Frank O'Leary

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,[6] the 1990 Award for Excellence in Financial Management from the Government Finance Officers Association,[1] and the 1999 Award for Distinguished Leadership in Financial Management from the Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada.[1] In 2009, his office won the National Association of Counties (NACO) Achievement Award for its Reaching Out to Citizens initiative.[7]

In 2011, O'Leary received his second Award for Excellence from the Government Finance Officers Association in the eGovernment and Technology category [8] and his fifth Excellence in Technology award from the Public Technology Institute (PTI) in the Web and eGovernment category.[1][9] Both awards recognized the Treasurer's Office for its innovative Assessment and Collection Enterprise (ACE) system, which streamlines the assessment and collection of a number of county receivables.

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;[10][11] the Pay by Credit Card program, initiated in 1985, which made Arlington the fourth jurisdiction in Virginia to accept credit card payments for taxes;[12][13][14] the Automated Payment System begun in 1987, which allows taxes to be automatically debited from a bank account or charged to a credit card;[15][16] and the Tax Assist Program (later renamed the Taxpayer Assistance Program), begun in 1994, which makes secured loans to taxpayers in need of assistance to pay their taxes on time.[17]

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.[18] 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;[19] and the Neighborhood Payment program, begun in 2005, which allows Arlington tax payers to pay tax bills at participating local retailers.[20]

In 1987, O'Leary spearheaded the effort to create the Virginia State Non-Arbitrage Program (SNAP), 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.[21] 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 (VA) 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.[22][23][24]