VPRA investment adviser outlines $632 million portfolio; single audit returns unmodified opinion

Eileen Stanek, senior adviser at METER Public Funds, told the Passenger Rail Authority, Virginia finance committee on Jan. 14 that the authority’s investment portfolio totaled about $632,000,000 as of Nov. 30 and remains focused on capital preservation and liquidity. "Our primary objectives remain capital preservation, liquidity, and competitive yield with full policy compliance," Stanek said.

The presentation showed 56% of the portfolio invested in the Virginia Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) and roughly $272,000,000 held in securities managed directly by METER. The securities portfolio had a weighted average maturity of about 1.5 years and a weighted average yield of 4.42%, compared with the LGIP yield of 3.81%, Stanek said. She noted that the allocation to LGIP reflected a need for higher liquidity tied to cash‑flow uncertainty.

Bonnie Hite, VPRA finance staff, then briefed the committee on the authority’s FY25 single audit. Hite said OMB guidance delayed the audit report until mid‑December but that auditors completed testing and issued an unmodified opinion with no findings. "So the good news is is that we passed with flying colors," Hite said. She added that the single‑audit threshold rises from $750,000 to $1,000,000 for FY26 and that the FSP grant (about $729,000,000 received from the Federal Railroad Administration) will continue to be a primary focus of testing.

Hite walked committee members through the single audit purpose and filing requirements, including submissions to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse and compliance with the Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR 200. Committee members asked no substantive follow‑up questions following the presentations.

The investment briefing and single audit summary were delivered as part of the finance committee’s Jan. 14 meeting; the committee did not take separate action on the portfolio but received the single‑audit results as informational.