Pierce County will have a new auditor following the County Council’s first meeting of 2009, on Jan. 13, according to Pierce County officials.

The council will accept applications through Jan. 5 for the auditor position, which will be vacant once County Executive-elect Pat McCarthy takes office. The eventual appointee will serve until November 2009, when a special election will determine who will finish McCarthy’s unexpired term, which ends Dec. 31, 2010.

The county Auditor’s Office conducts elections for all taxing districts and performs recording, licensing, and other services such as animal control. The application is available as a fillable Word form or as an Adobe PDF on the council’s home page — http://www.piercecountywa.gov .

At the following week’s meeting on Jan. 20, the council will elect officers, reorganize its standing and select committees, and appoint members to serve on various boards and commissions for the year. Regular council meetings will continue to be Tuesdays at 3 p.m. on the 10th floor of the County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Ave. S., Room 1045, in Tacoma.