Belleville treasurer faces challenge from employee during the Illinois April election
READ MORE
More on the election for Belleville treasurer
Follow all the BND’s coverage of the Belleville treasurer’s race. Candidate responses are listed alphabetically.
Expand All
The Belleville treasurer’s race in the April 6 election features an unusual twist with the incumbent facing one of the employees he oversees.
Dean Hardt, a former City Council member who has been treasurer since 2013, is being challenged by Sarah Biermann, who handles collections and liens for customers who don’t pay their sewer bills.
Hardt, 48, is Biermann’s supervisor, though the position she holds came to her through an appointment by the mayor.
Mayor Mark Eckert appointed Biermann, 38, to the position in 2017 and is now supporting her candidacy.
Hardt, meanwhile, is throwing his support behind Patty Gregory, who is challenging Eckert in the mayor’s race.
Objection to candidate petitions
The treasurer’s race kicked off with Hardt objecting to the candidate petition forms filed by Biermann but the local electoral board comprised of Eckert, City Clerk Jenny Gain Meyer and Alderman Ken Kinsella denied Hardt’s request and ruled that Biermann’s name would be on the April 6 ballot.
“I had the responsibility ... to object to her petitions based on information that I was presented with and therefore I felt it was necessary for me to object to her based on that fact,” Hardt said.
Hardt said his primary objection was that Biermann was not the person who actually collected signatures but signed the form as if she did. His 17-page complaint alleged there was “a pattern of fraud” and that 397 of the signatures for Biermann’s petition should be declared invalid.
Biermann said she was physically near her husband who was the person who collected signatures and that one day her phone showed that she had walked over eight miles while out collecting them.
The electoral board denied Hardt’s objection on this issue and ruled on Jan. 5 that he had not “met his burden of establishing a pattern of fraud.”
“I was appalled,” Biermann said of the objection filed by Hardt. “I was clearly shocked by that. I couldn’t believe that after working with him for almost four years he would think I would do that.”
Despite the opposition on the ballot and the dispute over Biermann’s petition, both she and Hardt said the treasurer’s office has functioned without interference.
The treasurer’s position is budgeted for an annual salary of about $78,000 but Hardt earns $76,477 because he and other city leaders, including Eckert and Meyer, declined scheduled pay raises as a show of solidarity with city employees who were laid off or furloughed last spring due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In interviews with the BND, Hardt and Biermann each outlined their reasons for running for treasurer and why residents should give them their vote.
Here are highlights of the candidates’ responses listed in alphabetical order:
Sarah Biermann
“I’ve had several citizens that have asked me to run,” Biermann said.
She has a business administration degree and is working on her Master’s in Business Administration degree. Before she was hired by the city, she handled customer and public relations for King’s House, a west Belleville retreat operated by the religious order that runs the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.
“I see inefficiencies, I see things that we can do better within the office, one of them being customer service. ...” Biermann said of Belleville’s treasurer’s office. “I’ve been told by citizens they don’t like the way Dean makes them feel, they don’t like the way he speaks to them.
“There’s certain members of other departments that call me rather than calling Dean because they don’t want to speak with him and that’s sad. I’m hoping to foster better relationships with the other departments because as a team, we can do better. We can do so much more and that’s important.
“We have nine unions within the city. You have to work with them. You have to make your employees feel important and necessary and respected. They’ll do more for you in the long run and that’s important.
“I want to foster better relationships with landlords. Hopefully we’ll get some payments on those and to work with them, especially with COVID-19. We have to do more than just telling them about the balance. We have to be able to work with them to figure what we can help them with.”
Biermann said she wants to investigate whether the fees for credit card payments can be reduced and she wants the office to do a better job of explaining bill adjustments to residents.
“We need to make sure that we keep Belleville beautiful and keep the money coming for the sewer bills that need to get paid,” she said.
“One thing that I think is important and is exciting for the city of Belleville is I’d be honored to be the first female city treasurer. That’s a huge step for Belleville.”
Dean Hardt
“Well, I’m running for re-election as I enjoy working for the city … and working on behalf of the residents to ensure that the city runs smoothly, not just with sewer billing but also with sewer collections, but also with the treasurer’s office,” Hardt said.
“I hope that the residents will realize that I have that drive to continue to provide quality service to them, and that they’ll vote for me to be reelected on April 6, 2021.
“I believe that I’ve performed in the best interest of the city of Belleville residents. … I consider myself very honest. If a resident asks me a question, I’m gonna answer honestly.
“I also believe that it’s important that we have consistency, fairness and integrity in the office to ensure that everybody is treated the same based on the circumstances that they’re in and I will continue to do that for the city of Belleville residents and the voters.
“With regards to the position of treasurer, it’s very important to be consistent. As the treasurer oversees the sewer billing collections department, that’s where a lot of your focus is at.”
Hardt noted that the treasurer is also responsible for investing the city’s surplus funds and since 2013 when he took office, the investments he has chosen have returned interest income of more than $450,000, which has been used to support services to the residents of Belleville.
Hardt joined the Illinois Municipal Treasurers Association after taking office and earned the Certified Illinois Municipal Treasurer designation following three years of training.
He served on the board of directors of the group and was elected by the members of the association to be their president for the 2018-2019 term.
Hardt was elected as city treasurer in 2013 and was reelected in 2017 when he faced Ryan Moore, a write-in candidate. Moore was not on ballot because Hardt objected to his petition and the electoral board ruled that Moore did not have enough valid signatures.
Before taking office, Hardt worked for Gerold Moving in Belleville, where he gained “invaluable skills in overseeing multiple employees performing multiple roles.” Hardt also said he has experience in handling multiple computer software systems and that has benefited Belleville residents.
Hardt said he looks “forward to positive change in Belleville in 2021.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Belleville treasurer faces challenge from employee during the Illinois April election."
