Memorandum
Date: September 23, 2025
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Patrick Sullivan, Treasurer - Tax Collector
Jenavive Herrington, Auditor - Controller
Subject: Consideration of Impacts Resulting from Recent and Pending Withdrawals from County Treasury Pool and Potential Changes to County Investment Policy
Executive Summary:
County Treasurers act as the ex-oficio district treasurer for all fire districts, unless and until the district board appoints their own district treasurer to assume those duties. Up until now, county fire districts have utilized the Lake County Treasurer both for Treasury operations and the Lake County Treasury pool to invest their funds.
On August 20, 2025, the Lake County Fire Protection District (District) Board of Directors approved Resolution No. 25-0801 "Cancelling Reserves and Appropriating Funds for Investments Outside the County Treasury Pool and Appointing a Treasurer." There was recently another type of independent district that withdrew completely from the County Treasury, and there is at least one other fire district considering such action.
District Board Has Exercised Its Authority to Withdraw from the County Treasury Pool and Create An Independent Investment Program.
The District has entered into an agreement with Optimized Investment Partners (OIP) to provide investment services. Given the higher advisory costs associated with the District's decision to move forward with OIP and managing its own investments, coupled with new custodial banking and other fees it will assume, it is difficult to identify where the opportunities for increased investment performance going forward may exist. A de facto available opportunity would be to leverage the County investment pool, for example by withdrawing funds and investing elsewhere where better short-term returns can be earned. Likewise, the District could allow incoming funds to remain in the county investment pool to take advantage of higher...
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