In "Public Officials as Fiduciaries," Hana Callaghan writes about government fiduciaries and their duties. "Without public trust, government doesn't work," she wrote. The full article is available at
By our service, we are to maintain and increase the public's trust in government.
Elected officials bear greater responsibility. We ask the public to "give the responsibility to me. Trust me to do the job. Trust me."
It is not impossible for a new treasurer to serve the public well, to increase the public's trust in government. Many county treasurers are elected to serve in that position without much experience in that office.
Most of us buckled down and spent countless hours late at night and on weekends. We followed through with every bit of advice given by other county treasurers. We listened to our finance directors. We succeeded.
As Archuleta County treasurer, I once asked my auditors, "Is there anything you can recommend for us to improve?"
One auditor responded, "No, it is very hard to shoot a hole in anything you do." Because I am moving on to other challenges, my last semi-annual report to the board of commissioners was my last one.
The greatest comment was from Commissioner Michael Whiting when he said, "The taxpayers got their money's worth from you."
The question this fall is, "Have you gotten your money's worth from the La Plata County Treasurer? Has her service increased your trust in government?"
Betty Diller
Archuleta County Treasurer
