Diane Arnold
Diane Arnold
Diane Arnold*
Address: 9331 67th St. SE, Clear Lake
Family: Married 40 ½ years to Timothy Arnold, parents to a Mini and Toy Aussie and three horses.
Education: Graduated from Fergus Falls High School, attended Century College, White Bear Lake, certification in supervisory management. On-going training and Continuing Professional Education Credits in accounting and auditing sponsored by Government Financial Officers Association. Continued education training courses from Department of Revenue and the State Auditor’s office. Certified on County Board of Appeals and Equalization, Certified by the Secretary of State as County Election Administrator.
Age: 64
1. Previous experience in elected office:
Over 32 years of experience, 15 ½ years as Sherburne County Auditor-Treasurer, jobs held, property tax collections, daily ledger account balancing, banking, collecting delinquent property taxes and revenue recapture, promoted into the payroll position and instrumental in the implementation of a new payroll system for the county. In 2002 I was the fiscal analyst for the county and converted the accounting system to be compliant with Minnesota County Financial and Accounting Reporting Standards, completed the yearly Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, trial balances and budget reports for the county earning the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting award each year for the county, which is continued to this day for the past 29 years. During this time I also attended Century College to further my education with administration and supervisory management courses. In 2006, I ran and was elected for the position of Sherburne County Auditor-Treasurer, while continuing to take on-going training and earning CPE credits in accounting and auditing field.
2. Previous civic and community involvement:
•Member of the Sherburne County Extension Committee since January 2007.
•Active board member of Minnesota Counties Information Systems (county’s property tax system). Secretary – 2011 – 2013, vice chairman 2014-2016, chairman 2017-2019, past chairman 2020 – 2022.
•Member of National GFOA (Government Finance Officers Association) (2002 – 2022).
•Member of MNGFOA (Minnesota Government Finance Officers Association) (2002-2022).
•2014 Awarded Auditor of the Year in state of Minnesota voted on by my peers.
•2014 President of Minnesota Association of County Officers (MACO).
•2013 President of Minnesota Association of County Auditors, Treasurers and Financial Officer’s (MACATFO).
3. What do you hope to accomplish if elected auditor-treasurer?
To serve the people of Sherburne County with honesty and integrity to the best of my ability.
To continue to look for ways to maximize our resources and create efficiencies within county government. Continue to achieve the Certificate of Achievement in Accounting and Financial reporting currently 29 years in a row, this assists in obtaining a better bond rating when the county has the need to go out for bonds. Currently Sherburne County has only two bonds that are being paid on, with one expiring in February 2023 for the Becker Public Works Building. The remaining bond is for the government center expansion that was taken out in 2017.
To implement an online tax estimator for the public that shows where the tax dollars go that are paid by our residents, to create more transparency for our residents. This will be an extension of our Beacon land records program. The county’s budget is currently online and residents can scan down by department to see what revenues and expenditures are being made on a month-to-month basis in a program called Open Gov.
4. What makes you more qualified than your opponent?
I have 15 ½ years of experience as the elected Auditor-Treasurer and have over 32 years of experience working in the office of Auditor-Treasurer. I am dedicated to the position and to the people of Sherburne County. I have continued to work on efficiencies and internal controls to assure procedures and policies are adhered to. I have held the majority of the positions within the Auditor-Treasurer’s office, so I understand the complexity of the office and the duties that each position entails.
5. What election reforms, if any, would you pursue?
To support voter ID if it becomes approved in the state of Minnesota. To work on efforts to simplify voting procedures for voters especially the handicapped and seniors by issuing them a FREE Voter ID card, if they cannot afford or don’t already have one.
By providing election information and transparency to the public on our county web site along with continuing to conduct the public accuracy tests that are open to the public, held before each state and federal election and conducting the public post election review of hand counting three or four randomly selected precincts of the top races to assure the tabulators accurately recorded the votes on the paper ballots as reported.
6. What do you anticipate will be your biggest challenges?
•Keeping and retaining qualified staff at current wage scale.
•Educating the public on the statutes and rules that we must abide by as a governmental body.
•To ensure that the public receives secure, accurate, and honest election results.
7. What would you like to be able to say about the Sherburne County Auditor’s office in five years that cannot be said now?
In my tenure as being the Sherburne County Auditor-Treasurer I have strived to increase transparency and overall unity within my office. We have made great advancements in the past 15 ½ years and I see no reason for that not to continue into the future. My hopes and aspirations for this office are to effectively and efficiently serve Sherburne County residents now and in the future.
8. How would you describe the county’s current financial position and what can be done to improve it?
Sherburne County’s major funds are within the legal fund balance guidelines of the State Auditor’s office and the county’s fund balance policies. The departments work diligently to stay within the budgeted guidelines while finding efficient ways to serve the public needs. The county leaders and department heads as a whole have meetings throughout the year to strategize on ways to provide direction and long-range planning for the county.
To continue to ensure county funds are being invested to maximize safe investment earnings, in conformance with federal, state and other legal requirements, according to Minnesota state statutes. I provide our County Board and administration with monthly reports on our investments and our fund balances that are maintained, that is published in our County Board public packets for open transparency.
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