County finance reports $185.8 million investment portfolio and presents April payables and payroll totals

Kalamazoo County’s finance staff reported April 15 that the county’s investment portfolio had a par value of $185,834,582.40 and a market value of $184,978,426.02 as of March 31, and that the portfolio earned $640,580.83 in March on an average daily balance of about $175.4 million.

Chief Deputy Treasurer Tyler White and Finance Director Ryan Post presented the monthly investment report, which showed a mark‑to‑market variance of $856,156.38 (an improvement of roughly $3,700 from February). Post explained the county’s stated strategy is to hold securities until maturity to avoid realized losses and said the portfolio’s effective rate of return for the month was about 4.3% and 4.34% year‑to‑date. He noted that March inflation (12‑month) was 2.4%, so the portfolio’s reported return exceeded inflation.

Accounts payable and payroll presented for approval

Finance Director Post presented an accounts payable claims list totaling $22,739,736.14 as submitted for review; of that total, the board was asked to approve claims totaling $2,680,053.68. Post also presented payroll disbursements totaling $4,420,967.20 for board approval.

Board questions and clarifications

Vice Chair Taylor asked about pooled funds and liquidity; Post explained that pooled funds appear large in the monthly snapshot because of tax revolving fund settlements and clarified that some pooled funds reflect short‑term liquidity moved through the portfolio for tax settlement purposes. Post also noted that SymPro (the reporting system) sometimes shows zero or no entry for certain pooled fund yields because those funds do not have fixed maturities; actual pooled fund earnings are obtained from statements and partner managers and can be higher than the automatic report display.

Treasury and compliance notes

Post told the board the portfolio is compliant with Public Act 20 and that staff are working with investment advisers to lock in longer‑term yields when appropriate. He said that if markets change materially staff would notify the board via the regular monthly updates and emails.

Vote and administrative action

The amounts presented for claims and payroll were included in the consent agenda later in the meeting; the board approved the consent agenda by roll call (consent agenda motion made by Vice Chair Taylor and supported by Vice Chair Pro Tem Hepler). The vote carried and the presented payables and payroll amounts were approved as part of that consent action.

Ending

County finance staff said they will continue monthly reporting and will provide additional detail on pooled funds, specific pooled fund yields, and the structural components of the portfolio on request.