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Financial advisers say county can safely invest idle funds to boost revenues; recommend phased plan
Summary
Davenport & Company told the Southampton County Board that analysis of operating balances and cash flows identified roughly $7 million in funds that could be conservatively invested through the county's VIP account to generate an estimated additional $600,000 in investment income over a multi-year period; Davenport recommended phased implementation and quarterly reporting to the board.
Financial adviser Davenport & Company presented a strategic investment review to the Southampton County Board on Feb. 24, saying a multistep analysis of bank statements, cash flows and current investment vehicles found opportunities to "put more money to work" without risking principal.
Roland Kooch (Davenport) described a five-step analytical and implementation process that involved assessing operating account liquidity, forecasting projected cash flows, identifying investable balances above a targeted minimum cash cushion, implementing conservative investment vehicles (including VIP investments that preserve liquidity) and monitoring on a quarterly basis.
Davenport illustrated a scenario in which average excess operating balances of about $7,000,000 could be invested to generate roughly $600,000 in additional investment income over a multi-year horizon; Davenport noted the county's existing VIP balance of roughly $10,000,000 and recommended a cautious, phased approach that preserves liquidity and limits principal risk.
David Rose and Ricardo (Davenport staff) emphasized the firm's fiduciary obligation and offered to act as liaison with county staff and the treasurer, and to return with quarterly performance reports if the board directed implementation. The presentation also included an offer to audit banking services to identify fees and operations savings.
Supervisor comments: Board members generally reacted favorably and asked for quarterly reporting; one supervisor explicitly recommended implementing the quarterly updates to increase transparency and monitor performance.
Ending: The board thanked Davenport; no formal vote was required to receive the presentation. Davenport recommended staff follow-up and quarterly reports to the board as implementation proceeds.
