Central Virginia Transportation Authority finance staff reported Feb. 12 that investment interest has accelerated the authority’s progress toward a previously set working capital reserve, and members discussed adding projected versus actual lines to future financial reports.

The finance committee heard from Executive Director Chet Parsons that the board in September adopted an initial set‑aside of $5,050,000 for a working capital reserve and that interest income over the first five months of the fiscal year had added roughly $6,300,000, producing a current reserve balance of about $11.4 million against a target of $18 million. "The interest income has outperformed what the expectations have been, so far this year," Parsons said.

Committee members pressed for context and suggested showing an expected-projection line on the monthly report so readers could see where the reserve was forecast to be versus current receipts. Mayor Avila (City of Richmond) asked whether the authority now expected to reach the reserve target months earlier than the 15‑month estimate given when the reserve was created; Parsons said that if interest averages about $1 million a month the authority could meet the target in roughly seven months, saying "we'll be there in 7 months" as a rough estimate.

Staff also highlighted that short‑term investment yields remain elevated post‑inflation and that fiscal‑year 2025 interest earnings are running higher than the prior year: Parsons and the fiscal agent reported about $7.1 million in interest earnings for FY25 so far compared with $5.1 million in FY24. The committee discussed formatting changes to make the reserve trend and projections clearer to the public and to reduce questions if the reserve appears below its target in a static snapshot.

No formal action was taken on the investment report; the committee asked staff to return with a presentation format that would add a projected trajectory line and to continue monthly reporting of the administrative budget and the working capital reserve status.