The Washington Municipal Treasurers’ Association has presented its Certification of Excellence for Investment Policy to San Juan County Treasurer Jan Sears. The certification is the result of 21 months of research and policy development by Sears.

The Treasurer’s office is responsible for investing money that isn’t required to pay the current month’s bills for the county and for 55 different funds for taxing districts including school systems, the port and local sewer districts.

The investments total approximately $35.5 million dollars. The County’s investment policy establishes guidelines for investing and depositing that money.

As of June 25th, the county had slightly more than half of its County Current investments in Treasury Bills, 38 percent in the state’s investment pool and 12 percent in Bank Certificates of Deposit according to Sears.

“Our principal is absolutely safe,” Sears said. “Unfortunately interest rates have fallen so much that our interest income has really taken a hit this year.”

She noted that in November of 2007 the state investment pool was paying 5.7% interest on county money. That has now fallen to less than six-tenths of one percent.

“We normally have both long and short-term investments,” Sears said, “But right now it makes no sense to commit to any new long-term deposits at these interest rates.”

The Auditor has estimated that plummeting interest rates will cost the county’s operating fund an estimated $330,000 in reduced interest income this year.