Dispute over Findlay's investments resurfaces

FINDLAY — The dispute between members of Findlay City Council and City Auditor Jim Staschiak over the city's investment policy will be on full display at today's regular meeting of council. Council meets at 6 p.m. today in the Findlay Municipal Building, 318 Dorney Plaza. All council meetings are open to the public and are livestreamed on the city's YouTube channel: Findlay Ohio. A letter to council, signed by three of its members, is included on today's agenda, asking that council address their concerns about the management of the city's investment accounts. The letter, dated July 9, is signed by council members Dennis Hellmann, R-2, Beth Warnecke, R-3, and Dan DeArment, R-4. A copy of the letter is available online at www.thecourier.com and will appear as an attachment below the story. In the letter, the council members say they have been requesting information from the auditor about the city's investments for over a year, with "no substantive response." DeArment and Warnecke have already sought legislation to revise the city's investment policy. Two supporting members of council are required to request legislation. So far, no legislation has been introduced. The request came after months of haggling between DeArment and Staschiak over the city's investment policy. DeArment has been asking for more information about the investments. Staschiak has insisted that council already receives the information and has accused DeArment of being politically motivated in continuing to make the request. At that time, the city's investment total as of March 31, according to the auditor's report to council on April 15, was $95 million, invested over several funds. The invested amount is not leftover money. Municipalities routinely invest their cash flow to generate returns until access to the money is needed. Staschiak has said that the city's investment policy was written to guard against political influence and has said everyone should "stay in their own lane." In the July 9 letter, council members said communications with the auditor's office are broken, "transparency and reporting" are inadequate, and there is "no accountability built into the process." "Straightforward, technical questions about our savings account and return on investment and return on investment (ROI) calculations have been ignored," the letter states. "An investment portfolio presentation was requested to give council and the public an overview as to how we are investing taxpayer money, assess return on investment and risk exposure. This request has gone unfulfilled." The letter goes on to state that a change in investment policy could have earned the city as much as $2.3 million more on its return since 2023. The group is now asking that an Ad Hoc Investment Committee be formed at tonight's meeting and be charged with updating the city's investment policy and considering hiring a third-party professional portfolio manager to handle investments. The debate comes at a time when Findlay's finances may be taking a turn for the worse. At the July 1 meeting of city council, Staschiak reported that both income tax and business tax collections are lagging behind projections. Income tax collections are down about $1.4 million to date, and by the end of the year, business tax collections could be off as much as $2 million. Earlier this year, council adopted a deficit budget for city operations. Findlay is expected to spend $41.5 million to operate in 2025. Income tax collections in 2025 are expected to be $32.1 million. The budget shows city spending outpacing revenue by $5.8 million in 2025 and $7.6 million in 2026. The budget shows the city's year-end cash balance dropping to about $17 million by the end of 2025. Findlay routinely adopts deficit budgets, and then city departments work throughout the year to keep spending under budget.