Race for treasurer flies below radar

By WILLIAM L. SPENCE

The Daily Inter Lake

One of the more low-key election contests this year is the race for Flathead County Treasurer, which pits Republican incumbent Adele Krantz against Democrat Gene Clark.

Clark is a retired school bus driver and business owner from Kalispell. He said he's running for office because he's "tired of sitting around and wanted to get active again."

"A lot of people are in the dark about what's going on, where the money goes," Clark said. "They need someone to tell 'em. And I'm sure I can do a set of books as good as anyone. I was in business for 14 years."

Although he indicated he was familiar with the operations of the treasurer's office, Clark's answers suggest otherwise.

For example, he said the treasurer was responsible for collecting money and paying bills, as well as for "keeping the books in order and available to the public."

The office does collect money for all county departments; it also invests money and keeps records of the investments. However, it doesn't keep any "books," and most county bills are paid through the finance office, which falls under the county clerk and recorder's responsibilities. Also, it's the finance officer, not the treasurer, who helps prepare the county budget that shows where the money comes from and where it goes.

"Well, I guess I'll learn about that when I get in there," Clark said. "And I won't take office until the auditor gives me a clean bill of health from the previous treasurer. I'm not going to take over some rats nest."

(Flathead County's financial statements are audited every year. The county received an unqualified audit opinion earlier this summer, which is the highest opinion available.)

If there is some misunderstanding about the treasurer actually does, it's understandable. It tends to be one of the most low-profile elected positions in the county.

"Most people don't have any idea what goes on here," said Krantz, who started working in the office 15 years ago and who was appointed treasurer two years ago, after Patty Arnold retired in the middle of her term.

The treasurer has three main areas of responsibility: the accounting department, which collects and invests money for all county departments, as well as some local school districts; the tax department, which sends out property tax notices and other tax bills for various taxing jurisdictions, and tracks delinquent taxes; and the department of motor vehicles, which handles vehicle titles and registrations. All together, the office has about 21 employees.

Krantz is responsible for an investment portfolio that currently totals about $109 million. Flathead County's share of that is almost $75 million; the remainder belongs to local school districts and other public entities.

The money is split into a variety of short-, medium- and long-term investment funds. Krantz also recently switched some of the cash bank accounts to overnight "sweep" accounts, which allows interest to accrue overnight.

"That's been huge," she said. "We made $68,000 in interest just last quarter."

During her two years as treasurer, Krantz has aggressively focused on reducing tax delinquencies. By working closely with the sheriff's office and by notifying offenders, her office has been able to reduce delinquent real estate taxes by 50 percent, or $2.24 million. Delinquent property taxes have decreased by 70 percent, or $680,000 during that same time period.

Krantz is pursuing various customer service improvements as well, including online credit card payments for tax bills and an early notice system that would alert people before their tax bills are delinquent, rather than after.