Findlay council approves ad hoc investment committee after months of questions over city investment reporting

Findlay City Council on July 15 approved creation of an ad hoc investment committee to review the city’s investment policies, reporting practices and strategy after a letter from three council members requested an expedited review.

Councilman DeArmond introduced the request, saying the goal is to “evaluate communication, transparency, reporting, accountability, and strategy” around municipal investments. The motion to create the ad hoc committee passed on a roll call vote with six members recorded as voting in favor and four opposed.

Why it matters: Council has statutory responsibility over municipal investments. The request followed months of questions from council members about the city’s investment returns and reporting formats; the city auditor and administration have provided estimates and new reporting fields (such as yield to maturity) but some council members said they still lack sufficient clarity.

Discussion highlights Councilmember DeArmond said the committee is a first step to ensure the city’s investment governance aligns with best practices. City Auditor Stasiak (referred to in discussion) noted that the city recently added yield‑to‑maturity information to investment reports and that most of the city’s investments at the time were yielding near or above 5 percent. DeArmond and others expressed frustration about historical back‑and‑forth over information requests and said Appropriations Committee review could be an alternative forum; several members urged that politics and personalities be set aside.

Legal and process context Law Director Rob Feiner (role cited in the meeting) and other staff were involved in conversations about a proper forum for review. Some council members urged handling the matter within the Appropriations Committee and in the mid‑year budget review; others supported a narrower ad hoc body to advance focused review and recommend changes. The chair said she will solicit volunteers for the ad hoc committee by email and provide a letter to council for confirmation votes on membership.

Action and next steps The ad hoc committee was authorized by council. The chair will solicit interested council members and present a proposed membership and charge in a future council packet for full‑council confirmation. The agenda and staff indicated an Appropriations Committee mid‑year review is being planned for August to provide additional budgeting context.

Provenance: Discussion of the investment letter and the vote to form the ad hoc committee appears in the meeting transcript beginning with the council agenda item on the investment letter (transcript ~1148–1187) and concluding with the roll call vote and clerk’s direction to solicit volunteers (transcript ~1617–1634).