Clerk-Treasurer

The Clerk-Treasurer is the keeper of the municipality's official public records and is the Chief Financial Officer of the Town of Ogden Dunes. Specific duties are defined by the Indiana Code and the Municipal Code of Ordinances. No other elected municipal duties are as specifically defined by law as the duties of the Clerk-Treasurer.

The Clerk-Treasurer has broad powers to hire and supervise employees and oversee the operation of the municipal budgets including utilities. The ranking status of the Clerk-Treasurer is on equal level with the Town Council. The only area in which the Clerk-Treasurer does not have complete authority is setting wages and final approval of budgets. The Clerk-Treasurer may be called upon to break tie votes at Town Council meetings. The office of the Clerk-Treasurer has evolved dramatically from a bookkeeper and secretary to a financial manager whose responsibilities impact the financial well-being of local government.

In Indiana, the Clerk-Treasurer is elected for a four year term of office. Duties of the Clerk-Treasurer include but are not limited to the following:

• Receive and care for all town money and pay the money out only on order of the town legislative body.
• Keep accounts showing when and from what sources the clerk-treasurer has received town money and when and to whom the clerk-treasurer has paid out town money.
• Prescribe payroll and account forms for all town offices.
• Prescribe the manner in which creditors, officers, and employees shall be paid.
• Manage the finances and accounts of the town and make investments of town money.
• Prepare for the legislative body the budget estimates of miscellaneous revenue, financial statements, and the proposed tax rate.
• Maintain custody of the town seal and the records of the legislative body.
• Issue all licenses authorized by statute and collect the fees fixed by ordinance.
• Serve as clerk of the legislative body by attending its meetings and recording its proceedings.
• Administer oaths, take depositions, and take acknowledgment of instruments that are required by statute to be acknowledged, without charging a fee.

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