Name: Christine J. Johnson

Age: 58

Town: Shabbona

Office sought: DeKalb County Treasurer

Occupation: DeKalb County Treasurer/Collector

Education: Educated entirely in DeKalb County schools, and a B.A. from Northern Illinois University

Elected offices held: DeKalb County Treasurer – 22 years, Illinois State Senator 35th District – 2 years Republican Precinct Committeeman – 24 years, and elected President of the Illinois County Treasurers’ Association.

Party: Republican

Campaign Facebook: Facebook.com/TreasurerChristineJJohnson

Questions:

1. Why are you the best person for this job?

It has been my privilege to serve the citizens of DeKalb County as their Treasurer for 22 years.

Under my leadership the office has made significant progress. We partnered with a software firm to design a new property tax system, which I am proud to say has now been implemented in 65 Illinois counties and in numerous other states. This program improves efficiency and saves taxpayers thousands of dollars each year in staff time, software maintenance, and mailing costs.

I recently introduced a robust tax search and payment module that allows taxpayers to search property tax and assessment records without cost to the taxpayers. With this program citizens can pay their taxes online with credit cards or e-checks easily. This year we implemented the Treasurer’s Property Tax Helpline, so that taxpayers can quickly and efficiently be directed to the office that can best answer their questions.

We have substantially upgraded the physical and procedural security of the office. I have put into place many internal controls to provide for the safe and secure management of county funds. We have implemented banking procedures and programs to prevent and detect fraud. I work closely with our auditors to insure that we are using the most current policies and procedures recommended for government finances. We continue to invest county funds placing priority on security, liquidity and return on investments.

2. What can be done to make the treasurer’s office more efficient?

As taxpayer myself, I understand the importance of fiscal responsibility. My staff and I strive every day to identify more cost-effective, efficient ways of performing our duties. As the people who actually collect the property taxes, we feel it is incumbent upon us to make the best use of our citizens’ hard-earned money. With that in mind, we are working toward a process where we can email out property tax bills to every citizen, rather than mail them. This will save money and allow citizens to receive their tax bills in a convenient manner.

We have seen significant savings in accepting online payments which, rather than being entered individually by hand, can be automatically uploaded as a group in a matter of minutes. We are working to promote and encourage use of that program.

We are expanding our property tax email reminder database, so that we can send an individual reminder to any taxpayer that requests one.

As Chairman of the Illinois County Treasurer’s Association Legislative Committee, I work with Treasurers across the state to enact changes to Illinois laws that will benefit all Illinois taxpayers by enabling County Treasurers to operate their offices more efficiently and effectively.

3. What is your strategy for investing public funds?

I authored the first written investment policy for DeKalb County. My focus is first on the security of county funds, which is a duty I take very seriously. With a budget of $98 million, and property tax collections of $212 million, it is important to insure that taxpayer’s funds are protected. Each entity that serves as a depository is required to provide us with collateral, to insure our deposits at 105%, so that I insure that taxpayer funds are always protected. Liquidity is also a priority, so that the county has adequate cash flow for paying its bills. Finally, once security and liquidity are assured, I pursue the most competitive rate of return on our investments. I have earned over $23 million in interest for the taxpayers of DeKalb County during my tenure. That interest has provided a significant amount of services for county citizens without having been taxed for those services.2

4. How can the treasurer’s office help the county manage the cost of employee pension funds?

The rates that the County must pay for pension funds are set by the funds themselves. The County has always made their required payments to those funds on a timely basis, thereby insuring that their pension obligation was timely funded, and DeKalb County did not incur any penalties, or a massive liability, as we have seen other entities do.

The Treasurer’s Office also invests the funds prior to making the pension payments, with the interest used to minimize the amount that will need to be levied to make those payments.

5. The county recently had to repay grant money that the state found was improperly spent. Can the treasurer’s office prevent this in the future? How?

The County has 24 decentralized departments, operating somewhat independently in accordance with State law. Each department is aware of, applies for, and manages the grant funds awarded to that department. The Treasurer’s Office only handles the cash management functions of the grant funds when they are placed into the custody of the Treasurer. Each Department Head is responsible for complying with the rules set forth for each grant. It is incumbent upon each Department Head that they are accountable for their use of, and accounting for, taxpayer’s dollars, regardless of their source.

6. Can more be done to help seniors and others who may qualify for property tax benefits take advantage of them?

The Chief County Assessment Office is the office that assists seniors and others in applying for exemptions. Each year senior citizens are mailed a list of property tax exemptions, for which they may qualify, that can reduce the size of their tax bill. That list can also be found on the County’s website, and as Treasurer, I make sure the exemptions are also mentioned on the property tax bill mailed out.

Each year, I speak to numerous groups and individuals to raise awareness of these exemptions. This year I have spoken to groups in DeKalb, Genoa, and Sycamore. We also attended the Senior Citizens Fair at the DeKalb High School and provided exemption information to the seniors there. The DeKalb County Veteran’s Assistance Commission informs veterans of exemptions for which they may qualify.

On the Treasurer’s Property Tax Helpline that I established, one of the options we encourage people to choose, is the option to seek information on exemptions. My staff is trained to explain exemptions to taxpayers both at the counter and over the phone.

I consider it a privilege to serve as the DeKalb County Treasurer, and I ask for your vote on November 6, 2018. Thank you!