Oktibbeha County hears scenarios for investing $55 million; board asks for more research

Consultants advised the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors on options for investing an assumed $55,000,000 county balance and asked the board to weigh safety, return and policy choices.

The presenters used a 30-year U.S. Treasury yield as a conservative baseline and said that at 4.8% a $55 million portfolio would generate roughly $2,640,000 in interest annually. The consultants urged the board to consider whether to dedicate interest to capital projects, bond against principal to accelerate projects, or invest smaller sums and use earned interest to support targeted needs.

“Taking that, we just use the $55,000,000 assumption number. How much interest would it generate each year? ... it could, in theory, generate $2,640,000 a year,” the presenter said. Board members repeatedly emphasized the need for a written investment policy and legal review before committing funds to any new vehicle.

Supervisors discussed different risk profiles. One supervisor said the safe, middle-of-the-road option was to use only federally permitted securities such as CDs and direct obligations of the U.S. government; others noted private-management or indexed products could offer higher returns but might require explicit authority under state law.

The board voted to accept the presentation and instructed staff and the county attorney to bring back a clearer policy, procurement options and the legal authority needed to pursue any nonstandard investment vehicles. The motion to accept the consultants’ scenario passed unanimously.

The next procedural step the board set was a request for staff to identify legal constraints, a proposed policy text and a shortlist of competitive options to evaluate risk, fees and expected returns.