Treasurer asks board to segregate opioid settlement dollars and reinvest interest for program use

Kalamazoo County Treasurer Thomas Whitener told the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 18 that opioid settlement proceeds had been held in the county’s pooled investments and that he sought the board’s authorization to segregate those principal funds and reinvest the interest earnings back into the opioid fund so proceeds and earnings would be used to help people affected by the opioid crisis.

Whitener said the opioid proceeds had been invested in Michigan CLASS to preserve liquidity and to earn interest; he asked for the board’s “blessing” to assign future interest earnings to the opioid-specific fund rather than to the general fund. He told commissioners the investment approach is to hold assets to maturity to avoid realizing losses.

Commissioners discussed whether county policy exists to automatically segregate unusually large or restricted receipts; Deputy Treasurer Tyler White and Whitener said the general fund is usually pooled for better rates and that no automatic dollar-threshold policy existed but that a written policy could be developed. Commissioners expressed support for returning interest to the intended purpose and indicated they wanted flexibility to set known budgets so the treasurer can ladder investments for higher yields while meeting liquidity needs.

No formal roll-call vote was recorded on the floor; the treasurer said he needed the board’s approval to implement the accounting treatment and reinvestment approach and staff indicated they would draft any needed policy or written procedures if the board desired.