My Platform

The duties of the Treasurer are to make sure that all funds received by the city are kept safe, and to ensure receipt, deposit, disbursement and investment of city funds are governed by city policy and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The Treasurer also provides advice to the Finance Director on the city’s investments, prioritizing Safety, Liquidity, and Yield in that order.

But I think that for the city’s funds to be kept safe, the community needs to better understand what they are, and how they are used. In short, they need to be Accessible.

That is why I would seek to have at every Council meeting a Treasurer’s report- so the Council and the community can have regular insight into the city’s finances and what challenges we are or will be facing. 34% of the community does not know enough about the city’s budget to have an opinion on it. Given the significant fiscal challenges we are facing both immediately and in the medium term, that endangers the city. If people don’t know that we were facing a $1.5 million dollar budget shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year, or that if we do nothing the general fund will run out of funds shortly after 2028 assuming no recessions, they are not going to back the actions necessary to keep the city’s funds safe.

So, I will have a town hall within 6 months of taking office where there can be a broader community conversation around the budget, and will have Coffee with the City Treasurer twice a month if any member of the community has questions about the budget or the city’s finances. I will also break out key points in the city’s financial documents and highlight them.

Finally, I believe that the city’s investments could be restructured to grant greater yield at no cost to liquidity or safety in the current interest rate environment, and will advocate for this.