The Town of Batavia’s money management policies are having a significant impact upon its bottom line, so much so that it is being recognized by the Pittsford firm that has helped guide the municipality’s investments in recent years.
At Wednesday night’s Special Town Board meeting at the Town Hall on West Main Street Road, Alex DeRosa, relationship specialist with CashVest by three+one, presented the town with the “90+ CashVest Award” which is given to public entities that received a CashVest score of 90 or higher for four consecutive quarters.
“This score takes into consideration everything from the way the town receives payments, makes payments, what you're doing with your cash while it's at the bank, ensuring you have the appropriate bank account structure and a fair banking relationship,” DeRosa said. “The town has hit this mark above 90, not only just for four quarters, but for actually more than eight quarters consecutively.”
DeRosa said the town has gone “above and beyond the normal line of duty.”
“I don't think there's anything in legislation or law that states a town must do everything they can to maximize the value of cash; it just seems like the right thing to do,” he said. “But over the past 18 months, we've actually seen audits from the New York State Comptroller on some small towns, villages and school districts that really gave those towns a red mark on their audit saying they didn't go out and try to maximize value, they did not talk to multiple things, they did not have cash flow forecasts into the future.
“And that's the type of thing that can make headline news, not only for finance staff, but the whole town board and the town as a whole. This work is appreciated by three+one because of our mission. And it should be appreciated by every taxpayer in the Town of Batavia, that you all are going above and beyond to consistently maximize that value.”
Town Supervisor Gregory Post said he believed the town has earned almost $300,000 in unanticipated interest on investments since contracting with three+one.
“… I don't have the numbers exactly in front of me, but I believe our last quarterly report shows that since our inception of working collaboratively on this account have realized nearly $300,000 in interest above and beyond what was anticipated or budgeted,” Post said. “So, that's real dollars and real cash that have assisted us in our migration through the COVID pandemic as well as into the 2022 fiscal year.”
Photo: Hiedi Librock, secretary to the Town of Batavia supervisor, accepts the 90+ CashVest Award from Alex DeRosa of CashVest by three+one. Photo by Alecia Kaus.
