Richard Cordray

1

• Richard Cordray
• Franklin County Treasurer
• 2007 Budget
• as presented to the
• Franklin County Commissioners
• Paula Brooks, President
• Mary Jo Kilroy
• Dewey Stokes
• November 21, 2006

2
Our Mission

• To bill and collect taxes on real estate,
  personal property, and manufactured homes to
  ensure that the revenues are available for prompt
  distribution to schools, municipalities,
  libraries, and other political subdivisions
• To manage and invest all monies deposited in the
  Treasury in a professional and prudent manner so
  that the county can operate and provide services
  to citizens, political subdivisions, and agencies
  of Franklin County
• To build partnerships with other agencies and
  private sector entities to clean up vacant and
  abandoned properties in our neighborhoods
• To share knowledge at the Treasury to increase
  financial literacy among Franklin County
  residents and to promote foreclosure
  intervention.

3
Our Environment

• Many business environment dynamics affect the
  Treasurers
• Office, including but not limited to the
  following
• Number of new home builds (increases number of
  parcels to manage)
• Number of bankruptcies (increases the number of
  filings to secure our position for debt payment)
• Real estate sales (increase recordkeeping and
  research requirements)
• Mortgage refinancing (increases recordkeeping and
  research requirements)
• Tax Rates and Valuation changes (increases phone,
  internet and foot traffic in the office due to
  increased inquiries)

4
Our Environment (Continued)

• Interest rates (low rates increase home sales and
  decrease interest earnings)
• Unemployment rates (more unemployment increases
  delinquency rates)
• Changes in the Ohio Revised Code (may affect the
  taxes we collect and how we collect them as well
  as permissible investments and authority to
  establish other programs)
• Financial literacy of Franklin County residents
  (knowledge preserves credit rating, ability to
  budget, and provides financial strength)
• County Commissioner resolutions (authorize
  measures such as a tax lien sale and a linked
  deposit program)
• Abandoned housing (decreases values of
  neighborhood reducing values and thus reducing
  the tax base for the community.

5
Office Structure

• For purposes of performance based budgeting the
  following chart shows our office structure

6
Office Responsibilities

• The Tax Collection Area is responsible for
  producing tax bills for more than 410,000 parcels
  twice a year and for handling most customer
  service inquires.
• The Delinquent Tax Collection Area is responsible
  for collecting all delinquent taxes owed to
  Franklin County, including Real Estate, Personal
  Property, Public Utility, and Manufactured Homes.
  It has two dedicated funding sources DTAC and
  the Tax Lien Administrative Fund.
• The Escrow Program is responsible for pre-pay and
  direct debit plans that are offered as payment
  options for current real estate tax collections.
• The Portfolio Management Area is responsible for
  investing county funds safely and ensuring that
  the Countys cash flow needs are met.
• The Agency Services Area processes all cash check
  and special payments made by taxpayers to various
  county agencies, to balance the receipts, and to
  make daily bank deposits.

7
2006 Office Accomplishments

• Processed more than 1.3 million payments
  resulting in bank deposits of over 1.1 billion.
• Processed over 1.7 billion processed via ACH
  (electronic transfers).
• Instituted new tracking system for returned
  payments.
• Increased the number of taxpayers paying their
  taxes via direct debit from 2,759 in 2005 to over
  3,900 currently.
• Enrolled over 1,164 delinquent taxpayers in
  pre-payment program.

8
2006 Office Accomplishments

• Created counterfeit bill detection program for
  distribution across all county agencies and any
  interested party.
• Reduce mailing costs by 60,000 by consolidating
  mailings.
• Responded to over 90,000 customer inquiries with
  94.5 of all inbound calls handled.
• Produced semi annual real estate tax billings for
  over 410,000 parcels in paper and electronic
  formats.
• Remain on schedule for 28.3 million in interest
  earnings.

9
2006 Office Accomplishments

• By year end, now accepting online payments for
  contracts and tax lien redemptions.
• Now processing change of address requests
  online!
• Redesigned and improved office website, including
  the Kids Corner.
• Continued to develop and share more than 37
  Treasurers Tips with Franklin County
  residents.
• Increased the number of taxpayers paying online
  by 49.48 to 27,953 for a record total collection
  of over 55 million tax dollars.

10
2006 Office Accomplishments

• Recovered over 46,000 of unclaimed funds
  belonging to the county.
• Office-wide imaging of key records now 95
  complete.
• Returned over 2.3 million surplus payments to
  2,000 taxpayers.
• Serviced 900 Senior Taxpayers through the STEP
  initiative.
• Converted 12 mortgage companies to electronic
  payment.

11
2006 Office Accomplishments

• Raised 2,300 for PTAP Program.
• Completed and tested staff task manuals.
• Conducted office-wide training to foster improved
  customer service and team work.
• Registered hundreds of Franklin County residents
  to vote.
• Participated in 50 Community Outreach events and
  26 jury pools.

12
2006 Office Accomplishments

• Participated in the Save Our Homes Task Force.
• Conducted monthly foreclosure meetings for
  victims.
• Hosted statewide Foreclosure Intervention and
  Land Bank conferences.
• Sponsored Roll Your Change Week to encourage
  saving in Franklin County.
• Sponsored and participated in Reality Days at 10
  high schools.

13
2006 Office Accomplishments

• Successful Tax Lien Sale
• Collected a total of 17,200,000
• Pre sale collections 5.2 million
• Payment Plans 6.9 million
• Sub sale 1.0 million
• Sale 4.1 million
• The BIG Winners
• Columbus City Schools .. 5,200,000 MRDD
  .. 1,400,000
• South-Western City Schools
  954,000 Childrens Services 976,000
• Hilliard Schools 538,000 ADAMH
  476,000

14
2006 Office Accomplishments

• Positive Results of Land Bank Efforts
• Bedford Landfill
• Parker Marathon in Canal Winchester
• Poindexter Tower
• Residential lot in Mifflin Township
• Residential lot in Urbancrest
• Three lots in Urbancrest deeds in lieu of
  foreclosure
• Two apartment buildings in Prairie Township

15
2006 Accomplishments
Process review, access to data, and improvements
ensure a more efficient office.
Efficient collections provide money for the
schools and communities quicker.
16
The Treasurers Staff Actively Finds Ways to
Share and Utilize Resources

• Continue to build the STEP program and we work
  with Seniors via various partnerships and PTAP.
• Continued work with community leaders, the Better
  Business Bureau, and local banks to improve tax
  collection efforts.
• Building partnerships to develop and acknowledge
  services for taxpayers facing bankruptcy and
  foreclosure.
• Partnered with the Data Center to develop Dot.Net
  technology and improve internet functionality.
• Reconstructed office space utilizing PFM to
  provide greater security and improved work flow.

17
2007 GOALS

• Continue aggressive effort to collect delinquent
  taxes from companies that are bankrupt or owe
  personal property taxes.
• Process Manufactured Home payments though the
  document processor for imaging.
• Forge ahead with Ohios first County Land Bank
  program.
• Improve taxpayer access to the office via the
  Internet to include more interactive forms.

18
2007 GOALS (continued)

• Develop linked deposit program to promote saving
  and financial literacy in Franklin County if
  interest rates allow.
• Continue to automate processes and provide better
  access to information internally, with other
  agencies, and with the public.
• Develop a user-friendly tax bill.
• Continue to consolidate mailings while increasing
  flow of information to taxpayers.

19
2007 GOALS (continued)

• Continue to develop financial literacy materials
  and opportunities for Franklin County residents.
• Institute IVR technology to provide taxpayers
  access to the office 24/7.
• Continue to provide useful staff development
  training, including computer skills, working with
  real estate software, customer service, and
  notary testing.
• Continue to strengthen and value our most
  important resource our staff.
• Enable a smooth transition along with a clear
  road map and adequately funded budget to next
  County Treasurer.

20
Revenue/Expenditure Comparison
Investment earnings and statutory fees collected
by the Treasurers office make us a substantial
net positive contributor to county revenues.
21
2006 Budget Analysis

• Overall general fund budget request in 2007 is
  less than in each of the 4 preceding years (as
  shown below when bank fees versus compensating
  balances are taken into consideration).

1,940,763
1,907,751
1,874,983
1,698,711
1,641,391
22
2007 Budget Analysis (continued)

• Tightening Our Belts through
• Restructuring of work flow and office duties
• Training and Cross-Training staff
• Working to combine large mass mailings
• No capital expenditures this year
• Utilizing existing county services
• Providing greater access to information
• Building partnerships

23
Franklin County Treasurer

• Thank you to the Office of Budget and Management,
  Bob Byrne and Vicky Hugo for their assistance in
  our budget request.
• We agree with the final recommendations of the
  Office of Budget and Management, especially for
  the consideration for raises for our staff and
  respectfully request approval of our 2007 budget
  request.