Audit Shows City's Investment Reporting is No Longer 'A Disaster'

The Wentzville Board of Aldermen is feeling a little better about the city's investments.

In the past, Alderman Forrest Gossett said, "the reporting was a disaster."

Last year, the board asked for an accounting of the city's investments and were unhappy to find out that much of the city's money was sitting in non-interest bearing accounts.

The board heard a report at Tuesday night's special meeting from Ben Hart, a representative of independent auditor Allen Gibb & Houlik and the city's interim finance director.

$3,397,842 has been moved into the Missouri Securities Investment Program (MOSIP), Hart said, basically "parked" until the city decides on an investment plan for it. But that is only about half of the total amount that was moved.

"It's staggering to think we’ve moved almost six and a half million dollars around that wasn’t doing much for us," Alderman Rick Stokes said.

The city has since adopted internal controls on investments. Hart suggested that investment decisions be made by the finance department in consultation with the City Administrator, with the approval of the Board of Alderman.

City Administrator Mike McDowell said that ideally, investments would be diversified among investment agencies, certificates of deposit and U.S. Treasury securities.

The city is looking for an investment advisor so that "more permanent and long range decisions can be made about an investment strategy that complies with the City Investment Policy and State Law," the finance department report stated.