COUNTY AUDITOR. The office of county auditor was established in specified counties by the state legislature in 1905. The provisions of the law have been changed several times, but in the late 1980s counties with a population of more than 10,000 were required to have an auditor and other counties might have one if the county board so wished. The auditor is appointed by the district judge and serves for two years. His main duties are to countersign all warrants on the county treasury, examine the treasurer's reports and all claims against the county, advertise for bids on county supplies, and exercise general oversight over the financial books and records of the county.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Guide to Texas Laws for County Officials (Austin: Texas Department of Community Affairs, 1988). Dick Smith, The Development of Local Government in Texas (Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1938).

Dick Smith