M. Park seeks to appoint treasurer

Electing and keeping a treasurer has been a tough task at Manassas Park lately.

For that reason—and a few others—the city wants to eliminate its elected treasurer position in favor of an ap-pointed post.

City officials have been scouring neighborhoods for the last week, trying to get residents to sign a petition that would allow a referendum to be placed on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

The city needs 670 signatures to get the referendum on the ballot. There were 400 as of Tuesday.

The state requires that the

number of signatures needed to put a referendum on the ballot equals 20 percent of the number of voters in the last presidential election.

If approved by voters, the issue would go to the Virginia General Assembly for approval as early as the next session that begins in January. The earliest the position could change would be the end of 2009.

Manassas Park would join Prince William and Fairfax counties and the city of Alexandria as one of the jurisdictions in the commonwealth without an elected treasurer.

In a letter to its residents dated June 18, treasurer George Adamson cites three major reasons for the change: retain-ing qualified candidates (the city has had five treasurers in the four years preceding Adamson's election in 2005); a small talent pool in a city of 11,500; and the ever-increasing professional qualifications for the posi-tion.

"I believe that making the treasurer part of the city staff is the best way to insure that highly qualified indi-viduals are recruited and retained by Manassas Park," Adamson states in the letter.

A treasurer is a constitutional officer charged by law with the preparation and delivery of tax bills as well as receiv-ing and paying all city money.

Manassas Treasurer Robin Perkins was elected in 1997 and will finish her third term next year. Perkins said she doesn't see the benefit of a jurisdiction changing from an elected position to an appointed position.

Elected officials have to work pretty hard to keep people happy because they are answering to the city's population as opposed to a small group of politicians, said Perkins.

As Prince William County's finance director, Chris Martino handles issues that would normally be reserved for an elected treasurer. Martino said he's not sure why the county went to the current setup created in 1970, but said it's one that works well.

"I believe it was very constructive in moving the county forward in trying to manage its [financial] affairs in a very professional manner," Martino said. "But that's not to say you can't do it the other way either."

Gloucester County treasurer and Treasurer's Association of Virginia president Tara Thomas said that electing a treasurer could wind up rewarding the most popular and not the most qualified person for the job.

However, Thomas said one reason why the treasurer and the position of the commissioner of the revenue—which handles property assessments—are separate and elected is to avoid any special favors asked of them by a locally elected official or city representative.

"You don't want a board chairman or even a

non-elected county administrator to come over to the treasurer's office and say, 'My buddy was late [on his taxes], can you cut him some slack?' " Thomas said.

The salaries of local treasurers are partially funded through the state's Compensation Board. Cities the size of Manassas Park are compensated between $64,000 and $71,000 a year, depending on the individual's certifi-cation.

Manassas Park Finance Director Gary Fields estimated that the city treasurer's annual budget is between $200,000 and $300,000, with Adamson making just more than $83,000 a year.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-369-5738.