The municipal treasurer is a position of responsibility for a municipality according to the locally prevailing laws.
The treasurer of a public agency is elected
[California League of Cities, Elected City Treasurers]
by the voting public or is appointed by the
municipal council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...
or
municipal manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...
. City treasurers are primarily responsible for managing the revenue and cash flow of the agency, banking, collection, receipt, reporting, custody, investment or disbursement of municipal funds.
Responsibilities
The municipal treasurer is typically responsible for
liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is a financial risk that for a certain period of time a given financial asset, security or commodity cannot be traded quickly enough in the market without impacting the market price.
Types
Market liquidity – An asset cannot be so ...
management,
cash management, issuing and repaying
debt
Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...
, and
interest rate risk
In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinc ...
, and oversight of pension
investment management
Investment management is the professional asset management of various securities, including shareholdings, bonds, and other assets, such as real estate, to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of investors. Investors may be institut ...
.
They also typically advise the municipal council and municipal manager, or their equivalents, on matters relating to municipal finance.
They could also have oversight of other areas, such as the purchase of
insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
, and collections of user fees such as utility usage and business licenses. Municipal funding sources are commonly
property tax
A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
,
sales tax
A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...
,
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
, utility users tax (UUT), transient occupancy tax (hotel occupancy), and user fees such as licensing and permit fees.
Qualifications
Elected municipal treasurers may only be required to be of legal age, over 18, for example, meet minimum residency requirements, perhaps six months or one year, and be a registered voter. With no training requirement, citizens may have a legitimate concern and may impose post-election training requirements once in office. Some US states offer but may not require, extensive training and certification programs, such as the
Certified California Municipal Treasurer A Certified California Municipal Treasurer (CCMT) is a post-nominal professional certification awarded by the California Municipal Treasurers Association (CMTA) to California public treasurers who meet standards of education, experience, and a sta ...
.
Appointed municipal treasurers, not subject to residency requirements, are likely to be subject to competition and likely must have finance-related college degrees, prior investment experience, municipal department head experience and appropriate training and certifications.
See also
*
Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada
*
California Municipal Treasurers Association
*
City Treasurer of Chicago
The City Treasurer of Chicago is an elected official of the City of Chicago.
Current Occupant
The current City Treasurer of Chicago is Democrat Melissa Conyears. Conyears was elected by Chicago citizens on April 2, 2019, and took the oath of ...
References
External links
Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and CanadaCalifornia Municipal Treasurers AssociationIllinois Municipal Treasurers AssociationMichigan Municipal Treasurers AssociationGovernment Treasurers Organization of TexasWashington Municipal Treasurers AssociationTreasurers of Wisconsin{dead link, date=August 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Local government
Treasurers