Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1927-03-24
All Counties Must
Have Accountant
Official Must Be in Offie By April
l; DR.. Brooks Sends Out Letter
of Explanation

{ The attention of the commissioners
of Watauga county is called to the
fact that under the county reform
acts passed by the 1927 general as
sembly, and especially under the fis-
cal affairs act, all counties are re-
quired to appoint a county account
ant on or before April l, in. letetr
sent out today to all the county
commissioners of the 100 counties in
the state by DR.. E. c. Brooks, chair
man of the county government advis-
ory commission. In addition to call
ing the attention of the commission
ers to the five acts relating to county
affairs, the following five points are
pointed out in the fiscal affairs act:
l. That county accountant must
be appointed on or before the first
Monday in April.
2. That an estimate of the needs
OF each department. in the county for
the next fiscal year must be made up
on or before June /.
3. That budget estimate for the
entire county must be prepared on or
before the first Monday in July, at
which time all sheriffs or tax collec-
tors are required to settle with the
county commissioners
4. That the budget must be ADOPT
ed by the fourth Monday in July and
that thereafter all expenditures must
be made in accordance with the bud
get provisions.
5. That taxes sufficient to pro-
duce the amount of revenue necessary
to meet the budget needs must be
levied by the first Wednesday after
the third Monday in August.
Within the next few weeks, the
commission on county government
will employ several trained experts,
who will be sent to the various coun-
ties on request, to help them pre-
pare their budget estimates, and get
the new machinery in operation, the
letter states. Within a short time
digest of all the county acts will be
prepared and distributed to the coun-
ty commissioners, for their con-
venience and instruction.
In calling attention to the fact
tina tthe naming of a county account
ant is the first step under the new
law, it is further pointed out that he
shall be experienced in modern
methods of accounting In those
counties having auditors, the auditor
automatically becomes the county ac-
countant. In counties where there IS
no auditor, however, as in the case
of Watauga, it is mandatory that an
accountant be selected by the COM
missioners. 1t is permissible for the
county commissioners to select either
the register of deeds or one of their
own members as the county account
ant, provided he can meet with the
necessary qualifications.
Before the first of May, the coun-
ty government commission will sup
ply the necessary blanks to all coun-
ty commissioners on which the bud
get may be made out, and will later
assist in other ways to bring about a
uniform system of bookkeeping.
The commissioners are expressly
asked at this time not to introduce
any new system of bookkeeping or
to start new set of books, until the
new laws are studied carefully and
until after the budget for the next
fiscal year has been made out. Then
it will be possible to take up the
matter of new bookkeeping systems,
and the advisory commission will as
sist in every way possible in the in
stallation of new systems, the letter
states.