The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1913-02-22
THE AUDITORS SALARY.

year? Can you imagine situation
in which the auditor of such COM
pany is compelled to slight the adj
ministrative features of his position
in order to attend to certain clerical
duties in connection with the office
That is just the position In which
the auditor of Lake County finds
himself. He is expected to admins
ter the affairs OF his office properly,
give the people of the county the
benefit of his personal service when
they want information from his office,
be pleasant and agreeable and then
work nights at the desk to save the
remnant of his salary that ought to
be spent in deputy hire. He is really
the plenipotentiary between Lake
County and the outside world. Lake
County makes just clerk out of him.
The salary of the auditor of Lake
County is no secret. The law allows
|him $1,000 year. He gets $500
year from the county council for act
ing as the clerk of that body and is
given an additional $50 year for
Iacting as clerk of the county board of
finance. That makes total of
l$S,150 a wear. Big salary Ell?
BUT 1T is ABSOLUTELY NECES-
lSARY FOR HIM TO EXPEND 5000
A YEAR FOR CLERK HIRE. That is
the outlay that Auditor johnson has
made ever since he has been in office.
And this figure is low. The deputies
in his office are underpaid and were
men to be hired in their places it
would cost the county at least 1880
| a year. Next year more help than
lever will be needed.
So it can be seen that after the
clerk hire is taken out of the auditors
salary and he has paid his campaign
Expenses and campaign assessments
he is getting the wages of a depart
iment store floor walker.
| There is no office in the county
which comes nearer being the clear
ling house for every other county
|office than the auditors office The
duties of this office are manifold.
In addition to performing the ordi-
nary duties of his office the auditor
lis.
| 1. Clerk of the board of county
commissioners. This takes all of his
time when the commissioners are in
session.
| 2. Clerk of the board of finance
which passes on the disposition of the
funds of the county to the various de-
lpositories.
3. Member Of the board of review
which goes over the assessments fol
1.-THE entire county. This takes weeks
j A. All bills no matter where they
|originate must be passed upon by The
auditor and the payment authorized
This includes jurors fees, insanity
fees and the pay of road viewers.
g. The auditor is required tt
make up an annual budget of thu
amount of the expenditures in tn,
: various county offices. This is usual
: Ily a compilation of figures provide,
~
The appropriations of the count.
r amount to 100000.
G Matters of purely office administra
Ition are numerous. The auditor mus
: LAY out the work for his chief deput,
n leach morning. He must answer cor
: lrespondence and the auditors mail i
4 voluminous and then he must approx
lof bond issues on county roads an
answer the myriads of questions tina
q are asked of him each day. He mus
, inject men who deal in millions Fl
a must deal in millions. Must we Civ
la piker's salary to a diplomat?
- Now it must occur even to the lay
- man that the duties of the auditor {
:, a county, the assessed valuation {
= (which is $66, 100000, should be pur,
= lily supervisiona1. Lake County to
= Igrowing so fast that assuming ths
"a the salary is fairly adequate nov
= which is untrue, before another Sc
!. lsion of the legislature convenes h
Ientire salary will be consumed
= clerk hire.
IL YOU CAN'T ASK THE AUDITO
- fOF LAKE COUNTY TO SPEND H
- TIME RUNNING UP ROWS OF FIJI
URES when great road building pr
jects are under consideration, wht
~ the board of review has grave asses
, ments, inequalities of review, VIII,
hundreds of saloon licenses involvi1
many circumstances have to be r
-, corded by him. when great brid
building projects require the filing
/, plans and specifications to say not
ing of other routine office affairs.
g And then just as if the auditor d
W not have enough to do the recent a