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Treasurer reports $477,000 surplus; resident raises concerns about certificate-of-deposit paperwork and notification
Summary
The Friendship Heights Village treasurer reported a $477,000 operating surplus through April and roughly $3.5 million in reserves; a resident publicly urged greater transparency and oversight of certificates of deposit.
The Friendship Heights Village treasurer reported that through April the operating budget shows a $477,000 surplus, driven by higher-than-expected income-tax receipts and reduced expenditures in areas including police patrol and special events. Total reserve funds were reported at about $3.5 million as of April 30; the treasurer said the village recently received an additional payment tied to the sale of development rights and expected the reserves to rise by roughly $1 million.
During public comment, resident Bobby Pestronk raised procedural and transparency concerns about the village’s use of certificates of deposit managed by broker Brian Kusky. Pestronk said paperwork he had been shown contained errors that misidentified the village and misstated permitted investment types, and that a CD which matured on May 7 had been reinvested without notifying authorized council and finance-committee members. He said three people had previously been authorized to oversee CD investments (Mayor White, a Mr. Schaeffer, and Pestronk) and that a requested copy of a signed document had not been released, with Mr. Kusky saying he would not release it without authorization from the signer.
Pestronk asked the council to ensure the investment policy is followed, to make CD paperwork publicly available, and to consider alternatives to CDs. The council indicated it would look into the matters and suggested resolving some concerns offline; a council member asked whether the issue could be placed on a future agenda for fuller discussion.
As part of routine business tied to financial controls, the council voted unanimously to appoint the mayor, chair and treasurer as signers on village financial accounts and appointed the finance committee (chair and treasurer among its members). Those motions passed without substantive debate and were recorded as unanimous approvals.
Distinguishing discussion from action: the treasurer’s report is an informational item; the public comments raised procedural requests and alleged lapses in notification and document release; the council took formal administrative action only on signatory authority and committee staffing, not on any immediate change to investment policy or the disputed paperwork.
