GRAND TRAVERSE County seeks treasurer as Scheppe moves to city

Jan. 12—TRAVERSE CITY — The search is on for a new Grand Traverse County treasurer in the wake of Heidi Scheppe's move to become Traverse City's treasurer. The deadline for applications is 4 p.m. today.

Scheppe started working for the county 24 years ago and has served as treasurer since 2012. Today is her last day with the county.

On Monday, she will literally move across the main hallway at the governmental center to begin her new position with the city.

"We're sorry to see her go, but I know she'll be a great asset to Traverse City," said Dean Bott, county finance director. "Heidi is a real gem."

Usually, the county treasurer is an elected position. However, when a vacancy occurs before the end of an elected term, state law requires that a three-person committee appoint a replacement until the results of another election are known.

In this case, that committee is composed of county Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg, county Probate Judge Jennifer Whitten and county Clerk Bonnie Scheele. Whoever they choose from a pool of applicants will serve until Dec. 31, 2024. That person also will be eligible to run for a four-year term in the Nov. 5, 2023, general election.

The annual salary of the treasurer's position was $100,475 in 2023, but is subject to a cost-of-living adjustment under the new 2024 budget.

The position also offers health and retirement benefits. Applicants must be a resident of the county, or agree to become one, by the time they take the oath of office.

The role of county treasurer requires both a constant attention to detail and a deep understanding of governmental accounting, which is significantly different from private-sector accounting, officials said. The work of the treasurer's office also is subject to regular auditing, given the county's $47.5 million budget.

Today, Grand Traverse County has 28 operating departments and more than 500 employees. Each department may come with dozens of sub-accounts, as well as a diversity of funding sources, from millages and fees to state and federal grants.

The treasurer's office must work as a team in close cooperation with the county finance department. Every workday, it handles variety of duties that directly affect local residents.

These include collecting tasks like collecting delinquent property taxes, tracking all dog license fees in the county and processing passports.

The ability to work well with others is key requirement in the treasurer's office, Scheppe said.

"Every day we process a large number of transactions. Not only do we rely on each other, we also work closely with the townships, county commissioners and the staff of all county departments."

Next up in the search process, the three-person statutory appointment committee will meet on Jan. 16 to review applications and resumes, then decide which applicants to interview.

On Jan. 24, the committee will interview applicants and make an appointment. Additional meetings may be added as needed.

People interested in running as treasurer for the new four-year term, which can include the person appointed this month, must file required campaign paperwork with the county clerk by April 23 to be included on the November 2024 ballot.

Typically, both local county organizations — Democrats and Republicans — nominate a person to appear on that general election ballot.

In the meantime, Scheppe said she'll be "right across the hall" if the new treasurer has any questions.