Treasurer hopefuls sound off

Waynesboro Treasurer Sandee Dixon defended office practices and touted nine years experience during a candidate forum Wednesday night as challengers called her a “tarnished penny” in a “broken” office.

“I don’t think there’s been a 23 percent increase in the service provided,” challenger Stephanie Beverage said, referring to that amount of increase in Dixon’s annual budget from 2005 to 2009.

Beverage’s was the first of a few barbed comments sprinkled throughout the hourlong treasurer candidate forum put on by the Waynesboro Citizens for Responsible Spending at the Waynesboro Public Library.

Candidates spoke in front of about 50 people, responding to six questions with prepared answers and three others submitted by audience members.

Before September, the race pitted incumbent Dixon against challenger Beverage in a rematch of the 2005 race in which Beverage was severely affected by reports of a post-divorce bankruptcy. Two write-in candidates — Jim Serba and Terry Kent — joined the race after Dixon was cited by a fourth consecutive state audit for insufficient office controls and sloppy recordkeeping.

Candidates identified challenges the city faces and suggested possible customer service changes in the treasurer’s office and discussed their experience with finances.

Dixon used her three-minute bursts of microphone time to explain improvements to her office since the most recent critical audit. Her staff has trained, she said, and new fee collection methods are in place.

“The entire treasurer’s office is not broken,” she said. “We’ve worked efficiently with the manpower we do have.”

“I have grown in knowledge of the expectations of the treasurer,” she said.

Dixon identified budget cuts as the primary challenge to city business, adding that her staff has been efficient.

Other identified challenges: delinquent tax collection, Beverage said; investment of funds, Serba said; the unemployment rate, Kent said.

All but Beverage discussed the possibility of bringing a credit/debit card system into the office to receive payments. Dixon said the office is asked about that service everyday. Serba said better investing could cover associated card fees. Kent, as he did throughout the night, referenced neighboring localities and their procedures, which he is studying.

When asked about changes to customer service, Beverage, the most concise candidate, spoke about extended office hours she would work to accommodate taxpayers.

Candidates spoke similarly about potential investing instruments, with Kent most forcefully emphasizing the need for safe investing and highly liquid funds. In her closing, Dixon told the crowd the finance department handles investing.

Asked about internal office controls, Kent said he would introduce standard operating manuals and cross-train employees. Beverage said payments must be locked. Serba said large disbursements should be checked by two employees.

Dixon said many such measures are in place.

Regarding critical state audits, Serba said his retail career made him accustomed to huge audits. Kent said he would go line-by-line for corrections. Beverage, again concise, singled out sheriff’s office remittances for improvement.

In closing, Beverage, a 911 dispatcher, played off Serba’s use of “broken,” calling the treasurer’s office “kinda bent,” then referenced Kent — who does not want band-aids over problems —saying she would apply a tourniquet.

Serba, who worked in retail 34 years as a store manager, emphasized he is accustomed to fixing problems and handling large sums of money.

Dixon said she knows all aspects of the job and warned challengers is not a “quick learn.”

Kent, a former associate pastor in Waynesboro who worked in video store chains as a manager and operated a tax service for 15 years, emphasized his passion.

He listed examples of victorious write-in candidates, then took a turn for the theatrical.

Kent pulled out four coins, and, reiterating “with all due respect,” compared Dixon to a tarnished penny and Beverage to a shiny nickel that doesn’t pay off. He praised Serba, who would gotten Kent’s vote, but called himself the “most valuable.”