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Dear Fellow Citizens of Lawrence
County:
Thank you very much for
visiting our website here at the Lawrence County Treasurer’s
Office. Best wishes for a healthy, happy, and successful New
Year to each of you and your families!
It is with much pride and
enthusiasm that I begin my second year serving as your County Treasurer. Foremost, I
recognize how vital it is as your new Treasurer to have earned
your trust and faith in my abilities. I am very grateful for
how you, the citizens of Lawrence County, have embraced my
platforms and how you have entrusted me to represent you as your
new County Treasurer. As your financial steward, I take this
role very seriously and am very committed to providing you, the
taxpayer, with fiscal responsibility and pledge that my staff
and I will always deliver cordial, honorable, ethical,
accountable, and professional business services to you, “our
supervisors”.
Because I firmly believe
that your Treasurer’s office should be operated like the
business it is, going forward, you will see and hear about my
staff and I implementing new procedures, practices, and programs
that will enhance effectiveness and create a more efficient
business environment which will enable us to deliver superior
customer service directly to you.
The office of County
Treasurer is familiar to most county residents. To better serve
you, I feel it is important that you understand exactly what the
Treasurer’s duties are. The County Treasurer is a four-year
elected position and is the chief tax collector, a position that
holds a high degree of responsibility. The Treasurer and his
staff are accountable for receipting and depositing all monies
received by the County and releasing and disbursing all
expenditures on the treasury. Receipts are issued on each form
of payment and the Treasurer personally signs all disbursement
checks authorized by the County Commissioners. A fundamental
duty is the receipt of your county taxes. The real estate tax
is the main source of revenue for County government. Your
County Treasurer is responsible for collecting taxes on
approximately 51,000 taxable properties in Lawrence County,
which quantifies to nearly 15 million dollars. Your Treasurer
also maintains the cash management by investing the monies in
short term investments and only transfers cash on an as need
basis. Your County Treasurer’s office also serves as the
repository for all monies remitted from the various county
departments, with all funds kept separate and fully accounted
for on a department by department basis. The total monies that
will pass through your County Treasurer’s office during any
given year is approximately 75 million dollars. With the race
track now a reality for Lawrence County, additional real estate taxes
and revenue are expected to be generated
and will pass through your Treasurer’s office in the near
future.
Our office also serves as
an Agent to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This means we
issue dog, fishing, hunting, archery, doe, and boat licenses, as
well as providing bingo and small games of chance licenses.
Another very important
function of your County Treasurer is to serve on the County
Employees’ Retirement Board along with the County Commissioners
and County Controller. The purpose of this retirement board is
to invest member contributions in a fiscally prudent manner so
when employees retire they will have a steady source of income.
So, as you can see, your
County Treasurer's office is quite multi-functional. We serve
both you, the taxpayer, and other County departments as a
professional team to manage the money entrusted to us and
provide accurate and honorable service.
As your elected County
Treasurer, my goal is to continue to provide you with excellent
customer service. We will maintain and improve our website so
that you, the taxpayer, have the information and the tools to
accomplish meeting your needs and concerns. My office is
staffed by an exceptional group of people dedicated to serving
the public, the various departments, and agencies that rely on
our services. We take pride in our commitment to you and
welcome your comments and suggestions on how we can be of better
service to you.
In closing, please know
that my door is always open to help my fellow taxpayers with
their questions. I would like to cordially invite you to visit
me here in the County Treasurer’s office at the Lawrence County
Government Center. I am looking forward to meeting each of you
personally and always know that you have in place a County
Treasurer’s Team that is working for…YOU!
Respectfully yours,
Richard L. Rapone
Lawrence County Treasurer
rlrapone@co.lawrence.pa.us |
