Auditor-Treasurer-Coordinator

Jake Sieg, Auditor-Treasurer-Coordinator
 

*Due to requirements from the State of MN supporting social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, several services have been impacted.  We recommend contacting our office in advance of in-person visits in order to get the most up-to-date information.

Contact

600 6th Street, Suite 6
Madison, MN 56256

Email: auditor-treasurer@lqpco.com
Main office phone: (320) 598-7444
Fax: (320) 598-3125

The Lac qui Parle County Auditor-Treasurer-Coordinator (ATC) office is the central financial, administrative, and human resources department for the County. In addition, the ATC Office carries out a wide variety of miscellaneous functions delegated by Minnesota statute and the County Board of Commissioners. The office is managed by Auditor-Treasurer-Coordinator Jake Sieg, who was appointed by the County Board of Commissioners in 2007. The ATC office is staffed by four full-time and one part-time Deputy ATC employees.

The responsibilities of the ATC Office are broken into five major areas:

• General Administration
• Financial Administration
• License Center
• Elections Administration
• Property Tax Administration

General Administration

County Administration

• Serve as a resource and advisor to the County Board and all County departments to regarding management issues.
• Identify and address organizational issues, and conduct analysis and research in order to provide recommendations and options for the County Board.
• Serve as a point of communication between the Board and the various County departments, agencies, municipalities, and news media.
• Serve as a liaison between the County Board an demployees, supervisors, and other agencies.
• Serve as the County Board's designated representative as required.
• Carry out various policy and organizational directives on behalf of the County Board.

County Board Clerk

• Preparation of meeting agendas and minutes
• Publication of County Board meeting minutes in the official newspaper of the county.

Human Resources Administration

• Payroll administration, including payment of payroll, payroll taxes, insurance premiums, and pension benefits.
• Maintenance of employee records.
• Policy development and administration.
• Employee benefit administration.
• Performance management system administration.
• Union collective bargaining agreement administration.

Financial Administration

• County Budget Administration.
• Oversight and maintenance of the accounting system.
• Processing of all disbursements.
• Preparation of the County’s Comptrehensive Annual Financial Statements.
• County Treasury Administration

Audited Financial Statements

• 2008 Financial Statements
• 2009 Financial Statements
• 2010 Financial Statements
• 2011 Financial Statements
• 2012 Financial Statements
• 2013 Financial Statements
• 2014 Financial Statements
• 2015 Financial Statements
• 2016 Financial Statements
• 2017 Financial Statements    2017 Major Recipients List
• 2018 Financial Statements    2018 Major Recipients List

License Center

• Minnesota motor vehicle registrations and title transfers.
• Driver's Licenses and Personal ID Cards.
• MN DNR Licenses, including registrations for off-highway vehicles, boats and personal watercraft, and snowmobiles.
• Liquor sales licenses for jurisdictions located outside the boundaries of individual cities.
• Tobacco retail sales licenses for all jurisdictions in Lac qui Parle County.

Election Administration

The Auditor-Treasurer is designated by the Secretary of State as Register of Voters and is the Chief Election Officer of the County. Election duties include:

• Conduct primary and general elections and any special countywide elections
• Train election judges and officials
• Print election ballots
• Act as filing officer for county races
• Distribute absentee ballots
• Tabulate and report election results from voting districts

Property Tax Administration

Each taxing district within the county must certify a tax levy and special assessments to the ATC Office. The ATC Office tabulates all of the levies and special assessments and then calculates the amount of real estate, personal, and mobile home tax that will be paid by each property owner in the county based on the valuations certified by the County Assessor. Upon completion of the calculation of the tax, statements are distributed to all taxpayers indicating the amount of tax due and the due dates for payment of these taxes.

After each tax deadline the ATC Office must reconcile all collections for accuracy and pay out to each taxing district their appropriate share of the taxes collected. State Statutes specify when these payments must be made.

Property taxes that have not been paid to the county at the end of the tax collection year are considered delinquent. A list of delinquent taxpayers is published in the official county newspaper each year.

All real estate transactions for property located in the county are processed through the ATC Office either to collect deed or mortgage registry tax, or to make changes to the ownership of property. The ATC Office maintains the ownership records in the tax system daily or as needed.

Miscellaneous

Other miscellaneous responsibilities of the ATC Office include:

• Maintenance of the Register of Bonded Indebtedness for all taxing districts in the county.
• Redistricting of County Commissioner districts.
• Public drainage (ditch) system accounting and administration.
• Public information requests.
• Sales of county plat books.