Auditor / Treasurer

The County Auditor plays the vital role of fiscal officer of the county with oversight
responsibility of all financial books and records of all county offices.

The position of County Auditor/Treasurer is an elected position and voted upon every four years. Jeri Schmidt has proudly served the citizens of Hettinger County since 2012. Terry Kirschmann is the Hettinger County Deputy Treasurer, and she has been with us since 2013. Tracy Kruger is the Hettinger County Deputy Auditor, Risk Manager and 911 Coordinator, employed since 2014.

Duties of the County Auditor include:

The auditor is the Executive Secretary to the Board of County Commissioners. The auditor schedules the meetings, prepares the agenda and records the minutes of each of the commission meetings and minutes from other committees or appointed board meetings and also serves as secretary to the County Park Board and County Planning and Zoning Commission. The auditor also attests to official actions of the county commission.

The auditor is the chief financial officer of the county, handling all aspects of the county's financial affairs, including payroll and payroll reports, payment of bills, and disbursement of taxes collected for other taxing districts, preparation of financial statements, preparation and control of the annual county budget. The auditor calculates the mill levies for all taxing districts, such as, school districts, cities, townships, fire districts, park districts and other taxing districts located within the county.

The auditor oversees the delinquent tax process and maintains records of county owned property, obtained through tax proceedings. The auditor also determines the valuations of railroads and utilities.

The county auditor is the local election official for statewide and county elections. The North Dakota Secretary of State is the election official for the State of North Dakota and oversees the county auditor in the conduct of elections.

The auditor reviews and updates the insurance coverage, maintains an inventory of fixed assets, and issues beer and liquor licenses and raffle permits, as approved by the commissioners. Permit applications for building can be obtained in the office or here.

The Auditor is in charge of copies of the Official County Newspapers from 1928 to the present filed in a vault.  These papers are often viewed by the public for research. Scanning of newspapers has begun with several years available for public access. 


Contact information

PHONE: 701-824-2515                                   
FAX:  701-824-2717
EMAIL:  hauditor@nd.gov