State Auditor of North Carolina
Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area
State Auditor of North Carolina
Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area
Prior to being elected State Auditor in 2004, Les Merritt owned and operated a small business for over twenty years. Les’ experience as a small business owner taught him the importance of conserving and effectively utilizing resources. He learned the importance of client service, doing things right the first time, planning and budgeting, and treating employees and clients with fairness and honesty. These experiences and lessons helped prepare Les Merritt for public service.
Les was elected to the Wake County Board of Commissioners in 1994. During his time as a County Commissioner he developed a reputation as a voice of fiscal responsibility, fighting to set priorities and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of county government. Under his leadership, Wake County residents received a 17% property tax cut while a record number of new schools were being built.
Auditing.
(Government Agency; Government Administration industry)
January 2005 — Present (3 years 7 months)
The State Auditor acts as the Taxpayers' Watchdog for North Carolina. We provide citizens, legislators, and government officials with professional, independent evaluations of the State’s financial records and public program performance, assess the security and integrity of the State’s information technology systems, and provide monitoring and technical assistance for private non-profit recipients of State grant funds.
(Government Agency; Government Administration industry)
1994 — 1998 (4 years)
Effective & efficient government; politics; sports.
Former president, Zebulon Elementary School PTA; former president, Zebulon Rotary Club; former president, Zebulon Lions Club; former director, Zebulon Chamber of Commerce., Republican Party
Elected State Auditor of North Carolina in 2004.