League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Contra Costa County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Measure J Change City Treasurer to Appointive City of Concord Majority Approval Required Fail: 19403 / 47.48% Yes votes ...... 21465 / 52.52% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure J

Arguments Against Measure J

Voting YES on Measure J allows Concord to ensure we have the most professionally qualified person to keep our finances safe, save money, and still provide public accountability. Currently the Treasurer only needs to be 18 and a registered voter. To protect city finances and to meet the increasingly complex roles of Treasurer, much stronger and more stringent qualifications are needed. Concord's budget is more complex and technical than it was in previous years. The demands for proper fiscal handling require the treasurer to have specific education, skills, experience and professionalism in municipal finance. In order to continue to keep our City finances safe, the public expects and deserves a Treasurer with professional expertise in areas such as electronic banking, municipal fund accounting, government reporting requirements, investment regulations, debt management, and conflict of interest laws. These responsibilities have historically been managed by existing city staff, the Treasury Manager, a politically neutral full-time City employee, trained and experienced in current city financial management and investment. A YES vote will allow for proper experience, oversight, public transparency, and daily accountability of the City's finances. The City budget and annual independent outside audits are done at public meetings that are televised, web streamed and on the internet for all the community to see. Checks and balances such as these provide for public oversight, public transparency and public accountability of City finances. Concord needs to join the 64% of California cities that have already established a more efficient, experienced professional and effective treasurer role while maintaining public accountability and transparency by voting Yes on Measure J. Our current City Treasurer of 27 years has reviewed and supports this measure. William D. Shinn, Concord Vice-Mayor/Sheriffs Commander (Retired) Kandi Lancaster, Commissioner, Parks/Recreation Laura Hoffmeister, Concord Councilmember Mary Kobayashi, Concord Resident Thomas J. Wentling, City Treasurer Rebuttal to Arguments For Voters, soon you will be receiving the voting pamphlet for this November municipal election. The City Treasurers office is the subject of this election. Five outstanding and illustrious citizens have banned together to challenge the City Treasurers office in a primary argument in favor of Measure J. These five opposing citizens want to take our City Treasurers office away and convert it from Elective to the Appointive. We cannot let this happen! Voters, our City Treasurers office have been incorporated for 105 years. Leave it alone! The five citizens who are speaking out on this Measure J want to hoodwink us. We cannot let this happen! I urge all voters to vote NO on Measure J. As for myself, I am handicapped in a wheelchair due to a stroke that happened in December of 2006. I was out of State for 3 years and I found my way back home fighting the charge for the citizens of Concord. This past Sunday August 12th, 2012, MSNBC put on a special program about "Cities going broke." That episode sent a chill up and down my spine. I do not want to see the City of Concord being a part of that, neither should you! Vote Smart November 6th, 2012. Thank you for your full support, Louis F. Mazzarella Your Neighbor Next Door

"Save Our City" Voters, We are on a cusp of another Concord Election year. In the midst of the Voter Pamphlet, there will be a Slate of Concord City Candidates.What stands out is our Concord City Treasurers Office. The issue is, the Treasurers Office is Elective. The City wants to convert from Elective to Appointive. Can we risk that our hard earned tax dollars will be incorrectly invested? Demonstrated by what recently happened in Stockton, CA; Bankruptcy! We don't think so; think about it! Recently voters, remember what happened in Bell, CA? The city manager made an exuberant amount of money totalling around $850K, per annum. Do we want this to happen to us? We don't think so; think about it! Friends, yesterday Concord, today Concord; but tomorrow - Italy, France or Greece? We don't think so; think about it! Voters, our City Treasurers Office has been incorporated since 1905. It worked quite well for 105 years. Let's keep it that way! We the voters will have no say so in the hiring of an Appointed City Treasurer. We don't think so; think about it! Friends, an old adage spells out if it's not broken, it does not need fixing. Leave it alone! Let's ask ourselves "how come all of a sudden the city wants to change the City Treasurers Office from Elective to Appointive?" It should make us wonder. We don't think so; think about it! The square box in the voter pamphlet states "Shall the office of City Treasurer be appointive? Yes or No" Read carefully section 2, the verbiage is muddled. Let's keep our City Treasurers Office alive and elective! Vote Smart November 6th, 2012. Thank you for your full support in this elective matter, Louis F. Mazzarella Your Neighbor Next Door Rebuttal to Arguments Against You have elected me to serve as your City Treasurer for the past 27 years. As such you have entrusted me to ensure Concord's finances are safe, and to provide public accountability, which I have done. One of my responsibilities, to you the voter, is to continuously evaluate financial practices and standards and recommend changes to ensure that we continue to have the best security and oversight possible. Finances today are greatly different than 105 years ago, and even different from that of 27 years ago. We can no longer continue to manage our finances solely with a position title and no experience, as it was originally established. I have researched and evaluated the various changes that have occurred over the years. State law only requires the elected Treasurer to be 18 and a registered voter. To protect our City finances and meet the increasingly complex role of Treasurer, stronger and more stringent qualifications are needed. We need to have the most qualified, educated and experienced person possible. The only legal way to achieve this is to change from an elected position to an appointed position where we can establish these qualifications as requirements. There will still be public accountability with publicly presented budgets, financial statements and independent outside audits. That is why as your elected Treasurer for the past 27 years, Concord voter and resident for over 50 years, I strongly recommend "Yes" on Measure J so we continue to keep Concord's finances safe into the future. Thomas J. Wentling City Treasurer

Full Text of Measure J

That the proposed measure submitted to the voters shall read: The people of the City of Concord do hereby request: The City Treasurer shall no longer be an elective official of the City of Concord. From and after November 6, 2012, or upon an earlier vacancy of the office of City Treasurer, the City Treasurer shall be appointed by the City Council. The City Treasurer so appointed shall hold office at the pleasure of the City Council and, notwithstanding California Government Code § 36502 to the contrary, is not required to be a resident or elector in the City. The City Council may by ordinance vest in the City Manager its authority to appoint the City Treasurer.