The unsung hero of county coffers, the treasurer, is up for grabs in Porter County this year. Current treasurer Michelle Clancy is prevented from seeking reelection this year due to term limits.
Her chief deputy, Jim Albarran, is running on the Republican ticket, while Porter County Commissioner Laura Blaney of the southern district, is running on the Democratic ticket. The treasurer, along with a county’s board of commissioners, makes up the county’s board of finance. The treasurer collects all taxes and assessments and makes short-term investments for the county.
Albarran, who’s never run for public office before, said his nine years on the job make him an obvious choice. “Well I’ve been doing it,” he said. “I’m the next person with on-the-job experience in the office and also, I enjoy the job.”
He likes to make jokes about his jump from minister in a former life to tax collector, but says in all seriousness that his skill set from working in ministry serves him well at the treasurer’s window. “As a minister you deal with people, people with problems often. Having a soft touch and being able to deal with people helped in this job of tax collection,” Albarran said.
He’s also proud of significant investment decisions he’s led or been a part of. He said the treasurer’s office brought in $7.3 million in interest this year, $5.9 million of which goes into the general fund.
Albarran said a lot of the bigger counties employ someone to handle investments, but the treasurer’s office here handles things in-house. “We had a good year this year,” he said. He said his background in accounting, specifically fund accounting, and programming analysis has served the county well.
Albarran is into improving processes. He’s weighed in on the decision to reduce staff and moved some of the office’s jobs to January when they’re less busy “preventing the need to make calculations in front of customers on the spot” which helps reduce human error.
He had barcodes placed in the windows of envelopes to reduce turnaround time on returned mail, which also led to lists of homestead exemptions for the auditor’s office to check into. And he’s got plenty of ideas for how to continue improving the office. He’d like to work to reduce the fees the county is paying. “No one sees the fees,” he said. “They’re taken out prior to our interest being paid out.”
He’d also like to standardize addresses on bills going out to help them arrive quicker, among other things he says his opponent won’t have time to get to. “She doesn’t know the specifics of the office,” he said of Blaney. “It will take her time. Starting over with a new treasurer they’re not going to be moving forward.”
Blaney begs to differ. With her nearly 20 years in county government, six as a county councilwoman and the last 12 as a county commissioner, plus the last five as President of the Porter County Foundation, the body responsible for managing the nearly $200 million in proceeds from the sale of the hospital, she said she knows her away around the management of county funds.
“I’ve built relationships,” she said. “If I see a problem that needs a legislative fix, I have people I can call and discuss that with.”
She also has decades of experience as a small business owner that she draws from.
“I think customer service is so important,” Blaney said. “When you show up to pay your taxes you should be treated with respect, professionalism, and kindness.”
Blaney, who has a BS and MS from Purdue University, is also currently earning her law degree in a weekend program at Loyola University. She said her experience running the Porter County Foundation would be invaluable as the treasurer is a non-voting member of that board.
Such leadership is necessary for a well-run treasurer’s office, she said.
“As the treasurer you’re setting the tone,” Blaney said. “You’re running the office, keeping the staff motivated, making sure the public is treated well as they should be when they’re giving up their hard-earned dollars to the county government.
“You have to build relationships to get things done and I’ve been doing that for the last 20 years,” she said. “It’s one of those types of positions if it’s running smoothly nobody knows you exist. I think I have something to offer that can take a good office and make it better.”
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
