What Frank said at his Swearing In....

....Chairman Dunstan, Judge Callis, Senator Haine, Representative Hoffman, my now “fellow” Madison County officials, area Mayors, members of the County Board, congressional staff, my family and my friends. I want to thank you all for joining me today at this important milestone in my life and for what I hope will be a milestone for the people of Madison County.

As the 27th Treasurer in the 198-year history of Madison County, it is my honor — and my responsibility — to provide the people of our great county with the best service possible and to effectively and diligently manage the public’s monies.

I, like each of the public servants who have joined us here this morning, do not take the task of managing the public’s money lightly. I accept that responsibility and I will be accountable.

Chairman Dunstan and the members of the Madison County Board have entrusted me with a great responsibility. While my appointment was based on education, experience and career skills the most important trait I bring to the Treasurer’s office is leadership.

The leadership to guide a staff committed to public service and professionalism, the leadership to always do what is best for our citizens and to operate an office that will be open to public scrutiny and transparency.

The Treasurer’s office that I will be responsible for will find new ways to effectively communicate with our citizens how their tax dollars are managed and spent.

My office will lead the effort to develop community outreach programs that will help our citizens obtain the tools and information they need to meet the economic challenges of this new decade. We will develop programs to aid homeowners who are struggling to pay their property taxes, we will explore ways to help our senior citizens struggling in these difficult times and work with local government to help stabilize property value.

But in order to accomplish these goals I will need your help. I intend to draw from a wide variety of disciplines to do this — business and labor leaders, economic developers and banking professionals, our elected leaders, Democrats and Republicans. President Kennedy once said, “We do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard.” As the Treasurer of Madison County I look forward to this challenge.

I want to thank my staff in the Planning and Development department. I cannot say enough about the support they have given me during my tenure as the department’s director. And my thanks to the members of the county board serving on the Planning and Development Committee for the direction they provided as well as the latitude to address important issues that affect our county.

I am particularly proud of the department’s efforts to improve the environment in Madison County and implementing outstanding programs that educate our youth on the importance of recycling and our collective impact on the planet.

To my new staff in the Treasurer’s office I have only one rule and I learned that rule from my mentor, US Congressman Jerry Costello. That rule is that we cannot wait for things to happen we have to make them happen. And while we will be diligent in management of the public’s money, we will be aggressive in our efforts to serve the public and we will be fair.

I want to thank my wife Amy, my kids and the rest of my family who have joined me here today for the love and support they give me and for their understanding and patience. I want to thank my Dad and Mom, my brother, in-laws, aunts, uncles, friends and other supporters who have always been there for me.

I also want to thank several people who have had a positive impact on my life and my career. Alan Dunstan and Matt Melucci of Madison County, the mayor of my hometown, Ed Hagnauer of Granite City, Mayor Gary Niebur of Edwardsville, my adopted hometown and where I started my career in the public service, and Mayor Gary Graham of O’Fallon where I spent many productive years and where I also met my wife. I am sincerely grateful for the opportunities those gentlemen — and the people of those great cities — gave me.

Ladies and gentlemen, as I take the next step in my career as a public servant the only promise I can make to the people of Madison County is that I will work hard on their behalf and that I will be completely honest in my service to them as your Madison County Treasurer.

Again, thank you all for being here with me this morning. I now want to ask my Sunday School teacher Chris Kuhl back up here again to say a prayer of support as I start this new phase in my life.