County auditor awarded by state

FINDLAY — Hancock County Auditor Charity Rauschenberg was presented with an award from the Ohio State Auditor's Office at a recent Hancock County commissioners' meeting. Rauschenberg said she received the award for her commitment to "transparent and accurate" financial records. While her name was on the award certificate, she said she couldn't have done it without her team's effort and the support of the county commissioners. She said she is honored to have been given the award as it is one of the highest awards that can be earned by a local government entity. "Few local governments, including school districts, receive this award," she said. "It takes perseverance to be consistent, accurate and timely." She also believes that while the fiscal part of the county auditor's office was in attendance at the meeting, Rauschenberg called the real estate department's contribution instrumental as well. "The state auditor's office has a compliance test for the real estate exemption as part of the audit with the only zero tolerance threshold," she said. "Without the real estate department's attention to detail and all other county offices, a clean audit would not be possible." The award was presented to Rauschenberg and members of her staff by Scott Sands, a regional liaison of the Ohio State Auditor for the northwest portion of the state of Ohio.