What the County Treasurer does NOT Do?
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Myth: The County Treasurer sets property tax rates.
Truth: Property Tax Rates are determined by a combination of local governments working with the County Commissioners, established laws, the state, and local voters (through publicly approved Bonds and Mill Levy Overrides)
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Myth: The County Treasurer sets property values.
Truth: This is actually done by the County Assessor’s Office. To learn more about the process, visit their website here: https://www.douglasco.gov/assessor/#/.
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Myth: The County Treasurer has oversight of Douglas County Spending.
Truth: The Treasurer distributes tax money, but actual oversight of County government spending in Douglas County government largely belongs to the Douglas County Director of Finance, who is appointed by and reports to the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). Get more details at https://www.douglasco.gov/finance/.
It is important to note: the BOCC and the County Treasurer are peers. While the Treasurer is not responsible for policy or assessing values, they are expected to work in a TRANSPARENT manner, holding their fellow elected peers ACCOUNTABLE, and operating with INTEGRITY.
What DOES the County Treasurer Do?
The County Treasurer has a variety of responsibilities, but the most important and visible ones all relate to property taxes:
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COLLECT IT: Collects property taxes across home owners, businesses, and land owners
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PROTECT IT: Ensures taxpayer dollars are safeguarded and invested, balancing between investment risk, cash management, and return on investment
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INVEST IT: Investing with prudent risk management and a healthy return on investment is a key role for the County Treasurer
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PAY IT OUT: Makes payments to the hundreds of government agencies who receive county money
The graphic below was created by Dan Smith to explain, in plain English, one of the County Treasurer's most important responsibilities: investing taxpayer dollars. It reflects his investment philosophy for taxpayer money, developed over more than 20 years in corporate finance, wealth management, and risk management. The three priorities shown here—Protect the Money, Keep Cash Available, and Make it Grow—translate complex financial concepts into terms everyone can understand and represents the principles that would guide every investment decision as Douglas County Treasurer.
