Sharon Gonzalez, candidate for Linn County treasurer

Name:

Sharon Gonzalez (incumbent)

Party:

Democrat

Residence:

Cedar Rapids

Age:

58

Occupation:

Linn County Treasurer

Education:

High school diploma

Website:

n/a

Tell voters why you are running for this position. What makes you most qualified?

To implement a new tax software and create a website for viewing property tax payment history.

My 39 years working in the treasurer's office, with the last eight years as treasurer. My 33 years in management have allowed me to become an effective leader. Customer satisfaction is important, there are other required duties that must be performed like investing county dollars. My new investment strategies have increased Linn County's interest earnings by 373 percent over a four-year period.

What should voters know about you before going to the polls?

My commitment to customer satisfaction can be seen in the changes I have made since becoming treasurer. Such as:

' Crossed-trained staff

' Expanded office hours

' Reorganized in-person customer flow resulting in nearly 27 percent decrease in wait times

' Consolidated bank accounts resulting in 57 percent decrease in bank fees

' Implemented new investment strategies

' Installed a lobby computer to allow customers to make online vehicle and property tax payments during busy times

What other issues related to your platform do you think voters should be aware of before they vote?

My opponent has implied the decision to purchase our existing tax software was made hastily during the 2008 flood, not true. RFPs were sent out and the previous treasurer signed off that they had the best sequel based software that met our needs. Since then we have exhausted efforts to improve functionality and eliminate work a rounds. Tyler Technologies was chosen as our new tax software because they upgraded their product to be sequel based and are currently used by several Iowa treasurers.