Preamble
First and foremost, I believe that the Treasurer's Office, as any public office, needs to be efficient, accountable and responsive. It needs to be well-managed. I promise I will honor the civil service system and ensure that employees of the Treasurer's Office are free from patronage and have a single focus: public service.
Advocate for the Public on Budget and Financial Issues
Periodically, a legislator introduces a bill to abolish the Office of the Treasurer, ostensibly as a cost-saving measure because the Treasurer is merely a Constitutional relic.
However, such proposals are misguided. First, there would be no cost-savings as the functions of the Office would simply be reallocated to other units of government. Second, and, most important, calls for abolition of the Treasurer would result not in a reduction of government, but in a reduction of the people's
representation, or voice, in government--exactly the opposite of what is intended.
I believe the purpose of a Constitutional Treasurer is to serve as an independent voice on matters of State financial importance, and, I believe it matters who our State Treasurer is, just as I believe it matters who all of our public officials and public servants are.
As your State Treasurer, I'll use my 24 years in State and Municipal budgeting and investments to serve as an additional resource for the public on State budget matters. You can be certain that I will provide an active and independent voice to help ensure that government works effectively for people.
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Unclaimed Property
A key function of the Treasurer's Office is administration of the State Unclaimed Property program, which now has grown to hundreds of millions of dollars. The program seeks to return to citizens monies that the Treasurer collects from old bank accounts, utility deposits, and a variety of other sources, including unclaimed safety deposit boxes. A citizen or his/her heirs may claim the property at any time; there is no time limit.
It's unsurprising that recent years have seen record returns of monies. Technological advancements, such as use of the Web, result in both more efficient collections, and identification of owners and and return of the assets.
But, the program could be improved and more efficient. For example, although a prospective claimant may become aware that the Treasurer is holding proceeds, the claimant cannot know the amount without a formal request process. The result is approximately 50,000 applications mailed but not returned annually, likely because the dollar amounts are small and the claimants choose not to pursue a claim. One result is additional administrative and postage costs. Another is that many prospective claimants may never again pursue a claim, yet they remain on the list into perpetuity. A simple solution might be to allow a claimant to determine the potential claim amount prior to initiating the paperwork.
Additionally, previous Treasurers have felt it important to call the public's attention to the Unclaimed Property program, sometimes by literally driving around the State to publicize the program. This might be useful, but I think it will be more useful to raise the profile of the program by raising the profile of the Office generally through advocacy of a variety of State budget and financial matters.
Edvest
The Treasurer serves as the administrator of the State Edvest program, which serves as a saving and investment program for student college funds. Parents and others may contribute to a student's college fund, choose investment plans, and realize an aggregate State tax deduction of up to $3,000.
As a citizen, I worked with local legislators to advocate for the repair of the Edvest program, whereby non-custodial parents could not utilize the State tax deduction, but uncles and grandparents could. This was highly inequitable. The recent State budget bill now provides for non-custodial parents as Edvest contributors, effective in 2010.
As State Treasurer, I will work with the Legislature and Governor to ensure the program is administered equitably, and I will strongly advocate for improvements, such as current legislative proposals to expand allowable contributors.
Local Government Investment Pool
The State Treasurer administers the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP), which collects each day's unused cash from local units of government and combines the collections with State agency proceeds, thus allowing for both liquidity and higer yields. The funds are invested by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board. As State Treasurer, I would resist calls to direct investment toward local venture capital or other, risky investments.
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