Title
Recommendation to Approve the City of Alameda Investment Policy. (Finance 10024051)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Annually, the City Treasurer and the Finance Director review the City of Alameda’s (City) Investment Policy for changes and revisions that may be needed to comply with applicable sections of the California Government Code or any other changes to keep the Policy updated to current business practices. The City Council is asked to approve the City’s Investment Policy with proposed changes as outlined below.
BACKGROUND
Section 5-2 of the Alameda City Charter requires the City Treasurer to annually recommend to the City Council, at a public meeting, an investment policy for the City Council’s approval. The City Treasurer and Finance Director have reviewed and recommend these proposed changes to the City’s Investment Policy.
DISCUSSION
The City’s Investment Policy affirms the fiduciary responsibility to safeguard public assets and identify the opportunities for a systematic investment process. Priority is placed first on securing the safety of principal and the liquidity needed for payroll and other City obligations, then on yield of the investment.
The City’s Investment Policy is reviewed annually by the City Treasurer and Finance Director and is attached to this report (Exhibit 1). The policy has been developed in accordance with standards and policies established by the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC) and the Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada (APTUSC). The City’s Investment Policy received a Certification of Excellence from the California Municipal Treasurers Association in September 2017. In addition, APTUSC awarded a Certificate of Excellence for the City’s Investment Policy in September 2018.
The Investment Policy provides for staff to submit quarterly Investment Transaction Reports to the City Council. Investment Transaction Reports include summaries of all transactions within the investment portfolio and a statement confirming that current liquidity is adequate to meet expenditures for the next six months, as required by the California Government Code.
The City Treasurer and Finance Director are proposing certain changes, as listed below, to the Investment Policy to reflect actual practice and to provide further clarity.
• Under Other Objectives, language prohibiting investing in Wells Fargo securities expired in 2021, this prohibition was removed;
• The Glossary was updated to include the definition of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and remove the outdated reference to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.
The City Treasurer and Finance Director continue to review the portfolio and its performance on a quarterly basis. It is through these discussions the recommended changes were developed, which are reflected in the attached Investment Policy.
ALTERNATIVES
There are two alternatives:
• The City Council may choose not to approve the above changes; however, this may result in not having the City’s Investment Policy be compliant with the California Government Code;
• The City Council may provide additional changes to the Investment Policy to the extent that it still must comply with the California Government Code and provide sufficient ability and flexibility to manage City’s investment portfolio.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact as a result of the approval of the Investment Policy.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This activity complies with Section 5-2 of the Alameda City Charter, which provides that the Treasurer shall annually recommend to Council an investment policy.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity is not a project and is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to section 15378 (b)(4) of the CEQA Guidelines, because it involves governmental fiscal activities (approval of the investment policy), which does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the City of Alameda Investment Policy.
Respectfully submitted,
Kevin Kennedy, City Treasurer
Margaret L. O’Brien, Finance Director
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Jennifer Tell, Budget Manager
Exhibit:
1. Investment Policy