KANSAS STATE TREASURER

900 SW Jackson, Suite 201 Topeka, KS 66612-1235 Tel: 785-296-3171 Fax: 785-296-7950 Website: www.kansasstatetreasurer.com Selection Method: Statutory— Elected by the People Term Length: Four Years Term Limit: None Served: Since January 2011 Next Election Year: 2014 Salary: $86,000

KEY STAFF

Derek Kreifels, Assistant State Treasurer/Chief of Sta! 785-296-3342 [email protected] Carly Miller, Director of Communications/Financial Education BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 785-296-3538 Born in Topeka. Wife’s name: Susan; three children. Bachelor’s [email protected] degree, civil engineering; M.B.A., Tennessee Technological Uni- versity. Republican. Melinda (Mindy) Forrer, Special Assistant to the Ron Estes was sworn in Jan. 10th, 2011, as the 39th Treasurer of Treasurer the State of . 785-296-2565 As State Treasurer, Estes oversees an o"ce that currently handles [email protected] over $20 billion and an annual operating budget of $3.5 million. Key programs in the o"ce are Bonds Services, Cash Management, Unclaimed Property, the Ag Loan and Housing Loan Deposit Programs and the Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings OFFICE OF THE STATE TREASURER Program, which has more than 164,000 accounts with total assets of over $3.3 billion. The treasurer’s o"ce is a fee-funded Total Number of Employees: 40.5 agency. As State Treasurer, Estes also serves as a member of the Size of Treasury Annual Budget: $3,500,000 Kansas Public Employee’s Retirement System (KPERS) and the Pooled Money Investment Board. The Kansas State Treasurer participates in the invest- Treasurer Estes is the #rst statewide elected o"cial from the City ment of state funds as a member of the Pooled of Wichita in 20 years. He was originally elected Sedgwick County Treasurer in 2004 and was re-elected to that position in 2008. Money Investment Board, acts as a transfer agent for During his time in that o"ce, Estes saved taxpayers money by many Kansas municipal bonds, receives and deposits returning $1.5 Million to the Sedgwick County general fund. state monies and provides warrant redemption and Prior to his election to Sedgwick County Treasurer, Estes worked in several di!erent industries in consulting and management reconciliation. The treasurer administers the Kansas roles. These industries include aerospace, oil and gas, automo- Unclaimed Property Act, is the custodian of securities tive and several other manufacturing and service industries. He backing state bank deposits and administers the distri- successfully implemented a variety of di!erent #nancial and bution of various state funds to Kansas municipalities, other computer systems that have improved e"ciency. He also analyzed and improved business processes utilizing concepts to oversees the Agricultural Production Loan Deposit eliminate errors and streamline procedures. Estes has extensive Program and administers Learning Quest, the Kansas experience in improving customer service and focusing on 529 Educational Savings Program. The treasurer is a operation improvement and cost cutting. Estes holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s statutory board member of the state and local pension degree in business administration, both from Tennessee Techno- funds. logical University. Estes has served as the Treasurer for the Kansas County Treasurer’s Association and was recently re-elected to serve as the Midwest Regional Vice President for the National Association of State Treasurers. He has also held several positions in the Republican Party, most recently serving as the state party vice chairman. Ron is a #fth generation Kansan. His family continues to run a farm in Osage County. Ron and his wife, Susan, have three children.

34 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE TREASURERS ABOUT THE TREASURY Unclaimed Property (11 employees): The unclaimed property program seeks rightful owners of abandoned Administration & Information Technology and unclaimed property that has been remitted to the (11 employees): Responsible for the overall management state. Each year, #nancial institutions and businesses and direction of all activities of the o"ce. Establishes report the names of people with accounts, wages, stocks, policy, assigns and directs the work of the other oper- dividends, utilities and royalties that have been lost or ating programs, determines priorities, allocates available abandoned. resources on the basis of those priorities and requires internal reviews of operations and procedures. Conducts ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES management of personnel and payroll issues, budgeting, administrative correspondence and the collating and The Kansas State Treasurer serves as a member of the distributing of information to state agencies and other Kansas Public Employees’ Retirement System and the interested parties. Information resource management Pooled Money Investment Board. encompasses computer hardware/software acquisition, installation, maintenance, application development, application design and implementation, communications and training. General o"ce support services include reception, telephone and fax communication support, supplies, purchasing and accounts payable. Bond Management (9 employees): As registrar, transfer agent, and paying agent for almost 90 percent of the outstanding municipal bond issues in Kansas, the state treasurer maintains records on 31,380 bond holders to permit prompt and accurate processing of transactions, as well as timely payments of principal and interest to owners. Kansas municipal bond issues currently total $13.7 billion in outstanding debt. Cash Management (8 employees): This division has two primary functions: item processing and aid to local units. Item processing keeps an accurate account of all receipts and disbursements of the state, and aid to local units distributes money from several funds to city and county governments according to statuary provisions. Higher Education Savings (1 employee): Higher Education Savings administers Learning Quest, the Kansas Educational Savings Plan. It is responsible for the regulations governing the program, selecting the #nancial organization that will manage the accounts, promoting the plan, designing marketing materials and ensuring the program complies with all relevant Internal Revenue Service guidelines. Also, administers a low income matching grant higher education savings program. The division reports each year to the on the operations of the program. Financial Education (.5 employee): Provides a variety of services o!ered to Kansans of all ages. Services include an in-school savings program and #nancial management camps for grade school and middle school aged students; the ABCs of Credit Card Finance for high school and college students; and #nancial lunch and learn sessions for adults. The treasury also o!ers an online library of #nancial education resources.

STATE TREASURY PROFILES 35