Oxnard committee backs delegating city investment authority to CFO over legal objections

The Oxnard City Finance & Governance Committee on May 27 voted 2–1 to recommend that the City Council adopt the fiscal year 2025–26 investment policy and delegate investment authority to the city's chief financial officer.

The recommendation follows staff reports and external-audit findings that raised compliance concerns about the city treasurer's prior handling of investments. Chief Financial Officer Javier Thiago Yellatero told the committee that auditors flagged use of a personal email address for investment transactions and other reporting omissions: "the city treasurer was doing investments using his personal email rather than using the city email," he said, citing omitted reporting and purchases outside the city's investment policy.

The matter drew sharp legal disagreement. Committee member Star argued the delegation may conflict with state law: "So I'll argue against it, which is that I don't think we can legally do this. That's just where I'm coming from," Star said, citing language in state statutes that the committee's legal-review exchange referenced during debate. City legal counsel maintained the delegation is permissible, pointing to other statutory delegations and to case law discussed during the meeting.

A member of the public, Jim (a retired budget officer who identified himself as an Oxnard resident and a former intern to the city treasurer), warned about separation-of-duties risks if investment authority is assigned to the finance director: "To me, that's a conflict. That's not a separation of duties," he said, referencing historic municipal investment losses as a caution.

After discussion and public comment, a committee member moved to adopt the recommended resolution delegating investment authority to the CFO; another member seconded the motion and the committee recorded a 2'to—1 vote, with Committee member Star voting no. The committee's recommendation now goes to the full City Council for final action.

Committee members and staff repeatedly tied the proposal to the need to address prior noncompliance and to reduce litigation risk; staff said the delegation was adopted for the prior year and is presented again to ensure the city meets statutory and policy reporting obligations.

The committee record included references to state statutory provisions and a court case discussed during the meeting; legal counsel read from case excerpts while fielding questions about whether the treasurer's statutory role is exclusive. Staff said the delegation is intended to ensure consistent compliance with the investment policy and government-code reporting requirements.

The City Council will consider the committee's recommendation at a future meeting.