East Central Reporter

The Shelby County Republicans has issued the following press release:

Shelbyville, IL…Shelby County Treasurer Erica Firnhaber says she is running for re-election because there is still more work to do to bring more accountability and transparency to Shelby County.

“When I put my name on the ballot four years ago, I ran on a commitment to be accountable to the taxpayers of Shelby County,” Firnhaber said. “There certainly has been some progress on accountability and transparency in our County, but there is still a lot of work to do. My commitment to Shelby County taxpayers is to do everything in my power to ensure county payments are done lawfully and done with the best interests of our residents in mind.”

Erica Firnhaber | Shelby County Republicans

Some of the first reforms Firnhaber initiated were payroll reforms. She discovered upon taking office that because of how time sheets were being processed, employees were being paid for time that they had not actually worked yet. She was able to push for a county ordinance to require time sheets to reflect the time worked as opposed to anticipated work hours.

“The problem with paying people ahead of time is that they may quit in the middle of a pay period,” Firnhaber said. “The likelihood of recouping funds that have already been paid out to an employee is slim to none and even if the County were to pursue legal action – it would end up costing taxpayers potentially more to collect the money than the amount paid to the employee in the first place. This was a significant reform that protects taxpayers.”

Firnhaber said one of her top priorities right now is to ensure compliance in record keeping. 

“People do not realize the kind of fines noncompliance can generate,” Firnhaber said. “I have heard of some counties that have had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for ignoring compliance standards. We need to have documentation for every check issued and we must have appropriate documentation for every dollar spent. Failure to take these simple steps can result in steep fines that taxpayers will ultimately have to absorb.”

Standing for accountability in government does not make her popular with some in Shelby County government but Firnhaber said she will keep fighting for Shelby County taxpayers.

“Someone has to be a voice for taxpayers,” Firnhaber said. “Each department has some discretion in how to spend their budgeted funds. All I ask is that we do things legally. Taxpayer money is not a personal piggy bank. There are state statues and federal laws for how specific budget line items can be spent and there are rules for how these expenses need to be documented. It is important to be accountable to the taxpayers and the only way to do this is to follow the rules. It really is not more complicated than that."

Firnhaber currently serves as Shelby County Treasurer. She has worked previously in the title and abstract business has conducted business in 12 counties in the region. She attended Florida State University where she majored in business and played on the golf team with a golf scholarship. She has two children.

The primary election is June 28, 2022.