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Resident urges City to invest idle cash instead of raising taxes
Summary
At the Aug. 14 budget workshop, resident Brian Wirzbaugh told commissioners that investing part of the city’s cash balances in short-term, low‑risk instruments could produce meaningful interest income and urged staff to study options before approving a tax-rate increase.
Brian Wirzbaugh, a resident who said he serves on local boards and committees, opened the public‑comment period by urging the commission to explore investment options rather than raise property taxes. “If you took $25 million, put it in simple CDs, simple money markets…do you realize you would not raise $500,000—you would raise $1,000,000 dollars over the next year?” Wirzbaugh said. He offered to volunteer with staff to review options.
City staff acknowledged the point but said cash‑flow and the timing of receipts limit how much of the city’s balance can be safely invested. Staff told the commission they would prepare a detailed report and suggested bringing forward a revised investment‑policy recommendation before the commission adopts a proposed property‑tax rate on Sept. 2.
Why it matters: Commissioners are weighing a modest available general‑fund amount against recommended decision packages and a proposed property‑tax rate increase. At current interest rates, even modest reallocations of idle cash could generate additional revenue, but staff warned that receivables and interfund needs constrain how much can be moved without disrupting operations.
Next step: Staff agreed to return with a targeted brief on how much of the city’s pooled cash could be placed in higher‑yield short‑term instruments and what procedural or policy changes would be needed to act before the tax‑rate adoption.
