Ahead of the June primary election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below. Questionnaires may have been edited for spelling, grammar, length and, in some instances, to remove hate speech and offensive language.
Name: Shari L. Freidenrich
Current job title: Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector
Age: 66
Incumbent: Yes
Other political positions held: Elected City of Huntington Beach Treasurer –15 years, Ex-Officio Orange County Employees Retirement System
City where you reside: Huntington Beach
Campaign website or social media: www.ShariFreidenrich.com
What do you think is the most important role of the treasurer-tax collector, and how should that service to the county be delivered? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)
The Treasurer-Tax Collector works directly for the taxpayer in their best interests by carrying out the legally mandated dual roles of the receipt, safekeeping and disbursement of the people’s money and the billing and collection of property taxes. Both roles are critical to the financial health of Orange County. Property taxes are a major funding source to the 34 cities and school districts for critical services like schools, public safety, roads and libraries. The public expects the board to delegate to the treasurer the authority to invest all public funds as a fiduciary. The investing objectives of public funds are to safeguard the principal, meet liquidity needs and lastly achieve a return on the funds.
Although government has no competition, the public expects the treasurer to perform the duties in a transparent, common-sense, efficient and cost-effective manner to prevent fraud, waste and abuse of the people’s funds and protect public funds from principal loss. The public added significant changes to state laws after the OC bankruptcy in 1994. These changes include approving a treasurer’s statement of investment policy (IPS), establishing a Treasury Oversight Committee, receiving quarterly reports on assets held in the county treasury and compliance to the IPS.
Which new initiatives or programs do you hope to create to better serve those needing the services of the treasurer-tax collector’s office? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)
With a proven record of already saving taxpayers almost $1 billion, I plan to continue cutting fraud, waste and abuse of the taxpayers’ money by implementing common-sense changes using current technology and innovation to make paying property taxes as painless as possible, provide easy access to property tax bills and other property information, and safeguard public funds.
First, implement an eBill program for property taxes. Second, implement a direct pay option for tax refunds expected to significantly reduce the 4-5 week timeframe to return tax overpayments. Third, implement an early warning system program that checks for bank account name, address and other criteria for all electronic bank disbursements from the county treasury to prevent fraud.
These programs will complement the recently implemented reduced property tax service fee of 2.25% on credit cards expected to save taxpayers in 2026 hundreds of thousands of dollars (eChecks remain free) and the new call center software with a call-back feature significantly improving our customer service. In 2026, the online website will be a one-stop shop for all property tax information, including a check for title fraud link, a check for annual credit report, and a link to unclaimed funds based on property addresses.
Are there areas of savings and/or investment that you see the treasurer-tax collector’s office tapping into in the future to benefit the county and its residents? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)
In addition to the above taxpayer savings and enhanced customer service from reduced printing, mailing and processing costs of incoming and outgoing funds, including refunding of taxes, I plan to continue to use economies of scale, technology and automation, including AI, to enhance customer services, including adding a chat bot to the website to quickly respond to questions from residents online. Another initiative is to significantly reduce the number of penalty cancellation requests filed by adding a secure online application that outlines the limited cancellation options available to the treasurer to approve and reduces both the taxpayers’ and staff time to process these requests in a timely manner.
With the recent mail fraud in Orange County directly affecting mailed property taxes, financial education of taxpayers on the available payment options is critical moving forward to protect taxpayer funds from fraud. I plan to improve the treasurer’s financial resources website, provide a periodic eNewsletter with financial and property tax tips, refresh the current property tax eGuides available online (new owner and business), continue providing fraud-resistant pens to taxpayers and partner with the federal and state governments and other elected leaders to educate taxpayers on financial literacy and secure payment options at TaxBill@OCTreasurer.gov.
How do your background and experiences make you the most qualified candidate for this office? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)
I have four specialized certifications in addition to my credential as a Certified Public Accountant. I have 28 years of public service as an elected treasurer (15 years as the Huntington Beach treasurer and 15 years as the Orange County treasurer). I have a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting. I worked 15 years in the private sector for Deloitte (audit manager) and Boeing (internal auditor and division controller) and have substantial experience in the accounting, auditing, banking and finance fields. I have an active CPA license and have 30+ years of experience as an active CPA.
I have been directly responsible for investing public funds in a variety of market conditions since 1996. I have never lost a dime of principal, nor had to sell to meet any planned liquidity needs. I am a leader in the public sector treasury field and elected by my peers as the president of the California Municipal Treasurer’s Association, California Association of County Treasurer and Tax Collectors and Association of Public Treasurers of the US and Canada. Because of my qualifications, I was honored to be endorsed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association PAC and the OC Taxpayer Association.
As the treasurer-tax collector, how will you meet the diverse needs of Orange County government and its residents? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)
I am humbled to work for taxpayers as a public servant today. This position is a non-partisan position and safety of the public funds is paramount to all residents. I will set policies that cut fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer funds. I will continue simplifying the billing and payment process for taxpayers so that they can focus on their personal and professional life and implement policies that benefit taxpayers.
As the OC has an aging population, I plan to roll out a “Save Our Seniors” program that will allow a family member or friend to sign up for property tax reminders (bill mailings, bill due date, bill last timely payment date, etc,) to alert a senior family member or senior friend. I will implement a scheduled online payment option that will assist this aging population and an online secure unredacted property tax bill option (eBill).
I will continue to speak in the community and get input from taxpayers on how our customer service and operations can be improved. I keep up on the latest treasury and banking technology and plan to implement innovative payment, billing, and collection processes to cut administrative costs for the services that my office provides.