What Does a County Treasurer Do?
Vol. IV. No. 64 - It's More Than Just Tax Collection
Over the next couple of weeks, county residents will start receiving their second-half property tax bills, and all of those checks and payments will end up going to one small office on the first floor of the Safety Building in downtown Troy: the County Treasurer’s Office. So, as that office gears up for a busy stretch, it’s worth looking into this small office by asking: what exactly does a County Treasurer do?
The County Treasurer is one of a handful of elected officials here in Miami County, part of the decentralized system of county government unique to Ohio. In the same election cycle we elect a Treasurer, we also elect two County Commissioners, a Prosecutor, an Engineer, a Coroner, a Clerk of Courts, and a Sheriff — all quadrennial terms running together. The County Auditor runs on a separate, offset cycle, along with one of the three County Commissioners. Here in Miami County, our Treasurer is Jim Stubbs, who has served as County Treasurer since 2011 and ran unopposed for his current term in 2024.
County Treasurers are, in effect, the county’s banker. They’re responsible for taking in county funds — every tax payment made to the county passes through the Treasurer’s office, from real estate taxes to dog licenses. Those tax bills are prepared by a different office, the County Auditor, but the funds are collected by the Treasurer — a separation of duties that ensures the office sending the bills isn’t the same office receiving the money. Think of the Auditor as the county’s “accounts payable” side and the Treasurer as “accounts receivable.” That split matters beyond bookkeeping tidiness: it means no single office both bills you and cashes your check without an independent check on the other end, which is the kind of internal control residents should expect from anyone handling public money.
Residents have several ways to actually get that payment to the Treasurer’s office: by mail, in person at the Safety Building, or online through the county’s payment portal, with checks made payable directly to the Treasurer. If a payment is late, the Treasurer’s office is also the one responsible for collecting the resulting penalties and interest, and for working with property owners who fall behind before a delinquency escalates toward a tax lien or foreclosure. That collections role is easy to overlook, but it’s a significant part of the office’s day-to-day work, especially in the weeks right after a due date passes.
The Treasurer is also responsible for investing the county’s funds, most of which sit in securities that are risk-averse and tightly regulated to protect public dollars. Many local governments, including Miami County, invest through STAR Ohio, a state-run investment pool that offers competitive returns while preserving the liquidity and security local governments need day to day. For a county like ours, that pool functions like a high-yield savings account for tax dollars sitting between collection and disbursement, rather than money sitting idle.
Finally, the Treasurer sits on several county boards, most notably the County Budget Commission — a three-member body made up of the Prosecutor, Auditor, and Treasurer. The Budget Commission sets tax rates for the “inside millage” portion of property tax bills, the unvoted share, by reviewing budget requests from cities, villages, school districts, and other taxing authorities and allocating that inside millage based on each entity’s certified need. This isn’t an abstract exercise: last December, the Commission voted unanimously to cut a combined $12 million in property taxes countywide starting in 2026. If you’re opening a tax bill this month, that decision is part of why the number on the page may look different than you expected.
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