Journal-News.com

It has been three exhilarating months since I was appointed to serve as Butler County auditor and I'm thankful each day for the privilege to serve in such an important capacity. I'm asked daily how the office is progressing and felt it timely to provide an update to the citizens of Butler County.

The Auditor's Office is going through a major transformation. Our agenda focuses on reducing costs, improving customer service and increasing office transparency. Within a relatively short period of time, we have made significant headway toward our three major objectives.

We've taken considerable steps to cut costs and focus on prudent spending practices. In the first three months, we've cut more than $500,000 from our current-year budget. We will continue to trim our budget and pass the savings back to taxpayers via your local townships, municipalities, etc.

Customer service is a top priority. We have reinforced our commitment to delivering reliable customer-oriented services to the citizens of Butler County and we will do our very best

to deliver such services with professionalism and courtesy.

Our third major objective is to improve transparency and efficiency within our office. On July 7, we unveiled our new online expenditure search tool. The Internet tool provides instant access to current- and previous-year expenditures incurred by the Auditor's Office. We will continue to utilize advancements in technology to improve transparency and efficiency within our office.

The fiscal department has just finished the 2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, which will be available to the public in the next several days. The annual report goes into extensive detail related to the county's 2007 finances. Additionally, the real estate department has completed the 2008 property revaluations, as directed by the Ohio Department of Taxation. Town hall meetings are being planned so that homeowners fully understand the revaluation process.

As we move into the last half of 2008, we will expand our focus on cost savings for the taxpayers, improving customer service and providing greater transparency to our citizens. We are outlining new performance measurement techniques to better track and grade our service. We're encouraging staff members to further their education and experience so we can improve and increase job performance.

We have plenty of hard work ahead as we work diligently to build confidence and trust in the Auditor's Office. My ultimate objective is to transform the Butler County Auditor's Office into the most efficient and highly regarded office in Ohio. I understand that this is a lofty goal — but one our office can achieve.

We invite the public to visit our office or log onto our Web site for the many services we provide to the citizens here in Butler County. Public feedback is greatly appreciated and is a vital part of improving our office processes.

A lifelong Butler County resident, Roger Reynolds was appointed Butler County auditor on April 15, 2008. Prior to his appointment, Reynolds served as Liberty Twp.'s fiscal officer since 2003.