Council votes to abolish investment advisory committee, directs finance committee to assume oversight

Pepper Pike City Council voted Jan. 27 to abolish an investment advisory committee that had been established by ordinance. The vote came after a lengthy debate on whether the committee added value beyond the finance committee and whether its draft language improperly gave the advisory body authority to conduct requests for proposals.

Opponents of the committee argued the finance committee already has statutory oversight of city investments and that the ordinance’s language — which said the advisory committee could "conduct from time to time a request for proposal for investment advisory services" — inappropriately delegated operational authority. One council member told colleagues the language "goes against what the administrative roles are in the city." City counsel agreed to draft an amended ordinance removing the problematic language for the next agenda.

Supporters argued the city’s growing investment balance merited occasional outside expertise to provide a check on the city’s primary adviser. Several members suggested folding the advisory function into the finance committee, adding one or two resident experts or inviting outside advisors to attend finance meetings periodically rather than creating a stand-alone committee with RFP authority.

A motion to abolish the investment advisory committee was made and seconded; the roll-call vote recorded in the transcript shows the motion carried with members recorded as voting yes and a minority voting no. The council directed the finance committee to consider how to incorporate resident expertise, to consider frequency of reviews, and to report back with a proposal for membership or an alternative approach to periodic independent review.