Monroe County board approves 2025 public funds investment policy; treasurer reports $8.7 million in interest in 2024

The Monroe County Board of Finance on Feb. 1 approved the county's public funds investment management policy for 2025, and Monroe County Treasurer Catherine Smith presented the county's 2024 investment report, which reported about $8.7 million in interest for the general fund.

Smith told the board that the policy is prepared by the three county commissioners working with the treasurer and that, while the written policy allows U.S. Treasury securities with maturities up to five years, she prefers to keep county investments at maturities of two years or less while she is in office.

The move matters because interest earnings help populate the county general fund, Smith said, and the board's approach emphasizes safety and liquidity over return. "The investment policy clearly says the order that we do things in which is first safety second liquidity and third return," Smith said.

Smith said the county will shift remaining older securities into cash and short-term instruments as they mature. She reported two securities maturing imminently: one for $1,000,000 due within days of the meeting and another for $500,000 due on Feb. 28. Smith said roughly $6,000,000 in securities will mature over the following 18 months and that most remaining holdings will age out in 2026.

The 2024 report enumerated the county's cash holdings across multiple depository institutions. Smith described account types including money-market accounts, certificates of deposit, high-yield savings and hybrid master checking used for payroll sweeps. She said the county received about $8,700,000 in general-fund interest in 2024 and noted that many of the county's accounts yield more than 4 percent interest; some exceed 5 percent.

Smith identified several banks and custodians used by the county: First Financial Bank (FFB), German American Bank, Jackson County Bank (JCB), Trust Indiana, Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) and Old National Bank (ONB). She said German American Bank held two CDs totaling $17,400,000 and that Jackson County Bank previously held $7,000,000 that was moved to German American for a higher rate; that JC Bank account produced $566,547.95 in interest. Smith said the county had more than $11,000,000 in money-market accounts at German American and that the First Financial money-market produced nearly $3.5 million in interest in 2024.

Smith introduced members of the treasurer's investment team during the presentation, naming Kyle Sturgeon as cash book ledger manager and Bridgette Debitte as banking manager, and credited the broader auditor and treasurer's offices for keeping expired warrants low. "We only have this year, and this is the lowest in the 20-some years I've been here, $508 of expired checks," Smith said.

Smith also said the county is working to add vetted local institutions to its approved depository list, citing Crane and IU Credit Union, and noted the county is eligible for both federal deposit insurance and a state-level public funds insurance program administered by the revenue department. "We are federally insured, of course, as well as state insured through...the public funds investment insurance at the state level. So we're doubly insured in most things," she said.

Board members voted to approve the 2025 investment policy after the presentation; the motion passed unanimously. The board later approved the county's depository list as presented and adjourned.

Smith emphasized the board's stated preference for short-term, liquid investments while she is treasurer, citing a desire not to extend maturities into a successor's term. She also noted that some older securities currently pay very low interest but will mature over the next 18 to 24 months and be reinvested under the county's stated priorities of safety, liquidity and return.

The treasurer provided printed account summaries and a pie chart to illustrate the distribution of county funds across account types and institutions, and offered to make the underlying "root documents" available to the commissioners for review.

The board did not receive public comment on the matter during the meeting.