From Tom to Thomas

Know this about Tom Malzahn: He's going to play more golf.

But when he retires as Kootenai County treasurer this time next month, you might not see any other significant changes in the man or the way he goes about the business of life. A cancer survivor approaching his fifth anniversary in remission, Malzahn plans to keep on keepin' on pretty much the way he has been - which is well above par for the course.

For a dozen years Malzahn has made his office a model of efficiency. A little bit of that was brought on by some tough times; his department at one point had 11 employees, now down to seven. But two of those positions had been devoted to administering the county's local option sales tax, now expired, and between overseeing a rigorous cross-training program and implementing new taxation/assessment software, the seven-person crew sails right along.

That's a tribute to their leader, who will walk away from the job toting a long list of other accomplishments that have saved taxpayers many hundreds of thousands of dollars and generated additional funds for them through intelligent investment. Perhaps the greatest testament to his effectiveness in office is this: You never, ever read about problems in that sector of county government. Silence, in this case, has been absolutely golden.

It is largely because of Malzahn's effectiveness that we echo his endorsement of Laurie Thomas to replace him for the two years remaining in his term. Thomas was sworn in back when Malzahn was, and they've formed a tremendous team all these years. Not only have both been stalwarts at work, but they've been among our communities' most generous and active volunteers; not just good bureaucrats, but fine people.

As for Malzahn, he's eager to hit the links more frequently but even then, he says, he'll still be the same guy - one who doesn't cuss at a missed putt or fling his wedge when a chip shot finds water. In fact, the 20-year Marine veteran has been known to tell angry golfers in his foursome to relax and enjoy the game because they're not good enough to get mad.

His reasonable, personable nature and eagerness to solve problems rather than complain about them will be missed. Promoting Laurie Thomas will be the best way to ensure the legacy of Tom Malzahn the treasurer lives on.