SHARON – Medina County Auditor Mike Kovack addressed a group of 21 Boy Scouts from Granger Troop 511 Nov. 21 at the Sharon Center Methodist Church to help fulfill the requirements they need to earn their citizenship merit badges.

Kovack, who has been the county auditor for 24 years, began by describing the duties of the county auditor, whose office is central to what is happening in county government. He said there are 83,000 parcels of real estate in Medina County and his office is responsible for placing a value on each for taxation purposes. By law, his office must view and appraise every parcel every six years. He is also mandated to update the appraisal every three years and adjust any changes in property values.

Then there is the distribution of tax monies to the many governmental entities, once the proper amount of dispersal to each is determined. This entails writing and sending 500 checks a month. Kovack said Medina County has 17 townships, three cities, six villages and eight school districts.

His office is also responsible for the sale of dog licenses to the owners of the 25,000 dogs in the county. In addition, his staff checks measuring devices, such as scales and gasoline pumps annually to make sure the public is not being cheated.

The annual Top Dog essay contest, the Memorial Day and the Seal design contests, sponsored by the auditor’s office, all draw many school-age entrants.

Kovack, who served 28 years in the Naval Reserves, retired just two years ago as a Commander. He was called to active duty four times during the past decade.

Kovack talked about the Declaration of Independence, which explained why the Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain. “It told England and the world the colonists’ grievances against King George III more than a year after the Revolutionary War began, and declared certain natural and legal rights, including the right of revolution,” he said.

He said the Constitution is the building block on which all else happens. Its Preamble clearly states its purpose: “To establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves.”

Kovack explained the three branches of government are legislative, which makes the laws; executive, which carries out the laws; and judicial, which interprets the laws. They are all separate entities, and are all a part of the checks and balances so necessary to our system of government. He said, “Although we think of the United States as a Democracy, it is in reality a Democratic Republic, where we elect representatives to run our government.” He said the Bill of Rights provides protection to citizens. Also, he referenced the recent election and the significance of the electoral college.

Throughout the entire program, Kovack asked the boys excellent questions –lots of questions. Every time, they responded with excellent answers – lots of excellent answers.

Commenting on his Citizenship for the Nation presentation, the auditor said, “These Boy Scouts were an exceptional group. They were very involved, very informed and very enthusiastic.”

His final question was, “What does it take to be a good citizen?” Some of the answers were “Obey the law,” “be active in public office,” “vote,” “volunteer,” “treat others as you want to be treated. ” Offering a few words of advice, Kovack told the Scouts, “You are the government; get involved and change things.”