It’s an honor to serve as Spokane Treasurer – and I will miss it if I’m elected to Congress – but a lot of people ask me, “What does the Treasurer do?”
A Treasurer is the County’s banker. We collect taxes set by the Legislature and the voters, and pay those funds out to the more than 80 entities that need them – for public safety, school districts, transportation, and many more.
In between we invest the money through the $1.9 billion Public Investment Fund so it is safe and earns a good return. So far, during my tenure, we have brought in over $120 million in investment income – helping to fund needed county programs and saving taxpayers money.
The Treasurer doesn’t set tax rates or assess property for property taxes – that’s done by the Legislature, the County Assessor, and the voters. About forty percent of your tax bill comes from levies that have been voted in by you and your neighbors – so keep a sharp eye on the special elections that often have levies on them.
In the Legislature I fought to make it harder to raise taxes, helping enact the two thirds requirement in Senate rules. Meanwhile Democrats on the coast made it easier to raise taxes and are still moving in that direction.
The Treasurer’s office has an excellent professional staff that is more than capable of keeping things running smoothly in the transition to new leadership that would follow my election to Congress.
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