July 2012 – City News – The Treasurer’s Story

By Jerry Bean, Redlands City Council Member

           If you have experience with financial investments and would like to serve the residents of Redlands in much the same way as City Council members, you may be interested in the new very part-time job of elected City Treasurer.

            In November, 2010, city voters decided the position should be elected rather than appointed, and in June of this year the City Council designated the position as part time with the city Finance Department staff doing nearly all the work of the Treasury Department.

            The statutory duties of the City Treasurer as prescribed by the California Government Code are limited in nature, and the City Council believed that with city staff handling the day-to-day treasury functions, the position should be that of a part-time oversight treasurer.

            The treasurer will have an office in the Finance Department but will not have to maintain regular office hours or even attend City Council meetings unless necessary.

            But he or she would be expected to meet with the finance staff and other city officials regularly to review investment decisions for conformance with the city’s investment policy, which is a formal policy approved by the City Council. The treasurer could recommend to the City Council that changes be made in the policy, but they could only be implemented after approval by the council.

            The treasurer will be paid $500 a month, the same salary that City Council members receive. The position will not quality for any city employment benefits. Candidates must be registered to vote within Redlands city limits at the time nomination papers are filed.

            This model for the treasurer’s office, with some variations, is in place in many cities in the Inland Empire ranging in size fromBeaumont to San Bernardino and also including Banning, Colton, Fontana, Corona, Ontario, Rialto, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Lake Elsinore and Barstow.

            The City Council also considered a full-time treasurer position, but determined that the cost of such a system would be much more expensive than the present system, which is now $222,000 a year less expensive than was budgeted in 2007 when a full-time elected treasurer was in office.

            For more information about the elected city treasurer position, call city Public Information Officer Carl Baker at 909 798-7633.  For information about filing for election, call City Clerk Sam Irwin at 909 798-7531.  Filing of nomination papers begins on July 16 and continues through Aug. 10.