LAKE FOREST : City to Change Its Investment Policy
Assured that the city budget is solid despite the $9.6 million in reserves frozen by the county bankruptcy, the City Council has moved to change its fiscal policies.
Anxious to prevent a recurrence of the county financial fiasco, the council asked Finance Director Dave Bass to create an interim investment policy and form a finance committee to guide future investments.
“I’d like to see us get right on this and not let anyone put $10 million (of city funds) in any one pot,” Councilwoman Kathryn McCullough said.
In addition to its $9.6 million in the county investment pool, Lake Forest has $3.5 million in the state investment package. But council members agreed they should diversify.
Bass said he would begin working on an interim investment policy “for the next six months so we don’t lock the (proposed Finance) Committee out of any decision but still have something in place.”
Bass said he would look for Finance Committee members with strong backgrounds in investment portfolios.
Earlier in the meeting Bass told the council members that if Lake Forest receives its property tax revenue from the county, the city will not experience any cutbacks, hiring freezes or major project delays.
Currently, the city has about $2.5 million in reserves and can pay all its bills without using funds frozen in the county investment pool, Bass said.
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