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2 seek to unseat incumbent treasurer
Mary Susan Blankenship
 | | Mary Susan Blankenship |
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WARM SPRINGS - Mary Susan Blankenship is going on 20 years in office and has yet to face opposition during an election year, until now.
As treasurer, Blankenship's primary duties are threefold: providing the county's accounting services, collecting taxes, and serving as Bath's Department of Motor Vehicles agent, she said. "You have to know accounting for this job because you do all the accounting for the county. My job is to make sure it doesn't overspend and I appropriate money as it's spent, but the board of supervisors has final say and has to approve all line item transfers," she explained.
As DMV agent, Blankenship had to learn a new computer program instituted last July, and keep up with state programs. After DMV computerized data, it allowed Bath to expand services to the community. Now, the treasurer's office can do everything from print titles to register plates and collect vehicle fees. The only task the office is not equipped to tackle is issuing or renewing driver's licenses. "We don't have a camera or the set up for that," she said.
Blankenship oversees the collection of local revenue. "We're responsible for collecting any and all taxes in the county, from real estate to animal licenses," she added. "We send out the tax tickets."
Blankenship earns an estimated salary of $70,000 a year, to date, and chooses not to participate in the county's health care plan, she said. Starting salary for the position is around $59,000.
Working between 50 to 60 hours a week, Blankenship says she's often one of the last people to leave the courthouse, and she frequently takes work home with her. "This is not an 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. job, that's for sure."
Blankenship said her office can only monitor the situation, though, as she is not allowed by law to make changes to the budget document without permission from supervisors.
Blankenship has already set goals for the new term if re-elected. As technology continues to improve, she hopes to offer citizens the opportunity to pay taxes online, collect state revenue online, and update the computer system, she said.
Bath has a 99 percent rate of tax collection, not counting this year, since the final figures won't be in until June, she said, and has never had a material weakness in the audit.
Blankenship received her Master Governmental Treasurer designation from Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia in 2000, and full-time deputy Peggy Smith received Master Governmental Deputy designation in 2005, she said.
The Bath treasurer's office employs two full-time deputies, Smith and Linda Stoneham, who assist Blankenship.
Her office offers a Web site for citizens to review their tax data, and personnel continue training to stay ahead of the curve on contemporary accounting, technology, and tax issues, Blankenship said.
About the candidate Mary Susan Blankenship, treasurer in Bath since 1988; served as deputy treasurer for 19 years prior Master governmental treasurer designation from Weldon Cooper Center, U.Va. Graduated Valley High School 1964; associate's degree in accounting from Dabney S. Lancaster Community College
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