Published: May 07, 2008 04:55 pm            

Price scores first win

Melody Price of Zionsville won the Republican nomination for Boone County Auditor with 44 percent of the 5,034 votes cast.

The Boone County Auditor is the chief financial officer of the county and monitors its accounting and budget systems.

Price ran against Pat Martin of Thorntown and Debby Nease Scering of Jamestown. Martin came in second with 38 percent of the votes and Scering came in last with 18 percent.

“I really appreciate all the people who supported me. I was overwhelmed and pleased,” Price said.

She said if elected auditor in the November general election, her immediate goal will be to learn the job and how Boone County operates. When asked what she did in the election to give her the edge, Price said getting out and meeting people during the campaign and her community involvement gave her an advantage. Price was eating dinner at the Carolina Grill when election results came in and said she would go over to the Boone County Courthouse to meet friends.

Scering congratulated Price and wished her the best. She said, in retrospect, more advertising would have given her a better chance in the race, but that running for office was a great learning experience and she may do it again.

Pat Martin was unavailable for comment at press time.

When campaigning, Price said it was only “fair” to give the new property tax legislation a chance. New property tax legislation passed in March caps property taxes for homeowners at 1 percent, rentals at 2 percent and businesses at 3 percent. The auditor prepares the annual tax duplicate showing the value of property and taxes assessed against each taxpayer. The auditor then provides the county clerk with the assessed valuations and estimates of taxes to be received, according to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Price said until she is actually working with offices involved in the property tax process it would be difficult to say what changes she would make.

She said her goal as auditor would be containing costs for the county and using better technology for a more efficient office that can better serve the county. When asked in a Reporter questionnaire if the auditor’s office should be consolidated she said the auditor’s office is the “checks and balances” for the county funds and it should not be co-mingled with other positions.

Price earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and worked in retail banking for 35 years. She has worked for four years as the assistant to the CFO of the Center Township trustee’s office in Marion County.

The duties of a county auditor is to “serve as secretary of the board of commissioners, keeping accounts and warrants for the payment of claims; is secretary of the county council and is responsible for all books, records, maps and papers deposited in the office,” according to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

        

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