Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Investments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cocoa council hears FY2024 investment report as city captures higher yields amid late‑2024 volatility
Summary
City finance staff and advisor Public Trust Advisors told the Cocoa City Council on Jan. 28 that conservative portfolio choices and reinvestment captured higher yields in fiscal 2024, boosting interest income and keeping the portfolio compliant with Florida law.
The Cocoa City Council on Jan. 28 heard an annual investment report for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2024, from Finance Director McNeese Bowman and John Grady of Public Trust Advisors.
The presentation said the city’s investment program — structured for safety of principal, liquidity and yield — benefited from volatile but rising interest rates late in 2024. John Grady, Public Trust Advisors, summarized national economic data and said the city captured higher yields on maturities reinvested during the year.
Grady told council that third‑quarter 2024 GDP measured 3.1 percent and that the most recent December CPI reading was 2.9 percent. He said short‑term Federal Reserve policy moved from a 5.5 percent peak in 2022 to cuts in the final three Federal Open Market Committee meetings of 2024 that brought the federal funds rate toward 4.5 percent, while longer‑term rates rose as markets adjusted. “Right now, the market’s projecting that overnight rate, short‑term rates and interest rates in general to stay elevated,” Grady said, and added that the environment helped the city’s reinvestment strategy.
Bowman and Grady described three city portfolios: an operating portfolio (primarily 1–5 year securities), a reserve portfolio that meets bond‑indenture requirements, and restricted funds held for specific purposes. The presentation said the operating portfolio represented roughly 60 percent of assets managed outside liquidity funds and about 17 percent of the city’s total investments; the reserve portfolio represented about 25 percent of managed assets; restricted funds were the smallest slice. Grady said the programs aim for an average maturity near 2½ years for the primary portfolios.
Council members were told the portfolio’s yield pickup from reinvesting maturities translated to materially higher interest income year over year. Grady said the city’s interest earnings rose from “well over $2,000,000” to “well over $5,000,000” for the fiscal year ended 2024, a result he attributed to both market rates and the city’s reinvestment approach.
Finance staff said all portfolios complied with the city’s investment policy and with Florida statutes. Council members asked how Cocoa’s balances compared with similar Florida municipalities; Grady said comparisons are imperfect but that many public entities in Florida have seen increased balances tied to stronger property values and other revenue sources.
Council members thanked Bowman and Grady for the report; no formal action was required.
The council also discussed coordination between the finance office and the advisor to time maturities and to preserve liquidity for the city’s operations and capital needs.
