RESPONSIBILITIES

SMALL BUSINESS OWNER - TOWNSHIP TRUSTEEE - COMMUNITY advocate

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES OF ORION TOWNSHIP TREASURER

Receive and take charge of money belonging to the township or that is required by law to be paid into the township treasury and pay over and account for the money, according to the order of the Board or authorized officers of the township.
TREASURY IS THE BANK. The Treasurer's department receives money from taxes, escrow accounts from Planning & Zoning, permits from Building dept., water/sewer payments, Parks & Recreation (events, classes, GLAC memberships), Oakland County dog licenses and park passes, ordinance violations, grant funds, cable franchise fees, contract fees from the Village/schools/etc. All money received all has to be correctly accounted for in the Cash Receipting module of BS&A.
The Treasurer keeps an eye on the Miscellaneous Receivables module to see what payments are outstanding and reaches out to people to pay their bills.

Keep track of banks approved by the Board where funds are deposited and held.
Currently the Township uses Chase bank as the main account. There are multiple accounts under the umbrella including General (operating account through which all of our bills are paid including payroll), Tax, FSA (employee health savings account), Indianwood Lake Board, and EV charging stations (paid to us monthly then transferred to the General account).
The Treasurer makes deposits at least twice a week at Chase, via the drop box. The Treasurer collects the completed deposit slips and returns them to the office.
During tax season, trips to the bank happen more often, depending on how much cash/checks are on hand. Since acquiring GLAC, the Treasurer has also had to make frequent trips to get change for the Treasurer’s petty cash drawer to accommodate GLAC’s requests to change out larger bills for smaller ones.
There are also accounts at Oxford Bank and Genisys Credit Union, where people can make tax payments. The Treasurer picks up a cashier’s check from each after summer and winter seasons are over.

THIS MUST CONTINUE and Matt Pfeiffer has extensive experience in sound investing as a small business owner and in the private sector.
Cash flow management is key to investing. Currently, the bulk of the Township's operating funds are in the Michigan CLASS account, earning a high rate of return while it sits there until the Treasurer transfers it to the Chase account when needed.
The Treasurer is required to present a quarterly report to the Board.

Townships are responsible for three main things: 1. Elections (Clerk) 2. Assessing (Supervisor) 3. Tax collection (Treasurer). Orion Township Treasurer’s department bills, collects and settles taxes for 15 different taxing authorities which is more than most other townships. It has one of the most complex tax collections in Oakland County.
Summer taxes are mainly for the schools (Lake Orion and parts of Rochester, Clarkston and Pontiac). The Treasurer also collects Oakland County’s operating millage in the summer. Village residents receive a second bill which is for Village operating and police.
Winter taxes are for everything Township-related (operating, fire, police, parks & rec, safety path) as well as library, zoo, DIA, Oakland transit and Oakland County and Metro parks. SADs, drain special assessments and delinquent water/sewer and garbage bills are also collected at tax time.
The Treasurer disburses collected tax payments to the authorities every two weeks. The paperwork is extensive.
Delinquencies are handled through Oakland County. March 1st each year, all delinquent taxes for the current year (real and personal) are sent to Oakland County. Orion Township does not collect delinquent taxes, but it does provide updated tax bills with relevant fees and interest up until the point that settlement is finalized for all of Oakland County.
The department also collect mobile home taxes and disburse those to the county monthly.

Treasurer’s department is in charge of applying for credit cards for positions that have been approved by the Board and/or department heads.
The credit card account is controlled by the Treasurer.

The Treasurer is familiar with ALL bills and financial reports, char accounts, and budgeting.
The Treasurer MUST read and review each and every bill, no matter how big or small, no matter what department it comes from and ask questions to the directors regarding various bills.

The Treasurer MUST stay current with legislation that will affect how the Treasury works.
To do this the Tresaurer must sit in on the MMTA Treasurer to Treasurer webinars, read the MTA magazine's legislative summaries.
Understand that Legislators love to give property tax breaks because it makes them look like heroes, but it complicates how Treasurer’s departments function and decreases the amount of operating funds to cities, villages and townships.

Staying current with all things related to being a Treasurer is a requirement to properly serve the community.
Attending webinars, receiving and reading all updates through emails, newsletters, other printed materials, and the occasional conference are all necessary to stay current.