Shelby County – “It’s A Wonderful Life”…..In The Movies

Shelby Co. (ECWd) –

We would like to think there are times when something as simple as a classic Christmas movie can put things in perspective.

During my routine morning coffee discussion with friends in the morning, one being a former credit union manager, the subject of Shelby County came up after one of them saw a wild post about the Shelby County Treasurer and allegations of malfeasance regarding interest earnings on the county funds and nepotism.

In a nutshell, I explained that a group of citizens are insisting the treasurer invest the county money into the Illinois Fund where it could draw more interest than it is now in local banks.  The other issue, the treasurer’s father is on the board of one of the banks currently being used by the county. On the surface without knowing all the facts, sounds logical, however, there is always more to the story.

The banks currently used by Shelby County were not selected by the current treasurer.  They are the same banks that were in place when she took office.  So, the allegations of some malfeasance due to her father’s position on a bank is simply unfounded.

As far as investments, we once again find the hypocrisy amazing.  Simply comparing investment potential as the basis for doing something is rather short-sighted in our opinion.  For example, one could argue the current treasurer has done a fantastic job with investments which have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest ($960,472.97) (Interest Earned Report 2016-2024). Fantastic because the prior treasurer had little to no investment income, comparatively speaking.  We can only wonder where these naysayers were during those earlier times because they said nothing during those times of little interest being earned.

One could also argue, as are a group of citizens and some board members, that the treasurer has not done a fantastic job because there are other places where higher interest rates could have been earned.

Have you all forgotten the message from the classic Christmas movie, It’s A Wonderful Life?

What would happen if the county treasurer were to move all the county money out of local banks and put them into the Illinois Fund (Potters Bank)?  This is a question that the local banks should be answering. For starters, we suspect they would no longer provide the county with no service charge on the approximately 72 bank accounts they provide. That could cost the county upwards of $5,000 a year, but of course, earning so much interest in Potters Bank (Illinois Fund) would make up the loss.

What would happen to the local lending that those banks provide?  Would it be impacted?

According to a former Credit Union Manager, yes, it would be devastating to the local operations of the bank and drastically decrease the lending availability.  See the classic movie below.  How many Shelby County Citizens do their banking with the very banks holding the taxpayer’s funds?  Maybe they should be asking their bank what would happen if the county treasurer were to move that money out and let the State of Illinois manage it rather than the bank itself.

For the county board members, past and present, we have heard over and over the board has no authority to tell department heads what to do.  Now, for some strange reason, a select group on this board and past are failing to recognize they have no authority to dictate the internal operations of the treasurer’s office.

As if things could not get any crazier on this matter, the new social media drama in Shelby County is to circulate a petition for a vote of no confidence against the treasurer.  With audits not pointing to any issues with the Treasurer’s office and the drumbeat continuing against the treasurer, she asked more than once for a forensic audit to be done in her office.  She also wanted a no-confidence vote by the board.  The board chose neither, even after it was on the agenda.

Maybe it’s time the county board worry about their obligations rather than trying to run the office of the treasurer.  I asked the treasurer if any county board had complied with the below statute during her time in office.  The answer was no. While we have no clue why not, we suspect it is because the below statute is not found under county board’s duties but rather in the Office of Treasurer portion of the counties code.  Few county board members review other officeholder statutes.

Maybe the county board should focus on their duties and obligations rather than trying to dictate what an elected department head should be doing.

(55 ILCS 5/3-10018) (from Ch. 34, par. 3-10018)
    Sec. 3-10018. Half-yearly settlements. It shall be the duty of the county board, at least once every six months, to examine the books of account of the treasurer, and count the funds, and make settlement with the county treasurer, and the county clerk shall enter on the records of the county board the amount and kinds of funds found to be in the treasury at such time. (Source: P.A. 86-962.)