MANSFIELD — Richland County commissioners and the county treasurer’s office are now on the same page when it comes to selecting locations to deposit public funds.
Make that the same 15 pages.
Commissioners on Tuesday morning approved a 15-page application process that financial institutions can utilize when trying to earn the county’s business, er, deposits.
Senior Clerk Stacey Crall, Richland County administrator Andrew Keller, County Treasurer Bart Hamilton and Chief Deputy Andy McGinty worked together to craft the application unanimously approved by commissioners.
The new application approval came just more than a month after commissioners expressed concerns Hamilton had “had taken steps to move a significant amount of taxpayer money to another financial institution” without involving the three-member board, as required by law.
Commissioners met with Hamilton on Aug. 7 and came to an agreement ironing out communications and concerns regarding the deposit decision-making process.
Keller said Tuesday the strategy was to review several existing application models and apply the best aspects to the county’s application.
Applications — open to all eligible institutions with at least one office in Richland County — will be accepted during regular business hours between Sept. 23 and Oct. 10, ending at 10 a.m. at commissioners’ office at 50 Park Ave. East in Mansfield.
Commissioners intend to award a depository agreement(s) at 10 a.m. during their meeting on Oct. 23. The term of the agreement(s) will begin Oct. 31 and end Oct. 30, 2029.
According to a letter attached to the application, Hamilton estimated active funds available at any one time during the ensuing four-year period is not to exceed $250 million.
“That’s everything,” Hamilton said at the beginning of August. “That’s our entire portfolio. That’s all the money we have at STAR (Ohio) and it’s projecting forward because these are four-year agreements.
“It (estimate) might be a little high, but I’d rather be high than low.”
The letter also states:
“Each proposal shall be accompanied by a financial statement of the applicant, under oath of its cashier, treasurer, or other officer as of the date of its latest report to the superintendent of banks or comptroller of the currency, and adjusted to show any changes therein prior to the date of the proposal, that shall include a statement of its public and nonpublic deposits.”
Each proposal must also include all of the information requested in the application’s three sections, including signing the agreement and completing the resolution contained in Section II. Applicants have the option to complete Section III after the depository agreement(s) is awarded. can be completed after award).
Proposal submission details provided
Proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope marked “Proposal for Bank Services,” the letter states.
Banks mailing their proposals should allow for enough time to ensure receipt of the proposals by the board prior to the fixed acceptance time and date. Submission times will be based on the clock of the clerk of commissioners.
Hamilton previously said he doesn’t expect every county bank to be interested in being a depository.
“They (banks) have to collateralize any money that we give them,” the treasurer said earlier this month, meaning the institution must in some way secure deposits that exceed the limit of federal deposit insurance.
(Below is the application/agreement for deposit of public funds, proceeded by a cover letter, which commissioners authorized the issuance of Tuesday.)