Westminster : City Seeks Fast Refund of 50% in County Pool

The City Council has passed a resolution seeking full return of all its funds in the collapsed county investment pool, but under terms that would cause less financial strain on the embattled county.

The resolution, passed on a 4-1 vote this week, asked the county to release 50% of all investors’ money immediately, and increase the release by 5% each month thereafter, up to 65%. Full payment would then be made once an acceptable county plan is presented and accepted by the investors.

“We feel that our approach is one the county could live with,” City Manager Bill Smith said.

If approved by the county, the proposal would give pool investors immediate access to their money, city officials said. Councilman Frank Fry Jr. voted against the resolution, saying agencies that borrowed funds to invest in the pool should not receive 100% of their money back.

City officials said that releasing half of the investors’ money immediately is a lesser immediate drain on county finances than the plan that county supervisors has endorsed, which would immediately return 77 cents on the dollar to investors. That plan also would include payments in marketable notes and IOUs.

The city has $100,000 in the collapsed pool, representing interest earned from the $2.5-million investment the city withdrew in May. But Smith said that about $2 million in state grants that the county had not yet turned over to Westminster, including $200,000 for a summer youth program, also remain frozen.