Moore Haven council moves CaPFA account to First Bank and updates authorized signers

The Moore Haven City Council voted unanimously Oct. 1 to transfer the CaPFA account from Seacoast to First Bank and to update the authorized signers on the city's bank accounts.

City Attorney Steve Ramunni and City Clerk Ashley Wills told the council the Seacoast account could not initiate wires without an in-person signature, which delayed payments to a third-party contractor (identified in the record as Singleton). Wills said the delayed items were mailed and one check was recently received after being lost in transit; she described the need to identify which accounts are held at which banks and which signature cards must be updated.

"It has to wait on signatures and then be mailed out. Then we have problems like this one that got lost in the mail," Wills said, explaining the operational difficulty that prompted the proposal.

Council member Alisha Beck argued First Bank would be more convenient and locally responsive. "First Bank is our hometown bank and when Seacoast left from here, they have not done one thing for this community since they left," Beck said. She moved to transfer the CaPFA Seacoast account to First Bank; the motion was seconded by Rashonda Croskey and carried 5-0.

Wills also listed the signers the city uses and asked for a formal motion to update signature cards at First Bank, Seacoast and SouthState Bank. She recommended adding Ashley Wills (city clerk), Melissa Arnold, Mayor Wayne Browning, Council member Alisha Beck, Vice Mayor Marcus "Marc" Decker, Council member Bradley Smith and Council member Rashonda Croskey and removing prior signers no longer on council or on staff. Beck moved to add the named signers and remove former signatories; Croskey seconded and the motion carried.

The council recorded these motions as routine administrative actions; no ordinance or charter change was proposed. The clerk will follow bank procedures to implement the signatory updates and account transfer.