Auditor: Missouri Valley Complex Fund holds roughly $5.6 million; committee questions investment and prior interest uses

Auditor Slutsky told the committee the Missouri Valley Complex Fund is a separate, non‑general fund and that "the balance as of right now is $5,600,000, and the amount of interest earned year to date is $65,589." He said all interest earnings are retained in that fund.

Committee members asked whether the county invests the fund in CDs or municipal bonds, how much of the total is in long‑term versus short‑term investments, and whether older low‑yield instruments are still locked in. Slutsky said "a lot of it is already invested," that staff can review maturities and returns, and offered to provide a breakdown of long‑term and short‑term holdings.

Members also recalled a prior commission decision to use portions of interest earnings for gravel and road maintenance; speakers described a roughly $400,000 combined allocation split among two or three interest sources (for last year’s and this year’s interest), but participants said exact sources and splits were not specified in the meeting record.

Separately, a commissioner reported the commission took steps at a prior meeting to backfill the preliminary budget with reserve funds so there would be no tax increase to Burleigh County residents; committee members emphasized that the budget remained preliminary and that final figures could change.

Next steps included staff providing a more detailed investment breakdown and identifying maturities or low‑yield instruments that could be reinvested at higher rates. The transcript contains inconsistent references to the total fund amount in one exchange; Slutsky’s formal statement was the $5.6 million balance and $65,589 interest figure.