Ogle County treasurer retiring early; deputy clerk will take over

OREGON – Longtime Ogle County Treasurer John Coffman will retire June 30, a few months short of the end of his term.

The County Board Tuesday appointed Chief Deputy Treasurer Linda Beck to fill the remaining 5 months of his term, which ends Nov. 30.

Beck, who’s been chief deputy clerk for 12 years, is a Republican and the sole candidate for county treasurer in the Nov. 6 election.

His primary reason for stepping down early is timing, Coffman said.

“It’s good timing for the office to do a transition now rather than at the end of the fiscal year,” he said, adding that with the first installment of property taxes collected, the workload in the office will slow down for a time.

It also will allow Beck to take part in the budget process for the fiscal year that begins Dec. 1.

Coffman also wants to spend more time working on his family’s farm east of Polo, especially during the fall harvest.

He’s served the county for 26 years, first as a county board member from 1992 to 2000, and then as treasurer.

He leaves office with some concerns about the county’s finances. Deficit spending in recent years has forced the board to borrow from other funds to meet expenses in the General Fund.

“It has eaten up the reserves,” Coffman said. “It’s not a crisis. I don’t think it’s anything the county can’t work itself out of, but it is a concern of mine.”