Menu
Dunn settling in as county treasurer
Rhonda Dunn is ready to jump into her new job as Bourbon County treasurer.
Dunn of Fort Scott, who defeated former longtime treasurer Susan Quick in the November 2012 election, was sworn in Tuesday by Bourbon County Clerk Kendell Mason at the Bourbon County Courthouse.
"I'm excited about it, to jump out of bed and come to work," Dunn said Thursday. "I'm excited to be here."
Dunn said her first few days in the office have gone well and even though she's new, she's received much support from her colleagues.
"I have a ton to learn," she said. "There's a good group of people here. Everybody's made me feel welcome and helped me every chance they get."
Dunn said she chose to run for the position last year because she saw a "good opportunity to put my background, education and experience to work in Bourbon County."
Dunn's education background includes a bachelor's degree in accounting from Pittsburg State University and a master's degree in business from the University of Tulsa. Dunn said she worked for "big oil companies" for 17 years in several different jobs including accounting, financial reporting, sales, analysis, and other capacities.
Additionally, she has worked the last six or seven years in her family business, Dunn's Moving and Storage.
"That gave me the opposite perspective of a small business," Dunn said.
Dunn said the county treasurer serves as the "tax collector and also the banker for the county." There are six employees that work between the office of the treasurer and the motor vehicle office.
"I'm waiting on customers and taking money in," she said. "I also do the banking every day. I also work with the clerk's office on payables."
By the end of the day, Dunn said it is the responsibility of her office to ensure that "each entity gets the money coming to them from tax revenue." She said the main priority is to make sure each entity in the county is allotted their share of funds, which are then "spent back out."
"We take money in and spend it back out," she said.
Dunn said she has a plan for the office which consists of both short and long-term goals.
"My job is to collect taxes," she said. "I want to collect as many as I can for the county and reduce the delinquent tax roll. There's a good work environment for employees here. I want to be a valuable part of the county management team, to play well with others."
As far as long-term plans, Dunn said she would "like to look at the workflow of this office."
The job is expected to come with challenges, Dunn said.
"Because I'm an outsider, I have to learn from the ground up, to go to the deep end of the pool and learn to swim," she said. "I've done some training ahead of time and been offered help. Plus, it's time to start a new tax year; there's a lot of work to be done."
The job also has its plusses and benefits.
"I like working with customers," she said. "I look forward to the day I'm efficient at whatever business they have with the county. I'm looking forward to making the office as efficient as possible, finding ways to save money, time or steps in the process."'
A reception was recently held for retiring treasurer Susan Quick at the Bourbon County Courthouse. Quick had worked in the treasurer's office since 1991 and