Council signals support to diversify cash holdings; staff to pursue investment account with METER Public Funds

Highland City staff presented options to diversify a portion of the city’s cash holdings by investing about $15 million of idle funds with a professional manager to reduce volatility in interest income. Staff compared fees from several firms and reported that METER Public Funds (also presented previously to council) offered the most competitive fee for the proposed amount (approximately $15,000 annually on $15 million invested). The city would retain roughly half of its cash in the Utah Public Treasurers’ Investment Fund (PTIF) for liquidity and move the remainder into laddered investments with maturities up to five years. Staff said the state treasurer’s PTIF remains very low-cost and fully liquid; the METER option would provide a cadre of staggered maturities to protect against interest‑rate volatility. Council members supported moving forward with the METER arrangement in principle. Staff said the next steps are adoption of an investment policy, agreement with the chosen manager, and execution of account-opening and funding steps. Staff also noted an anticipated Federal Reserve meeting in mid‑September that could affect short-term rates, and preferred to complete the actions ahead of that meeting if possible.