Athens County treasurer candidates make their pitch to voters at a League of Women Voters forum
By: Haley Richardson
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – At a forum last week the two candidates for Athens County treasurer emphasized that voters should not underestimate the influence of this office.
“We want to make sure folks like our county officeholders have and frankly our communities, have a treasurer’s office that is getting the job done quickly and efficiently,” he said. “If there’s one place on the ballot that we don’t need a revolution, it’s probably the treasurer’s office.”
Dawn Deputy said the office has a responsibility to communicate with taxpayers.
“The only feedback I’ve heard from county, from people that’ve come and talked to me about — not really related to the fiscal outlook, but more of being there to listen to their concerns,” she said.
Sappington won the primary election in March and became the Democratic nominee. He took office as Nelsonville’s city auditor in 2019 and previously served on Nelsonville’s City Council for one term.
Deputy previously worked as the fiscal officer for the Athens County Sheriff’s Office. She is also working toward her certified public accountant license. As a write-in candidate, voters will need to write her name on the ballot and fill in the bubble.
Other questions aimed to educate voters on the role of the county treasurer and how the county’s money is used, specifically on the function of the County Budget Commission, which the county treasurer sits on.
Deputy acknowledged having never been to one of their meetings, but said the commission is involved in managing the budget of each county office.
“It has to be the bad person at times and say, ‘No, you’re not allowed to have that much money, try again,’ and certifies and appropriates the funds properly.”
Sappington discussed his work with the commission as Nelsonville city auditor.
“They play an important oversight role in the certification of resources, so we actually have to prove to another board, which happens to be this commission, that if we’re going to have a five million budget in a village or city in the county that they have five million dollars either there or on the way through something like tax collection to spend that.”
When it came to policy, both candidates addressed the role of the Athens County Land Bank, an organization that acquires and sells abandoned properties. These properties can then return to generating more tax revenue for the county.
Both Sappington and Deputy believe involvement with the Athens County Land Bank board is key to maintaining the organization.
“I want to be a good, active member,” Sappington said. “I want to assist the other board members in helping achieve their goals, but I also want to make sure that it’s growing in a way that it can continue to impact communities so that it has a future.”
Deputy echoed his sentiment: “It’s all about knowing how to help the board. It’s not just one person who runs the land bank, it’s a whole group of people.”
The Athens County treasurer candidate forum was the last hosted by the Athens County League of Women Voters before the Nov. 5 General Election.