Integrity. Leadership. Experience.
Shari Freidenrich previously was the Elected Treasurer for the City of Huntington Beach which is the 4th largest city in Orange County. Shari was appointed in 1996, elected in 1996, and re-elected in 2000, 2004 and 2008 due to her unblemished record as a guardian of taxpayer funds and as a taxpayer advocate. Shari's primary reason for applying for the City Treasurer position was in response to the Orange County bankruptcy and the need to have qualified professionals in this technical field. Shari graduated from Washington State University in 1982 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting. Shari graduated summa cum laude and passed the CPA test while still in college.
Shari was an Audit Manager at Deloitte and Touche in their Seattle and Costa Mesa offices, and was the Controller for the McDonnell Douglas Corporation Travel Company. Shari is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified California Municipal Treasurer, a Certified Public Finance Administrator, a Certified Public Funds Investment Manager and a Certified Cash Handler.
Shari was elected as a Treasurer of a Public Agency and has been re-elected three times with no opposition because of her proven track record as a taxpayer advocate and fiduciary of public funds. Shari has a spotless record of protecting the public for her entire 13 years with the City. Shari has directed and supervised the investment of public funds and has been performing almost identical duties to the Orange County Treasurer position for the last 13 years. Shari has served in a Treasury Executive position and the only candidate who is a primary member on a Pension Board. Finally, Shari has a 14 year background working in operational areas for two Fortune 500 private industry companies, Deloitte & Touche and McDonnell Douglas Corporation and has brought strong best business practices to the City of Huntington Beach. Shari will bring these same best business practices to the County of Orange.
Shari is also a leader in the field of municipal treasury professionals in the nation. Shari is the past President of the California Municipal Treasurers Association and is the current Vice-President for the Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada. Under Shari's guidance, the City received certification for its Investment Policy from the Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada. She has earned three key municipal treasury certifications.
She is known as a leader in her community and is a past President of the Rotary Club of Huntington Beach, a past president of Soroptimist International of Huntington Beach and was awarded their Women of Distinction in Economics and Social Development in 2006, is a member of the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce and various other local organizations. Shari is also the past President of the Alumni Association for Washington State University and as President attended the Board of Regents meetings for Washington State University. Shari recently received the Washington State University Alumni Achievement Award for her significant service to Washington State University and for her contributions to her community and profession. Shari believes that giving back to her community is very important and attends numerous events in Huntington Beach.
The City Treasurer is a charter officer elected by the citizens of Huntington Beach every four years. The City Treasurer is responsible to the electorate for overseeing the receipt, collection, disbursement, custody and safekeeping of all city funds including all taxes. The City Treasurer duties and responsibilities are outlined in Section 311 of the City Charter and under section 2.16 of the City of Huntington Beach Municipal Code. The City Treasurer ensures that the City’s cash liquidity needs are met through prudent fiscal investment management. The City Treasurer’s staff interacts daily with the public in accepting payments for various City services and in collecting the fees for the various services billed by the City. Annually the department receives and processes over 600,000 payments from citizens and customers. The City Treasurer's staff receipts and disburses all transactions for the City's annual budget of over $300 million and manages an investment portfolio plus bond proceeds of over $200 million. The City Treasurer serves as a member on the Deferred Compensation Committee, The Retiree Medical Trust and the Supplemental Pension Trust.
Shari's key accomplishments during her tenure include:
- Maintaining liquidity and zero loss of funds due to credit quality in the current challenging economic environment
- Implementing on-line web and IVR payment options for utility payments and other City invoice by credit cards and electronic checks to provide customers with 24/7 payment options
- Automating annually almost $20 million in receipts and over 250,000 transactions (over 45% of all receipts) in the last three years through the above programs and partnering with certain banking institutions to accept electronic payments
- Implementing electronic payment and billing programs for utility customers, allowing customers to "Go Green Electronically"
- Received the 2008 Huntington Beach Environmental Board's " Top Business Green Award " for saving over 12 tons of paper annually
- Implemented the prepaying of pension expenses which allowed the City to reduce expenses for pensions by over $400,000 annually
- Worked on legislation that ensured that the existing property tax revenue from the Electric Generating facility located in Huntington Beach would be locally allocated versus being allocated on a unitary (countrywide) basis that brings in close to $1 million property tax to the City annually
- Audited and implemented tighter controls over cash, contracts, and cash management processes resulting in savings of over $15 million to the City since 1996