 During the council discussion, Alderman Buzz Busby asked how Conzo
planned to manage his time between his full-time job with the state
of Illinois and his position as treasurer for the city.
Conzo responded that he would use vacation time to devote daytime
working hours to the city, but he was also going to take full
retirement from the state in the near future and would then have
more time available for city business.
Since his appointment, Conzo has averaged at least one full day a
week in City Hall and plans to devote even more time to the job once
he retires early in 2011.
Chuck and Judy Conzo came to Lincoln in the mid-1990s as
newlyweds. Both were employed by the state of Illinois. But their
primary locations were in two different directions. Judy, who worked
in the Illinois Lottery as well as the Illinois Department of
Revenue, spent her time in Springfield, while Chuck's office at that
time was in Bloomington.
Conzo said their primary reason for coming to Lincoln to live was
location, but they also found the town very attractive, and they
have continually been pleased with their choice.
Since that time, the Conzos have become a vital part of the
community where they chose to live.
Both Chuck and Judy are involved in Republican Party committees
and organizations. Chuck currently serves as a Republican precinct
committeeman in West Lincoln Township, Precinct 2, and is the
treasurer and a past secretary of the Republican Central Committee.
He serves on the Civil War Statue Committee and is an active
volunteer at Postville Courthouse.
He served on the Heritage Days Committee from its inception, and
he and Judy organized the annual flea market in Scully Park for that
event.
In 2009, Conzo made a run for the position of county treasurer
but lost out on that opportunity.
But as the saying goes, "things happen for a reason," and just a
few short months later, he stood before the council being sworn into
office as the city treasurer.
Conzo summarized the role of treasurer by saying: "The treasurer
is the custodian of the city accounts and is to work along with the
city clerk to perform an audit function to continually check their
status, check the entries of receipts and disbursements, and to
report monthly to the city council the position of the city
finances."
Conzo said one of the changes that have occurred since he took
office is that he has become involved in managing the bank accounts
by conducting the monthly bank reconciliations.
When City Clerk Denise Martinek took office in 2009, she
indicated in an interview with LDN that there had not previously
been enough checks and balances in the city accounting system.
Martinek recently commented that adding Conzo to the mix has
greatly improved the security of the city's finances. With the
deputy clerk entering deposits and Martinek writing checks, Conzo
provides a third party to examine the bank transactions and verify
that everything is correct.
Conzo has also changed the way reports are presented to the city.
Early on he asked for the input of the council as to what they
needed to see in a monthly report, and since then he has been
working to provide them with the best possible information.
With this fiscal year approaching its halfway mark, Conzo said
the city is in better shape than it has been, but not in as good a
condition as it should be.
The problems still fall back on the state of Illinois and its
inability to pay its obligations.
He said city expenditures are near where they should be at this
time of year, with a few departments under budget and a few that are
slightly over.
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The state is sending payments to the city on a more regular
basis, at the moment at least, but Conzo said the warning he has
issued each month, the warning that was also issued by the previous
treasurer, is that as long as the state is in deficit, cash flow
will continue to dwindle as their year progresses.
Another thing that concerns Conzo is the poor economy in general.
He noted there is a risk that tax revenues from income tax and sales
tax may continue to fall for the next couple of years, meaning that
the city could have even less to work with than it has now.
On the bright side of the coin, the city has just completed the
annual audit of the 2009-10 fiscal year. Conzo and Martinek both
commented that the audit went well this year.
Conzo said he and Martinek have participated in an exit interview
with Estes, Bridgewater & Ogden, and the firm appears to be very
well pleased with the improvements to the city's accounting
practices.
At last year's audit, there was a list of findings that came as
no surprise to the city in light of that year's history of events.
Conzo said that this year, the auditors appeared to be satisfied
that the city accounting practices are more secure. He said that in
their exit conference there was no mention of findings for this
year.
A date has not been set for when the formal audit report will
come before the council, but it should be in the near future.
The next significant event on Conzo's plate will be preparing for
the 2010-11 budget.
While the budget won't be passed until April of 2011 for a year
that begins May 1, there are literally hundreds of hours invested in
preparing beforehand.
Conzo will work with Alderwoman Melody Anderson, who serves as
finance committee chair, to put together information for the full
council. Their work will involve looking at the trends of the
current year, the expectations of revenues in 2011-12 and
discussions with department heads about what their needs will be in
the new year.
Conzo said he has gained an understanding and respect for the
city employees and those who are a part of the governing body and
has a deep appreciation for their commitment to the city of Lincoln.
"Something that I have learned is how hard our city employees
work to do a good job. I knew that before, having had contact with
city government in the past, but as city treasurer it has become
even more apparent to me that we have so many good people in city
government and in the departments," he said.
On the whole Conzo is enjoying his new position with the city
very much and hopes to continue as treasurer for many years to come.
He's looking forward to retirement early in 2011 as an
opportunity to do more for the city.
"I enjoy this and I'm learning a lot. The deeper I dig into
things, the more I see that I can do. I plan to spend more time here
after I retire," he said.
[By NILA SMITH]
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