The Washington County Auditor’s Office recently received a grant to strengthen cybersecurity in response to elections.
County Auditor Dan Widmer presented a grant agreement to the Board of Supervisors at their recent meeting which they approved. The county applied for and was awarded an amount not exceeding $10,000 for the purpose of preventing, preparing for, and responding to cybersecurity threats to elections. This is part of the Help America Vote Act which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2002, and the agreement requires that the county maintain a proper accounting system and maintain records to demonstrate compliance with the agreement. The county is also subject to an audit of all funds received under this agreement. Widmer says approval of this agreement is the first step in this process, and further details of this grant will be released in the future.
Three different special elections will be happening in Washington County a week from today.
On the ballot will be Washington County Board of Supervisors District 3, Washington City Council Ward 3, and the Highland School District Physical Plant and Equipment Levy. Absentee voting can be done in person at the Washington County Auditor’s Office at the courthouse from now until 5 p.m. March 1st, and the office is open from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. this Friday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday, March 2nd, with precincts at the Ainsworth Elementary School Building for the District 3 and PPEL ballots, Brighton Community Building for District 3, Riverside City Hall for PPEL, and the Washington YMCA Community Room in Washington for Ward 3. KCII will be providing live results on election night. For more information on how to vote, visit here.
From staff reports
Property owners may be eligible for a reduction in their real estate tax valuation if their properties were damaged or destroyed resulting from the Feb. 16 storm.
State law gives county auditors the authority to reduce real estate values for properties that have been damaged or destroyed.
Any deduction from value approved will affect the tax bills due the following year (2022).
The amount of deduction would equal a percentage of the reduction in value caused by the damage or destruction.
To take advantage of this reduction, a form must be completed, notarized, and returned to the Washington County Auditor’s Office, 205 Putnam Street, Marietta, by Dec. 31.
Feb 8, 2021
Tuesday, Jan. 26, the Washington County Auditor’s Office was awarded an Auditor of State Award for the audit conducted in 2020, for Fiscal Year 2019.
Eligible entities that receive the award meet the following criteria of a “clean” audit report:
¯ The entity must file financial reports with the Auditor of State’s office by the statutory due date, without extension, via the Hinkle System and in accordance with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles);
¯ The audit report does not contain any findings for recovery, material citations, material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, Uniform Guidance (Single Audit) findings or questioned costs;
¯ The entity’s management letter contains no comments related to: