Wagoner County Treasurer - Dana Patten - (918) 485-2149

Friends,
It is coming up on election time. I have been honored to serve this county for the last 2 1/2 years. I am asking for your support again.

Every government agency needs service improvements. Some service improvements I am currently researching.• Additional ways to pay property taxes: online, drop boxes, payments at local banks and credit unions, payments by mail, and in-person. • authorizing equal monthly property tax payments. There are currently eight states with this authorization.• A simplified yet comprehensive tax bill.• An online tax calculator for estimating property taxes based on purchase price of the home.
The Treasurer’s Office serves as the bank for all of county government and is responsible for investments, with oversight by the board of county commissioner’s.
I accomplished the implementation of an Investment Policy, whose purpose and responsibility is to advise the treasurer in establishing, maintaining and administering the county’s funds in an expedient manner. With this implementation, I have diversified the portfolio of funds available for investment. I also developed a cash flow analysis which will allow the placing of more funds in short term investments.
It has been important to me to develop the staff members in this office. As of March 2014 all staff members have been certified by the OSU Extension County Training Program. These certifications help the staff to understand how each county office contributes to the working of the county and the interactions between the different offices. We are all actively involved in continuing education to make us better servants to our customers.
My hope is to continue with the operations of this office in fulfilling the obligations, development, becoming more streamlined in operations, making all information more readily available to the public, and ease of interaction with the public. Credit Card payments are available online and in the office.
There is a great deal of information available on all the county’s websites including the Treasurer’s. I hope that more and more people will be visiting it in the future.
The Treasurer’s Office staff prides itself on bringing a smile to our in office customers, we work very hard at keeping our demeanor pleasant and serving our taxpayers with speed. Please visit us if you get the chance.




Responsibilities of the Treasurer
The Treasurer’s Office is established by the Oklahoma Constitution, and the duties and responsibilities are set by State law. The treasurer is an elected official serving a four-year term of office.
The primary responsibility of the treasurer is to receive, manage and invest all revenues received by county government. The revenues include ad valorem property taxes, business personal property taxes, public service corporation taxes, fire and drainage district revenues, Oklahoma Tax Commission payments, sales tax, use tax, grant monies, and various other sources of revenue.
All revenues are fully invested daily and are either fully collateralized by government securities or are FDIC insured. The majority of revenues are received by mail through an automated processing system which results in a more immediate investment of funds and allows for more accurate processing of payments. Collections are balanced on a daily, monthly, and year-to-date basis which allows the investment of funds to be made with greater accuracy.
After collection, revenues are ultimately disbursed by the treasurer. Funds are disbursed to the public schools for the most part, but also to the offices within the county as well a fire departments.

• All warrants and vouchers for all County departments are registered and maintained through the Treasurer's office.
• Tax collections are balanced on a daily, monthly, and year-to-date basis, which allows the investment of funds to be made with more accuracy. All special assessments, such as sewer, water, weed, cleaning, paving, and nuisance abatement taxes that are originally assessed by cities and towns in the County are certified to the County Treasurer for collection after they have become delinquent. They are placed as lien on real estate property account of the taxpayer.
• The Treasurer's office also manages of County-owned property acquired at annual sales of real estate for delinquent taxes. The Treasurer also may sell these pieces of property, upon approval of the Board of County Commissioners.


All the revenues received by county government from ad valorem taxes and other sources are deposited with the county treasurer. As the official depository for county revenues, the county treasurer operates under strict guidelines. State law requires the county treasurer to be covered by a surety bond valued at $50,000. By law, the county treasurer exercises the power to collect ad valorem taxes for the county and its political subdivisions (such as schools, cities and towns).





The county treasurer works from the tax roll prepared by the county assessor through the Oklahoma Tax Commission. In conjunction with collecting ad valorem taxes, the county treasurer is empowered to issue delinquent personal property tax warrants and to supervise the sale of a tax lien on real property for delinquent taxes. All monies received by the county treasurer are recorded in the “Treasurer’s General Ledger” and credited to the proper fund. A duplicate book is maintained by the county clerk. The county treasurer has the duty to make only properly authorized deposits. Daily deposits are made into interest bearing accounts in banks designated by the board of county commissioners as county depositories. Thus, the county treasurer serves as the financial officer for county government. Payments are made through warrants written by the county clerk, approved by the board of county commissioners, and registered by the county treasurer. The county treasurer is required to keep a “Payment Register” in which all the warrants are entered along with the date of payment and other information required by the State Auditor and Inspector. To account for county revenues and expenditures, the county treasurer is required by law to maintain an accurate record of all the monies received and disbursed, and to prepare a financial statement for review by state and county officials. The State Auditor and Inspector’s Office prescribes all the forms used by the county treasurer, and at least twice a year inspects the county treasurer’s accounts. On the county level, the county treasurer is subject to the scrutiny of both the board of county commissioners and the county clerk who, through their official duties, require balanced books be maintained and a financial statement be submitted for review at least four times annually. These checks are another means to provide a fiscally efficient system of county government.

Tags: