Francis X. O'Leary was the elected treasurer of Arlington County, Virginia, and a member of the Democratic Party from January 1983 to July 2014. He began his eighth term as treasurer in January 2012 and retired in July 2014. During his tenure, he lowered the County's tax delinquency rate from a high of more than nine percent in 1982 to an all-time low of less than one half of one percent in 2013. This represents the lowest tax delinquency rate in Arlington history and currently the lowest in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The effect of this lower rate has been to increase County revenue by approximately $142,000,000.
Background
O'Leary was born in 1943. As the son of a career Army officer, O'Leary moved with his family to many different states during his childhood. He graduated from Frankfurt American High School, while living with his family overseas in Frankfurt, Germany. O'Leary attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor of ScienceForeign Service degree with a major in economic theory. In 1966, O'Leary received a State Department appointment as a Foreign Service Officer. He also served as a reserve officer of artillery in the New Jersey National Guard from 1963 to 1968. He completed the course work for a master's degree in economic theory from Georgetown University in 1967. Immediately prior to being elected the Treasurer of Arlington County, O'Leary served as president of NOVA Research Associates, a computer operations firm. Frank O'Leary is a founding member and the current chairman of the Warren G. Stambaugh Memorial Foundation. The foundation, established in 1991, supports public and private organizations in the Commonwealth of Virginia, through grants and scholarships, which provide assistance to persons with disabilities. He married Linda Banigan in 1968. They have resided in Arlington since 1969 and have two children.
Career
While serving as treasurer, O'Leary has steadily lowered Arlington's tax delinquency rate from a high of over nine percent to a historic low of just over one half of one percent in 2011, thereby increasing the County's revenue by approximately $128,000,000 during the same period. In 1991 he received a gubernatorial appointment to the Dillon Rule Commission. On Wednesday, July 2, 2014, Frank O'Leary announced that he would be retiring as treasurer after 30 years effective Monday, July 7, 2014. The Chief Deputy Treasurer, Carla de la Pava, was then appointed the Arlington County Treasurer and was sworn in on Monday, July 7, 2014 therefore becoming the new Arlington County Treasurer.
Awards
During his tenure as treasurer, O'Leary has earned many awards, including the 1988–1989 Treasurer of the Year Award from the Treasurers' Association of Virginia, the 1990 Award for Excellence in Financial Management from the Government Finance Officers Association, and the 1999 Award for Distinguished Leadership in Financial Management from the Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada. In 2009, his office won the National Association of Counties Achievement Award for its Reaching Out to Citizens initiative. In 2011, O'Leary received his second Award for Excellence from the Government Finance Officers Association in the eGovernment and Technology category and his fifth Excellence in Technology award from the Public Technology Institute in the Web and eGovernment category. Both awards recognized the Treasurer's Office for its innovative Assessment and Collection Enterprise system, which streamlines the assessment and collection of a number of county receivables.
Innovations to treasury operations
As treasurer, O'Leary has introduced numerous innovations to the treasury operations of Arlington County, including the Pay at the Bank program in 1984, which allows Arlington tax payers to pay taxes at local bank branches; the Pay by Credit Card program, initiated in 1985, which made Arlington the fourth jurisdiction in Virginia to accept credit card payments for taxes; the Automated Payment System begun in 1987, which allows taxes to be automatically debited from a bank account or charged to a credit card; and the Tax Assist Program, begun in 1994, which makes secured loans to taxpayers in need of assistance to pay their taxes on time. Another notable achievement was the introduction in 1997 of the 1-888-2PAY-TAX program, allowing payment of tax bills over the phone by credit card. Due to its success, this same system was adopted in 1999 by the Internal Revenue Service. Recent innovations and improvements to the Arlington County Treasury operations include the Billpayer Notification program, begun in 2005, which generates an automatic email to taxpayers whenever they incur any form of debt with Arlington County; and the Neighborhood Payment program, begun in 2005, which allows Arlington tax payers to pay tax bills at participating local retailers. In 1987, O'Leary spearheaded the effort to create the Virginia State Non-Arbitrage Program, which allows state and local municipality bond issuers to pool and invest their proceeds. The SNAP program was recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada with an Award for Excellence in Financial Management in 1990. Looking to the future, O'Leary has authored and led efforts to pass a Federal Debt offset for local governments. Bill H.R. 3060, introduced in June 2009 by Congressman James P. Moran to the United States Congress, would allow localities to collect tax debts through the reduction of Federal tax refunds. This program would have the capability of generating between two and three billion dollars, annually, for localities throughout the nation.
