Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Guided by City Clerk Emily Anderson, the Monticello City Council last week approved two financial actions that will earn the city additional interest on its accounts.
In the first action, the council approved a resolution designating Ameris Bank as a city depository for five of its accounts. The five accounts that Anderson recommended for inclusion were the USDA 2013 debt service reserve, cemetery trust fund, water and sewer emergency fund, local
option gas tax revenue, and other reserve accounts and set-aside and grant accounts, as warranted.
Anderson said Ameris Bank's insured cash sweep savings account program was available to Monticello because of the city's membership in the Florida Rural Water Association. She said participation in the program afforded member entities enhanced earnings on their deposited monies.
“The earning rates are much better than most money market accounts, and there are no fees or minimums for deposit,” Anderson said. “There are also no Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) coverage limitations on these accounts, and transfers of monies in and out of the accounts is easy.”
She said it was her expectation that the city would earn as much as $6,000 more annually by joining the program, and it would provide a broader FDIC-insurance umbrella for the city's monies on its deposits.
The council's second action involved its approval of the establishment of a certificate of deposit at The First, a national banking association.
In her memo to the council, Anderson explained that she wanted to move the city's 1990 bond reserve from a money market account into a two-year CD. The difference, she said, was a .31-percent annual yield, versus a 2.2-percent yield.
“It is anticipated that the city will earn approximately $5,800 more during the two-year CD period than leaving the funds in a money market account,” Anderson said.
She told the council that the foregoing recommendations were part of what was intended to be an ongoing process.
“We're looking at all our accounts,” Anderson said. “These are the low-hanging fruits. We know that we can make a lot better on our accounts.”