Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

As Young County Treasurer I feel that I should opine on the November constitutional amendment Proposition 12, which will abolish the office of county treasurer for Galveston County if approved by both the voters of Galveston County AND the voters of Texas. The libertarian side of me suggests that the citizens of Galveston County should be able to conduct their county as they please. However, the prudent side of me prevails on this issue.

By statute, the County Treasurer is an elected office and is the chief custodian and administrator of all county funds and is the chief investment officer. State laws govern the conduct of their duties and personal bonds are posted to ensure they meet these standards. Since the treasurer is elected, they are independent and not beholden to any county official or employee. In addition, the treasurer is authorized by law to challenge commissioners’ court if there is a question of legality or propriety in collection or disbursement of funds.

I am a firm believer that public money must be handled with appropriate checks and balances. Here in Young County, the Treasurer and the County Auditor function as that check and balance for appropriation of county funds. All disbursements are approved by Commissioners’ Court and countersigned by the Treasurer and Auditor. Monies collected by the Treasurer are monitored by the Auditor and Commissioners’ Court. Transactions do not occur without the cooperation of both offices.

Abolishing the office of County Treasurer would disrupt necessary checks and balances consolidating control of public money into the Auditor’s office. This would take away the people’s choice in who they trust as the custodian of funds. One could argue that the auditor’s office can and would have internal checks and balances as any company or corporation should have. However, this is public money, taxpayer money that we are dealing with and I put more confidence in a separation of powers where the elected Treasurer does his job beholden to the people that elected him or her and both the Treasurer and Auditor confirm that receipts and disbursements are conducted in a lawful and prudent manner.

I do believe in citizens choosing how they want to be governed and how their government functions. I hope that this information will guide you to a prudent decision on Proposition 12.

Sincerely, Kyle Milam Young County Treasurer