencies through the county auditor.
    • Determine the tax rate for county purposes.
    • Determine the number of officers, deputies, assistants, and employees, as well as their salaries.
    • Maintain fiscal control over all county officers, boards, and commissions appropriating the funds used by the county.
    • The County Council has the authority to adopt a motor vehicle excise surtax for the county.
    • The County Council has the exclusive power to authorize the borrowing of monies for the county

The county budget contains the following details;
    • Expenses for each building or institution maintained or supported by the county.
    • Amount required for building and repairing bridges giving location and cost of each bridge.
    • Salary of the county attorney.
    • Expenses of the county board of health.
    • Amounts required road repair, excluding bridges, itemized by location and amount for each project.
    • Amount required for election expenses showing the estimated number of precincts.
    • Amounts required for paying principal and interest on bonds and loans maturing during that following calendar year.
    • Amounts required to pay judgments, settlements, and costs.
    • Expenses of supporting inmates of benevolent or penal institutions.
    • Amounts required for the publication of delinquent tax lists.
    • Amounts required for the compensation of employees paid from the county treasury.
    • Amounts required to pay the expenses incurred by the property tax assessment board of appeals.
    • An itemized list of all of the other expenditures

https://www.allencounty.us/county-council

Prosecuting Attorney – 38th District

Prosecutors are elected in each judicial circuit for a four-year term. Because the prosecutor is a judicial position it is paid by the state, although counties may also pay a portion of their salary as is the case with Allen county. To be eligible for the office you must reside in the judicial circuit you would live in. Allen County is in the 38th judicial circuit. 

The Prosecutors are responsible for enforcing Indiana laws and are fairly powerful in the fact that they decide if charges against a person should be kept, changed, or dropped. They can also decide to offer plea bargains, recommend bail, determine how investigations should proceed, or allow a person to join a diversionary program. Prosecutors were appointed by Governors until 1851 when the state constitution adopted the proposal to elect them. 

The prosecuting attorney is authorized to appoint one chief deputy, also paid by the state. Each prosecuting attorney is authorized to appoint one or more investigators to help collect and assemble the evidence needed for criminal prosecutions. Funding of the investigator's salaries is the county's responsibility. County funds are used to pay the salaries of additional deputies and investigators and the cost of clerical assistance, operating expenses, and travel allowances.

To become a Prosecutor you must have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice or other pre-law majors, after which law school must be completed and the state bar exam must be passed. Experience is necessary and can be obtained by an internship or by clerking in a prosecutor's office. Full-time Prosecutors in Indiana are paid roughly $160,000 per year.

The Allen County Prosecutor's office has 109 employees consisting of paralegals, record clerks, investigators, deputy prosecutors, administrators, and supervisors. The Prosecutor's office is made up of four divisions;

Criminal

This division handles felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions filed in the county. Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys, Investigators, and Paralegals work in this division.

Child Support

The purpose of this division is to collect support payments to send to custodial parents. It is also responsible for establishing paternity and enforcing current support orders.

Adult Protective Services

With the goal of helping seniors and endangered adults live as independently as possible in the least restrictive environment this division investigating reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation.,

Juvenile

With the understanding that juveniles are still developing, this division works to use various tools to rehabilitate the child while ensuring the safety of the community.


https://www.allencountyprosecutor.com/

County Recorder

The recorder is elected for a term of four years by the county at large but is prohibited from serving more than eight years within a 12-year period.

In Allen County alone there are approximately 155,000 parcels of land that require maintenance of transactions, which requires the receiving and processing of thousands of documents each year. In addition to property transaction records, the Recorders’ office, staffed by relatively small number of workers, preserves neighborhood covenants, military discharge records, business name filings and bankruptcy notices as well as other documents.

These fees are county property and are paid to the county treasury. Currently, Allen County’s is the only Recorder’s Office in Indiana to be completely self-funded, operating solely on a portion of the user fees collected and without property tax dollars. The Allen County's Recorder doesn't have salary information listed in the annual budget. 

http://www.allencountyrecorder.us/Home.aspx

County Sheriff

Indiana county sheriffs are elected to four-year terms and can serve only two consecutive terms in twelve years.

The Allen County Sheriff is responsible for ten divisions that employ 350 employees, with 40% being sworn officers. The Sheriff works with the County Assessor office, the Board of County Commissioners, and the County Council and has a Merit Board to administer functions under a merit system. The 2021 budget for the department was $14,756,243. According to Indiana Code 36-2-13-17, the maximum Sheriff annual compensation is equal to that of a Fulltime Prosecuting Attorney in the County, approximately $150,000 give or take a few thousand dollars.

The following divisions help explain the work of the Sheriff's department.

Civil Division
This division provides security in court and hearing rooms for twenty-five judges/magistrates in three buildings. The division also transports prisoners, serves subpoenas and protective orders, collects delinquent taxes, and conducts sheriff sales on foreclosed properties.

Warrants and Fugitive Division
This division secures and maintains adult criminal bench, parole, and family court warrants. They are responsible for adult probation and can take people into custody for failing to appear for Small Claims Court.

Patrol Division
The duties of this division include road patrol, crash investigations, K-9 service, and act as school and community resource officers.

Criminal Investigations Division
The division takes control of crime scenes, organizes and investigates crimes.

Bureau of Identification
Keeps fingerprints and mug shots of those arrested, performs records checks, and processes gun permit applications.

Vice and Narcotics Division
Part of the Allen County Drug Task Force working with municipal police to conduct drug investigations.

Sex Offenders Division
Submits information about sex offenders to the Indiana Sheriff’s Sex Offender Registry.

Special Units
Provides firearm instructors and K9 trainers.

Internal Affairs Division
The division will investigate citizen and inmate complaints against department personnel.

Confinement Division (Allen County Jail)
Responsible for the care, custody, and control for both sentenced and pre-trial detainees confined to the Allen County Jail. The Sheriff has an advisory committee to help administer detention in Allen County.


http://www.allencountysheriff.org/

 

Township Assessor

There thirteen township assessors in Indiana working with county assessors to determine property value for taxing purposes. Township assessors are responsible for making assessments of property within the township.  Township assessors are elected for a four year term and must have a level three assessor-appraiser certification.  

Wayne Township is one of the thirteen township with an assessor.  The annual salary is approximately $72,000.

www.allencounty.us/wayne-township-assessor

Township Trustee

Allen county has 20 townships and per Indiana code Trustees are elected to a four-year term without term limits.

The Township Trustee primary responsibilities are;

• The management of all property, real or personal, that the township owns. Examples would include abandoned cemeteries, firefighting equipment, township parks, etc.
• To provide emergency relief to the poor. Relief is based on immediate need, not long-term support. 
• Fire Protection.
• Preparation of the township budget.
• Track the township's expenditures, pay expenses providing accurate and current account information.
• Provide the annual Township statistical report for the State Board of Accounts.

https://www.allencounty.us/government/community/allen-county-township-trustees

Township Board Members

 

Township boards are comprised of three elected members. The Board member must reside in the township and be qualified voters.  Board member salaries are set by the township board (IC 36-6-6-10) and vary from township to township.  According to govsalaries.com the pay ranges from as low as $200 annually to $4200 annually depending on the township.

 

The township board responsibilities are the same as a county council, but at the township level. That include budgeting, determining the tax rate for various funds, and determining the salaries for township employees

School Boards

School Board members are elected during general elections on a nonpartisan basis. The members serve four years without term limits. They must be a registered voter, twenty-one years of age, and have lived in the school district for one year before the election. Board members can be paid $2000 per year plus meeting per diems.

School Board decides policies and oversight of the district but is not involved in the day-to-day operations. Their duties include:

• Managing the school superintendent to ensure that policies are implemented.
• Oversee the budget and ensure that financial payments are made.
• Approve personnel decisions, including continuing education for teachers.
• Make decisions on construction and buildings
• Publication of school board meeting dates and times

 

Democratic Precinct Committeeman
Democratic Convention Delegate
Republican Convention Delegates

These offices are party positions and will not be covered here.
To learn more contact  the party of your choice;  allencountydemocrats.org, allencountygop.com