⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 9 findings
F1
Elected city treasurers sometimes lack the technical skills and professional experience to adequately perform the duties of the office.
Related Recommendations (3)
R1
Given state law, city councils should make sure that their investment policies are as air tight as possible and assure that those policies are carefully and continually followed to eliminate the potential for an elected treasurer to misuse his or her powers. (Findings 1, 2 and 5)
R3
Financial reports, and backup documents recording changes in investments, should be carefully scrutinized by a council member on a monthly basis. (Findings 1, 2, 5 and 6)
R4
City councils in Arroyo Grande, Atascadero and Paso Robles should consider trying again to convince the electorate to make at least the position of treasurer appointive, while educating the electorate about qualifications needed in a treasurer and committing the city to require appointed treasurers to possess those qualifications. (Findings 1, 2,3,4 and 5)
F2
Health benefits alone may be sufficient to attract unqualified persons to run for the job, leaving the work to city staff and costing the cities health benefits for persons performing no useful function.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
Efforts to convince voters to approve making the job appointive have failed in all three cities.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
The cities have found different ways to deal with these challenges. One approach is to arrange for a city employee to be elected treasurer and have that employee designate the finance director to do the job. But that approach can have inherent conflicts of interest.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
Communication is minimal between the Atascadero treasurer and the other city officials who have financial oversight responsibilities. .
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Atascadero officials failed to complete and provide the council with the state-required monthly financial reports in a timely manner for the period of April 2008 through November 2009.
Related Recommendations (2)
R2
City councils and city managers should require that their functioning treasurers and city clerks, whether elected, appointed or deputized, provide all reports required of those offices at the time designated in state law. (Finding 6)
R5
All general law cities in the county should post the state-required monthly treasurer’s report and annual financial statement on the city’s web site in a location easy to find. (Finding 6)
F7
The elected Arroyo Grande treasurer has received very minimal training about the responsibilities of the position.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Arroyo Grande should, at a minimum, send its elected treasurer to a training session where she can learn about the responsibilities she is delegating.
F8
Elected city clerks in the three cities are all staff members and generally perform the jobs according to the requirements of state law.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
Recognizing that the offices of treasurer and city clerk generally require technical skills and knowledge, Arroyo Grande’s city management is recommending that provisions to allow these posts to become appointed positions again be placed before the voters.
No recommendations for this finding
Conclusions 1
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CL1By law, elected city treasurers play a limited but important role in the ongoing financial health of general law cities in San Luis Obispo County. In fact, their approaches to the job vary significantly. In Arroyo Grande, the treasurer has delegated her job without knowledge of its responsibilities. In Atascadero, the treasurer’s oversight effort is negligible. In Paso Robles an experienced investment officer manages the money with close attention to detail. He may quit in 2012 and the city will be hard pressed to replace him. The three cities could benefit from appointed treasurers. At a minimum, the cities should do a better job of informing the public of city finances and the important oversight role that treasurers are assigned in maintaining the financial health of the municipality. That said, they need to be trained and attentive. There is continued risk of electing treasurers who can win office with a political agenda and no qualifications. In each of the three cities, the city clerks who are paid employees with other duties, are doing the job or are knowledgeable of its importance. Over the long haul, city clerk positions could be streamlined by making them appointive although there could be concern that public access to documents may be more easily limited when the position is appointive.