Cowlitz County reviews treasurer's funds as investment pool posts higher yields
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Summary
County finance staff reviewed three treasurer's funds, noting year-end fair-market adjustments and an investment pool that now holds about $415 million with higher-than-state yields; a 2026 change will shift personnel costs from transfers into the receiving fund.
COWLITZ COUNTY — County finance staff presented a line-by-line review of the treasurer's general fund, operations-and-maintenance account and investment pool, reporting stronger-than-expected year-end accounting adjustments and an ongoing reallocation of personnel costs for 2026.
Finance Director Sean Rowe said the general fund had collected roughly $2.1 million of an expected $2.3 million in property-tax receipts and anticipates about $140,000 more in accruals. He noted a late-year interest accrual of about $150,000 and an annual fair-market-value accounting adjustment — approximately $404,000 in 2024 and expected to be similar in 2025 — that should boost reported revenues above the budgeted amounts.
Staff clarified the distinction between fines/penalties and interest: penalties are recorded under fines and penalties (largely penalties on delinquent property taxes and penalties for failure to file personal-property listings), while interest earnings on investments and interest charged on past-due taxes are recorded under miscellaneous. "Miscellaneous has our interest earnings for investment interest earnings and the interest that's charged on the property taxes," a treasurer's office staff member said during the review.
On expenditures, the treasurer's office reported limited flexibility: supplies and postage for tax statements and internal-service charges account for the majority of the services budget. Rowe said a transfer from the investment account that currently covers several FTEs will stop in 2026 because those positions will be paid directly from the receiving fund, reducing interfund transfers and moving personnel costs onto the appropriate fund balance.
The county also reviewed the treasurer's operations-and-maintenance fund, where goods and services are driven by foreclosure-related costs such as title reports, advertising and postage. Staff said foreclosure-related revenue is variable and that recent efforts — including earlier contact and payment plans for delinquent taxpayers and referrals to state deferral programs — have reduced the number of properties advancing into full foreclosure.
Treasurer staff estimated the county holds roughly 90–100 tax-title parcels in a typical year and said the office is conducting parcel-by-parcel reviews to confirm whether older parcels are properly in tax title before pursuing sales.
The treasurer's investment pool (Fund 14501) was highlighted as having roughly $415 million in participant assets and produced an interest yield that ended at about 4.17% versus the state Local Government Investment Pool at about 3.87%. Rowe said the pool was started in 2023 and initially relied on transfers to cover personnel costs; with current cash flow the county will shift personnel charges directly into the fund in 2026. He added that the pool pays for a third-party administrator, investment advisor and investment software.
No formal actions were taken during the presentation; commissioners asked clarifying questions and staff said they will provide more granular breakdowns of large miscellaneous/interest earnings in future reports.