WESTMINSTER : Fund Director Lauded for Pulling Out of Pool

The City Council has commended Finance Director Brian Mayhew for withdrawing the city’s money from the Orange County investment pool just in time to avoid the financial catastrophe that hit the county.

The city took out its $2.5-million investment in May on the advice of Mayhew, who said he became concerned after interest rates rose four times since the start of the year.

“As long as the interest rates were down, it was a very good investment,” Mayhew said. “But it was no longer prudent.”

He said city has about $100,000 left in the troubled pool, but it represents interest posted after the money was withdrawn.

The council last week also praised Mayhew, the city’s finance director for the past four years, for safeguarding Westminster’s credit rating with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, the nation’s leading bond rating companies.

Moody’s placed the city on a “ratings review” list, along with other county cities and agencies, on Dec. 6 when the county filed for bankruptcy. But it was removed the following day, Mayhew said, when it was determined that the city was not an investor in the bankrupt pool.

On Dec. 9, Standard & Poor’s also took Westminster out of a “credit watch” of county agencies with questionable credit ratings as a result of the bankruptcy filing, he said.

With its good credit rating, the city can sell bonds or secure financing at favorable rates, but Mayhew said there are no immediate plans for a bond issue.