The St. Joseph County Auditor serves as the county’s chief financial officer, responsible for managing and tracking public funds, overseeing budgets and payroll, maintaining financial records, administering property taxes, and ensuring that taxpayer money is spent accurately, transparently, and in accordance with the law.
Occupation/Current Position
Chief Deputy Auditor
Education
Masters in Professional Accounting
Campaign Email
doyleforauditor@gmail.com
The County Auditor serves as the chief financial officer of the county and has three primary divisions in the office. The Finance division manages accounts payable, payroll, budgeting, and financial reporting. The Property Tax division administers deductions, credits, and tax billing calculations. The PLAT division maintains property records that ensure accurate taxation.
I am qualified to meet these responsibilities through my experience as the current Chief Deputy Auditor, where I led the implementation of online property tax credit/deduction applications and helped develop the first award-winning budget book. I also hold a Masters in Professional Accounting and serve on the GFOA Budget Committee.
A strong background in accounting or finance is essential for this role, given the complexity and responsibility of managing public funds.
My first priority is to open the office full-day Monday through Friday, apart from approved holidays. This change doesn’t require additional funding and will provide taxpayers with reliable opportunities to receive assistance. My second priority is to enhance community engagement and outreach. Many taxpayers are unaware of the property tax credits/deductions that are available or need help navigating the process. I want to expand outreach efforts so more residents understand and can access their options.
An improvement I would like to make is to upgrade the property tax system. Our current system requires significant amount of manual work and limits our ability to provide user-friendly tools for taxpayers. By modernizing this system, we can improve accuracy, increase efficiency, and make property tax information more accessible.
County-funded entities are required by law to operate within the budgets adopted by the County Council. Should a department overspend their budget, I would reach out to the department and discuss the appropriate steps to fix the deficit accounts. Not all actions require Council approval, but all corrections need to be conducted in a timely manner.
In cases where a department fails to communicate or take corrective action, the Auditor has the authority to pause certain payments until the issue is resolved. However, situations like this are rare. The most effective approach is maintaining strong, proactive relationships with department heads, fiscal officers, and elected officials to ensure issues are addressed early and collaboratively.
One of the most effective ways to save taxpayer dollars is by having strong internal controls and financial oversight. Simply by preventing errors, such as duplicate payments, payroll inaccuracies, can save significant money and avoid costly corrections and penalties. Another method to save taxpayer money is modernizing systems and processes. Upgrading outdated systems can reduce manual work, improve accuracy, and increase efficiency. Over time, this leads to lower administrative costs and better service for taxpayers. A double win!
The public should evaluate the Auditor’s performance based on accuracy and reliability of financial reporting, transparency and accessibility of financial information, and responsiveness and service to taxpayers and departments. While working alongside the current Auditor, I have witnessed him take some positive steps for the department and the county. My goal now is to build on what is working while bringing stronger focus on accessibility to taxpayers.
I would love for the capability to have a user-friendly dashboard on our website where taxpayers can easily view how public funds are being used, especially for major development projects and tax incentives. This type of upgrade would provide residents with the ability to see approved project budgets, actual expenditures to date, and key timelines. With the right systems and resources, this data could be updated regularly and presented in a clear, easy-to-understand format. While this level of transparency will take time to fully implement, it is the kind of modernization I would like to work toward to provide a new level of transparency and accountability.
