Peoria County Treasurer Branden Martin was appointed to the position last year, following the retirement of Nicole Bjerke after 27 years on the job.
Now Martin, a Republican, is seeking to keep his office as he faces Democrat Randy Stevens in the upcoming Nov. 3 election.
The two participated in a candidate forum last weekend at the main branch of the Peoria Public Library, with Martin touting the improvements he's made in the office and how he's dealt with "a heavy with learning curve" and the frustrations he's encountered.
Stevens countered Martin's time on the job with his more than 20 years of experience in the financial world, including the last 13 years with the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.
He currently is the leader of a team that handles pension management and training for more than 3,000 employers in Illinois.
There was one mildly tense exchange between Martin and Stevens.
After Martin said he's an advocate of artificial intelligence and is using the technology to help his staff manage their workload, Stevens sidestepped the question about the pros and cons of AI, saying the forum was about the candidates.
"I'm going to be a full-time treasurer who is going to handle the duties of the office," he said, noting he'll resign from his IMRF job if he's elected.
Martin, an entrepreneur with nine current businesses, said he works at least 50 hours a week as treasurer in and out of the office. He said while everyone in his office does the same work, he's the only one who can approve and collect a property tax payment for the 80,000-plus parcels in the county.
Later in the forum, Martin thanked Stevens and called him honorable for having a conversation with him about possible conflicts of interest.
"I have no conflicts of interest," Martin said.
Martin said he's reduced paperwork by 20% in the treasurer's office and he spent his own money to buy new chairs and office equipment, including electronics for his staff when he saw what they had. He's also ramped up the online security of the county's funds.
"You wouldn't believe the layers of protection I've had to add since I took office to make sure that money doesn't get taken from our accounts," he said.
The only negative he's encountered since taking the job, Martin said, is he learned there was a lack of communication between Peoria County Board members and the treasurer, "the person who handles all of the county's money."
"That absolutely boggled my mind. That would never happen in the private sector," he said.
Another frustration is the amount of time his staff spends with Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] requests.
"It's ridiculous," he said. "I think some FOIA requests are filed to make it more difficult to us to do our work."
Stevens said he'd like to see more information regarding investments on the treasurer's website and more publicity about programs, especially for seniors, that can ease a property tax burden.
Martin is chair of the City of Peoria's Planning and Zoning Commission, and he's on the boards of the Peoria Area Association of Realtors, Downtown Development Corporation and Peoria Historical Society.
