Joomla Login LightBox powered by WowJoomla.com

There are three candidates for Clay County auditor on the primary ballots for Tuesday, Aug. 3. Jay Jones and William Norris will compete for their party’s nomination in the Republican primary. The winner of that race will face Democrat incumbent Shelia Ernzen in the November general election.

ON THE DEMOCRAT BALLOT

Sheila Ernzen

- Length of residency in Clay County: my entire life

- Prior experience in an elected office: Clay County auditor since February 2009; Clay County treasurer, January 2003 to December 2008

- Other forms of civic involvement, memberships: Pastoral Council, Annunciation Catholic Church; Finance Committee, Annunciation Catholic Church; nursery volunteer, Annunciation Catholic Church; Kearney-Holt CAN!, past president and current member; Northland Coalition; Dogwood Elementary PTO; Kearney Junior High School PTO; Missouri County Auditor’s Association; Missouri Society of Accountants; Mid-America Regional Council Board of Directors

- Education: Bachelor of Science, accounting, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1996; licensed certified public accountant

- Employment experience: Clay County auditor, February 2009 to present; Clay County Treasurer, January 2003 to December 2008; senior staff accountant, Francis S. Franke & Co., June 1997 to December 2002

Why did you choose to run for this position? The citizens of Clay County are entitled to an experienced, competent professional overseeing their county tax dollars. Over the past two years serving the citizens as their auditor, I have found the job very fulfilling and rewarding. I understand Clay County government and auditing, having served two years as Clay County auditor, six years as Clay County treasurer and six years in public accounting. I am a CPA, licensed to practice in the state of Missouri. I have and will continue to devote myself full time to the office of Clay County Auditor.

How would you define the primary role of this position? Tax Dollar Watchdog — ensuring that every payment made with taxpayer dollars is made in accordance with the law and with proper authorization; protecting tax dollars though audits of county offices and funds; maintaining the integrity of Clay County’s financial data; preparing the county’s financial statements in accordance with GAAP.

In your opinion, what will be the most important issues for this office during the next five years? Protecting Clay County tax dollars; auditing county offices and funds; maintaining the integrity of Clay County’s financial data; staying up to date on all GASB statements to ensure that the county’s financial statements are presented properly; converting all of the paper files in the auditor’s office to electronic, saving tax dollars on paper, toner, files and labels; continuing to make the auditor’s office as efficient as possible; increasing the responsibilities of the auditor’s office without increasing costs for county citizens.

What will be the most important issues for Clay County during the next five years? Cutting costs and doing more with less by finding ways to operate more efficiently; paying all county vendors by electronic funds transfer, saving tax dollars on check stock, MICR ink cartridges, bank fees and postage; stream lining the county’s accounts payable process with no additional costs; simplifying the use of the county’s purchasing program using technology available to the county at no cost, which will allow the county to receive rebates back on all purchases.

What are the important issues for the county over the long term? County officials need to work together in a joint effort to make county government as efficient as possible.

Please list any issues you would like to focus on that are specific to the office you are seeking. I believe that the county auditor should have the ability and willingness to work with other elected county officials for the benefit of the citizens of Clay County; should have in-depth knowledge and experience of Clay County’s operations to ensure that taxpayer dollars are protected and used in an efficient manner; should be proficient and have experience in governmental accounting; should devote themself full time to the job of Clay County auditor.

ON THE REPUBLICAN BALLOT

Jay Jones

- Length of residency in Clay County: 33 years

- Prior experience in an elected office: None

- Other forms of civic involvement, memberships: member of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church; member of Missouri Society of CPAs and American Institute of CPAs; member of the HOA Advisory Board for Staley Farms Community; volunteer coach for youth baseball, softball and basketball teams in Liberty for several years; former volunteer instructor for Junior Achievement

- Education: Accounting degree from William Jewell College, magna cum laude; licensed certified public accountant

- Employment experience: I have 29 years of progressively responsible experience in accounting, auditing, finance and tax planning, both in private industry as well as public accounting. I served as a chief financial officer with annual budget responsibilities of up to $300 million. I am also a former business owner.

Why did you choose to run for this position? After completing a successful and fulfilling career in private industry, I wanted to be given the opportunity to apply my education, talents and business acumen to provide a public service to the citizens of Clay County.

How would you define the primary role of this position? The role of the county auditor is that of a financial controller who is responsible for protecting the taxpayer’s interests through prudent stewardship of the county’s assets. As a taxpayer myself, I believe it is important to have qualified people running the affairs of the county and making sure our tax dollars are spent wisely.

In your opinion, what will be the most important issues for this office during the next five years? As the county auditor, I would use the experience I gained as a chief financial officer in the corporate setting to look for ways to cut out waste and to eliminate inefficiencies. In other words, I would make sure the citizens are getting value for their tax dollars.

What will be the most important issues for Clay County during the next five years? With the continuing economic recession, every branch of government is feeling a financial pinch, and Clay County is no exception. The biggest challenge is to find ways to keep spending in check and taxes down while not compromising services that are crucial to the residents of the county.

What are the important issues for the county over the long term? The county needs to do what it takes to retain current businesses and bring new business into its boundaries, which will help to create jobs and attract new residents. In the long term, this will provide a stable tax base and allow the tax burden to be spread among a bigger population.

Please list any issues you would like to focus on that are specific to the office you are seeking. I am a fiscal conservative by nature and plan to use keen scrutiny to protect the county’s assets. I believe in low taxes and keeping government spending to a minimum, so I will use my business acumen gained through years of experience to help to make that happen.

William James Norris

- Length of residency in Clay County: 5 years

- Prior experience in an elected office: None

- Other forms of civic involvement, memberships: Clay County Young Republicans; Ancient Free & Accepted Masons Lodge No. 111; American Institute of CPAs

- Education: Trenton High School; North Central Missouri College; William Jewell College, Bachelor of Science, accounting

- Employment experience: All American Enterprises, Financial Controller, 2004 to present

Why did you choose to run for this position? I have been interested in politics since college. My background is in accounting, so I think running for auditor is the best way I can serve the citizens of Clay County.

How would you define the primary role of this position? The auditor’s main duties are to act as the county’s financial controller and also conduct the annual inventory of capital assets for each department in the county.

In your opinion, what will be the most important issues for this office during the next five years? I believe the most important issue facing the auditor’s office is to make sure that the auditor and his/her staff are capable of performing all of the duties set forth by the county.

The agencies conducting the outside audits for Clay County have been preparing the county’s financial statements since before anyone can recall. In 2006 the outside firm suggested to the county that they “hire a qualified individual who is capable of preparing the county’s financial statements in accordance with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principals).” Why have an auditor or employees of the auditor’s office who are not capable of performing all of the duties?

What will be the most important issues for Clay County during the next five years? I think the most important issue facing Clay County is finding new streams of revenue. Local governments across the nation are facing decreased revenues because of the current economic state. Making sure to set a realistic expenditure budget is one of many ways Clay County can combat the current decreased revenue.

What are the important issues for the county over the long term? The most important long-term issues go back to revenue and the expenditure budget. The economy will improve with time, but until then we will have to find new ways of funding.

Some other important issues include planning/zoning, indigent care, infrastructure, law enforcement funding, etc.

Please list any issues you would like to focus on that are specific to the office you are seeking. I think the county should focus on creating an accounting policy and procedure manual for the auditor and auditor’s staff. This would allow management to improve procedures, which would create a more efficient and effective system.

I also think more money should be budgeted within the auditor’s office for employee training in regard to the counties accounting software, training related to the GAAP and the governmental accounting standards.

CORRECTION

Information in last week’s newspaper about the Aug. 3 primary election listed the wrong person as the incumbent Clay County collector of revenue.

Sandra Reeves is the county’s current collector.

Cathy Rinehart is the Clay County assessor. Her seat is not up for election at this time.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed