Elected Officials
COMMISSION
Presiding Commissioner: Tim Brinker
First District Commissioner: Todd Boland
Second District Commissioner: Dave Hinson
The Franklin County Commission is an elected three-member governing body consisting of a First District Commissioner, a Second District Commissioner, and a Presiding Commissioner. The Commission is an executive body of Franklin County operating under guidelines established in the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri. Within that authority, the Commission enacts ordinances and policies; adopts the annual budget; approves contracts and leases; appoints the Medical Examiner and the County Counselor; acts as liaison with County boards, commissions, and other governmental entities; and conducts hearings on planning and zoning matters. In addition, the County Commission supervises the operations of Planning and Zoning, Building Department, Grounds and Building Maintenance, Road and Bridge, Economic Development, Health Service, Information Technology, Geographic Information Systems, Purchasing, Human Resources and the Municipal Court. The County Commission is responsible for controlling and managing all property belonging to or purchased by the County.
ASSESSOR
The Assessor’s office reviews and valuates all real property in Franklin County with the aid of a state approved mass appraisal software system. A percentage, which is based on the property’s current use, is applied to the value. The resulting calculation is the assessed value. This assessment is used by taxing entities located within the County to determine property taxes on approximately 72,000 parcels. The Assessor’s office also provides information to the general public through the means of personal interaction in both informal meetings as well as formal appeal settings. Personal property is assessed each year and includes cars, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, etc. We mail over 50,000 personal and 3,500 business declaration forms each year, which are then returned to us for processing.
AUDITOR
The duties of the Franklin County Auditor are defined under RSMo Chapter 55. The Auditor is an elected official responsible for establishing, implementing, and monitoring the accounting and budgeting systems. As budget officer, the County Auditor is responsible for preparing and submitting a proposed annual budget to the County Commission. In addition, the County Auditor reviews and certifies financial payment transactions ensuring budgetary compliance as well as compliance with internal control procedures, local purchasing policies, and state statutes. The Auditor certifies contracts as to the appropriation and the cash balance in the treasury. The Auditor’s office audits daily receipts and deposits along with monthly reports from various departments. Throughout the year, this office compiles information for the external audit and works closely with the external auditing group when preparing the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The office conducts an annual physical inventory of the County assets and maintains the fixed asset ledger.
COUNTY CLERK
The Franklin County Clerk is an elected official with many responsibilities. The department is half administration and half voter registration. The administration side of the County Clerk’s Office has three full time employees. The positions consist of a Chief Deputy, Accounts Receivable Clerk and Accounts Payable Clerk. The County Clerk’s office prepares and files about 500 commission orders annually, as well as other county documents. Other documents the Clerk is responsible for, as being the custodian of the records, include between 5,000 – 5,500 purchase orders annually, 325 Notaries each year, over 350 Liquor Licenses per year and about 20 -25 Auctioneer Licenses annually. The Clerk is also the secretary to the Board of Equalization which works with the Assessor’s Office and the State Tax Commission. The office also handles all Sunshine Law requests. Any law suits filed involving the County are also kept on file in the Clerk’s Office. The Clerk’s office works directly with approximately 52 taxing entities in Franklin County, the State Auditor’s Office, the State Tax Commission, the Department of Revenue, the IRS, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and all County Departments. The office also works with the external auditors in compilation of the annual audit with documentation of all accounts payable, accounts receivable, copy of budget, grant agreements, reconciliation of 941 wages, FICA and Medicare tax to the general ledger, assessed valuations and copies of unpaid balances of real estate and personal property taxes. The Accounts Receivable Clerk is responsible for obtaining all information from other departments that involve billing for grants or any other revenue due to the County. The AR Clerk will make entries in the General Ledger to record the revenue and receivable accounts in the computer’s account system then supplies the information to the County Treasurer for the incoming payments. The AR Clerk is the “Grant Monitor”, which includes keeping a separate spreadsheet for each of the 32 Federal and State Grants and six temporary grants on money received and money expensed and reporting to the external auditors for the annual audit. Another responsibility the AR Clerk has is monitoring and processing the 350 plus liquor licenses for the office. They also take the minutes at the BOE meetings and hearings and processes the changes made by the board and records them on the tax rolls then balances the changes with the Collector annually. The Accounts Payable Clerk is responsible for processing and paying all the bills that the County is liable for. Each department is responsible for entering their own purchase orders in the General Ledger. After getting the proper approval, the department will bring to the County 45 Clerk’s Office the bill attached to the PO for payment. The AP Clerk is responsible for making sure the PO matches the invoice summited and check for accuracy before a check can be issued for payment. The AP clerk is also responsible for making sure the vendors who are required to fill out W9’s have completed the form accurately and completely and processing 1099’s per the IRS guidelines. The Chief Deputy is responsible for working with 52 taxing entities in Franklin County for processing and distributing tax assessments and processing tax rates and forwarding to the State Auditor’s Office for certification, maintaining a database for all county vehicles making sure all vehicles are insured and filing claims with the County’s insurance agent as needed, as well as filing claims for property damage, balances with the County Treasurer monthly for all revenues and expenses incurred, balances with the County Collector for all money paid out to the taxing entities on a monthly basis, maintains a database for the Certificates of Participation and prepares semi-annual payments, maintains a database for the sales tax the County receives for the General Fund, Road & Bridge Fund and Law Enforcement Fund, maintains a database for the TIF districts in Franklin County for property taxes, maintains a database for the CID sales tax in Franklin County and processes totals for payment, prepares and publishes the annual financial statement, manages the general ledger and makes journal entries into the accounting system. There are many other responsibilities of the department too numerous to list.
VOTER REGISTRATION & ELECTIONS
This office is responsible for all voter registration activities in the County, including new registrations, address changes, and name changes; as well as cancellations due to death, incarceration, or the registrant moving out of Franklin County. While taking care of the voter registration activities, we are also helping keep the Missouri state-wide database up-to-date. Our office is also responsible for conducting all public elections held in Franklin County, training approximately 300 election judges, youth participants and additional staff per election, as well as taking filings for candidates for certain entities and all county offices. We also work with the Ethics Commission and local candidates to insure that campaign disclosure reports get filed, as well as providing regional training with the Ethics Commission and new candidates. Another responsibility that our office has is checking the validity of all signatures submitted on petitions to the Secretary of State’s Office. We not only check the signature, but we also check to make sure the petition signer was registered to vote on the date the petition was signed and that the address they provided was accurate. There is a strict timeline on getting these checked and the results returned to the state.
COUNTY COLLECTOR
This office is responsible for billing, collecting, and disbursement of Real Estate, Personal Property, Railroad and Utility Taxes, Merchants and Manufacturer Licenses, Auctioneer Licenses, Berger and Labadie Levee Districts, Forest Crop Lands, and Missouri Department of Conservation. Other responsibilities include protested taxes, TIFs, CIDs, Class Action Suits, BOEs, Court Orders, NPB’s, additions, abatements, refunds, surtax disbursement. Collecting up to five years of delinquent taxes, calculating interest and penalties, assessor’s and collector’s commissions, assessor’s fund, collector’s funds, retirement funds, clerk fees, collector fees, tax sale fees, bankruptcies, reinstatements for bad checks, and sending certified letters to anyone paying taxes with a bad check. The Collector’s office balances all cash drawers at windows for collections, and credit card transactions on a daily basis. This office works up deposits on checks and money collected, running daily journals and submitting daily reports to the Auditor. All of this is part of the collection and disbursement of taxes which is done monthly. Customer service for taxpayers entails waiting on hundreds of taxpayers at the windows and by telephone, answering hundreds of questions and complaints daily pertaining to their values, the amount of their tax bills, deeds, why they are being taxed, questions too numerous to mention. Issue non-assessment cards for new purchases on vehicles. We also make hundreds of duplicate copies of paid personal property tax receipts monthly.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
The Prosecuting Attorney is an elected official who represents the State of Missouri in all criminal matters arising within Franklin County. The Prosecuting Attorney is also responsible for child support enforcement within the County.
The Child Support Division of the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office receives cases from the State of Missouri Child Support Office to prosecute through the court system. These cases include enforcement of an existing child support order or obtaining a paternity and child support order.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR
The Public Administrator serves as court appointed Personal Representative in decedent’s estates, and as guardian and/or conservator for individuals who are unable to care for themselves or their property when there is no one else to serve. In addition, pursuant to Section 473.770 RSMO, the Franklin County Probate Court Judge appointed Jennifer Richardson as Deputy Public Administrator for Franklin County, and as such she is vested with the powers and duties confirmed by said Section. A guardian is a person appointed by a Court to manage the affairs of another, called a ward. The Conservator is appointed by a court to manage the estate of another, called a protectee. Guardianship and Conservatorship is a legal process used when a person can no longer make safe and/or sound decisions about his or her person and/or property and may fall victim to fraud or improper influence. We carefully monitor and keep abreast of our wards’ constantly changing medical condition and health care needs. We manage and process all paperwork regarding their medical, health, and financial matters. We are available 24/7 for emergencies and contact outside of the normal office hours, every day of the week. In most cases, we are the only contact our wards have in their lives, as they have no family or relatives who maintain a relationship with them. It is our pleasure and our privilege to take care of these “special” people in our community. We treat each and every individual with the utmost dignity, respect, and compassion.
RECORDER OF DEEDS
The Recorder’s office is responsible for the recording and preservation of all records pertaining to land, military discharges, and marriage licenses. Additionally, we assist the public in locating real estate records. Other responsibilities include the creation of custom GIS maps at the request of the public.
SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
Deputies of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office provide all the law enforcement services necessary to meet the needs of its residents and the demands to apprehend criminals and deter crime as the means of committing crime evolves. There are approximately 166 personnel, including deputies, reserve deputies, and support staff that diligently strive to ensure the Mission Statement of the Office is achieved.
Areas of expertise include:
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Emergency Response Situations (SWAT)
o Marksman – Observer
o Chemical Munitions
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Cyber crime
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Crisis Negotiations
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Voice Stress Analysis
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Use of Force
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Firearms
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Hazardous Materials
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Driving Instruction
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Interview and Interrogation
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First Responder – CPR
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Taser and other less lethal equipment
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Narcotics
A minimum of 600 hours of specialized law enforcement training is required of all deputies employed by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff, Under Sheriff, and two Captains are graduates of the FBI National Academy located in Quantico, VA. Additionally, many deputies of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office are certified instructors and teach all aspects of law enforcement with the Missouri Sheriff’s Training Academy hosted by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Other deputies are adjunct professors in Criminal Justice programs with area colleges and universities, along with being guest lecturers at a variety of law enforcement conferences.
Over the past several years the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office has gained national notoriety as representatives of the Office have been featured on 60 Minutes, Investigation Discovery, and other media productions in relation to its diligent fight against methamphetamine. Other high profile cases the Office has investigated have also been featured on national news affiliates.
TREASURER
The County Treasurer holds a key position of public trust in the financial affairs of local government. The duties of the Treasurer's Office are to receive and safely keep the revenues and other public monies of the county, to invest surplus funds, and to distribute the monies collected to the proper recipients. Acting as the bank for the county, the Treasurer apportions taxes to local public entities such as school districts, fire districts, ambulance districts, sewer districts and other units of local government. All monies received through the Treasurer's Office are deposited into contract bank accounts that are fully federally insured.
The Franklin County Municipal Court handles violations of the Franklin County Code in the areas of traffic, building and health. All cases begin by the County Prosecuting Attorney filing a traffic ticket or a charge of the violation of the building or health code. Cases are opened by the clerk who accepts guilty pleas and collects fines and court costs. Defendants who plead not guilty are tried by the judge. If found not guilty, the defendant is discharged. If found guilty, the clerk collects the fine and costs. All fines and costs are paid to the Franklin County Treasurer for distribution.