SAN JUAN COUNTY, WA. July 1, 2024 –Per RCW 36.22.090: Warrants of political subdivisions, the Auditor’s office is only required to issue junior taxing districts (JTDs) accounts payable (AP) checks. However, over the years, the JTDs have been relying more on the Auditor’s office to provide services that are not statutorily required. Today, the San Juan County Auditor’s Office provides payroll and general ledger services to 27 junior taxing districts (JTDs) across the County. This business model is no longer sustainable.
The Auditor is responsible for providing the highest level of service to the community and the County organization. The increased workload, financial costs, and legal liabilities associated with providing services beyond those statutorily required, are no longer feasible for the Office.
Starting January 1, 2025, San Juan County Auditor’s Office will no longer provide the following financial services to Junior Taxing Districts:
- Payroll and benefit processing
- General ledger maintenance
- Budget preparation
The Auditor’s Office will do everything it can to assist with this change. To ease the transition and close 2024, the Auditor’s Office will complete the following payroll tasks:
- Final 2024 payroll
- W-2 and 1099 tax forms for 2024
- 1095C tax forms
- Fourth quarter reports
- Federal 941
- State Labor and Industries
- Employment Security
- Paid Family medical leave
- Washington State Long term care tax
The Auditor’s Office will continue to provide warrants – draw and issue warrants as mandated by RCW 36.22.090 – to the service districts. Each district will receive further details specific to their district and be assisted by Auditor’s Office staff throughout the transition.
The Auditor’s decision was not made in haste nor without significant research and consideration. Many other Counties across the state are discontinuing non-mandated financial services to their Junior Taxing Districts – a direction that has been discussed by various auditors at conferences and meetings for several years.
The San Juan County Auditor’s Office is committed to working with each Junior Taxing District throughout this transition and continuing to provide prompt and thoughtful services to all County customers.
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