County finance directors present accounts-payable totals and May investment report showing positive returns above inflation

Kalamazoo County finance officials presented an accounts-payable claims list and the county's monthly investment report at the Committee of the Whole.

Finance Director (presenter identified in transcript as Director Post) submitted an accounts-payable claims list with a total of $306,355,759.72. Of that total, the board was asked to approve claims totaling $2,379,570.73; payroll disbursements presented totaled $4,296,038.61 for the June 6 general and June 13 elected payrolls. A commissioner questioned the apparent discrepancy between amounts listed on the claims list and the smaller subset of items the board is asked to approve; Finance staff explained that certain funds (for example, childcare, brownfield and drain district funds) are reported on the claims list for transparency but are not technically approved by the board.

Chief Deputy Treasurer Tyler White presented the county's investment summary as of May 31. He reported a par value of $157,993,155.65 versus a market value of $156,998,595.44, a mark-to-market variance of $994,560.21 representing a decline of about $502,169 from April to May. For May the portfolio earned $672,211.57 on an average daily balance of $165,709,764.61, for a monthly effective return of 4.78%; year-to-date earnings were $3,174,119.69 with an effective year-to-date rate of 4.47%. White projected, based on current trends, the portfolio could earn about $7.5 million for 2025.

White noted that May 12-month inflation was 2.4% (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and that the portfolio's monthly return exceeded inflation, representing a net gain in purchasing power for the month. Commissioners did not request additional budget adjustments on the floor at the time; finance staff indicated they were available to answer follow-up questions.