(a) This written investment policy shall apply to all financial assets, including but not limited to, the active and inactive moneys of the Village of Hicksville, Ohio.
(b) The following deposit/investment objectives will apply in the management of the funds of the Village of Hicksville, Ohio:
(1) The primary investment objective is preservation of principal. To meet this objective, portfolio diversification will be established and maintained with a goal of generating portfolio income that exceeds any losses in individual security values. It is recognized that occasional losses are inevitable and such possibility will be considered in evaluating diversification decisions and investment strategy;
(2) Maintain sufficient liquidity to meet the fiscal operating requirements of the Village of Hicksville;
(3) Income maximization is the third investment objective. To accomplish this objective, the investment portfolio will be managed with the expectation of reasonable income within acceptable risk parameters. Moderate principal volatility will be permitted in order to attain a fair market yield. Fair market yield is defined as the average annual return of the three-month U.S. Treasury Bill;
(4) The investment management decisions and activity will comply with all Federal and State laws;
(5) Investments shall be made with exercise of that degree of judgment and care, under circumstances then prevailing, which persons of prudence, discretion, and intelligence, exercise in the management of their own affairs, not for speculations but for investment, considering the probable safety of their capital as well as the probable income to be derived.
(c) There is hereby established an Investment Advisory Committee which shall consist of the Finance Committee and the Fiscal Officer. The Chairman shall be the Chairman of the Finance Committee. The Committee shall establish written investment policies and shall meet at the call of the Chairman, but at least once every year.
(d) The Investing Authority for the Village of Hicksville, Ohio shall be the Fiscal Officer of the Village of Hicksville, Ohio.
(e) The Investing Authority may deposit and/or invest the following instruments, as detailed in Ohio R.C. 135.14 and 135.18, as summarized and restricted below:
(1) Bonds, notes, or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, the United States, or those for which the faith of the United States is pledged for the payments of principal and interest thereon;
(2) Bonds, notes, debentures, or other obligations or securities issued by any Federal government agency, including, but not limited to, Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (FHLMC), Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB), Federal Farm Credit Bank (FFCB), Student Loan Marketing Assn. (SLMA), and other agencies or instrumentalities of the United States;
(3) Time certificates of deposit or savings or deposit accounts, including, but not limited to, passbook accounts, in eligible institutions mentioned in Ohio R.C. 135.32 having an office located within the territorial limits of Defiance County, Ohio.
(4) Bonds or other obligations of this State, its political subdivisions, or other units or agencies of this State or its political subdivisions;
(5) Written repurchase agreements, pursuant to Ohio R.C. 135.14(E);
(6) The State Treasurer's investment pool(s), pursuant to Ohio R.C. 135.45;
(7) Deposits with a public depository described in Ohio R.C. 135.03 that are later invested in certificates of deposit with one or more fully federally insured banks, savings banks, or savings and loan associations, wherever located pursuant to the requirements of Ohio R.C. 135.144; or
(8) Deposits with a public depository described in Ohio R.C. 135.03 that are later redeposited into deposit accounts in one or more federally insured banks, savings banks, or savings and loan associations that are located in the United States pursuant to the requirements of Ohio R.C. 135.145.
(f) To the extent possible, the Village Investing Authority will attempt to match the investments with the anticipated fiscal operating requirements of the Village of Hicksville, Ohio. Once cash flow requirements have been satisfied, maturity date and security selection will be determined based on a prudent investment process. No unmatched investment will have a maturity date more than five years from the settlement date.
(g) It will be the policy of the Village of Hicksville to diversify its investments to eliminate the risk of loss resulting from an over concentration of Village funds in a specific maturity, a specific issuer, or a specific class of securities.
(h) Collateral may be required as established in the Ohio R.C. 135.18 and 135.181 as it relates to the Village of Hicksville, Ohio.
(i) The Village Council shall meet every two years for the purpose of designating its public depositories in accordance with Ohio R.C. 135.02.
Any eligible institution described in Ohio R.C. 135.32 that has an office located within the territorial limits of the Village of Hicksville is eligible to become a public depository of the active moneys of the Village of Hicksville.
(j) All investments shall be bid competitively and to the extent, practical and permitted by this investment policy, will be placed with those financial institutions offering the highest and safest yield for the purchase or sale of investments authorized by subsection (e) hereof.
Competitive rate bids for investments may be taken via telephone but a report will be maintained of each investment bid by the Investing Authority.
(k) Any securities, certificates of deposit, deposit accounts, or any other documents evidencing deposits or investments made under authority of this section shall be issued in the name of the Village of Hicksville with the Treasurer and Investing Authority as the designated payee. If any such deposits or investments are registerable either as to principal or interest, or both, they shall be registered in the name of the Fiscal Officer.
The Investing Authority shall be responsible for the safekeeping of all documents evidencing a deposit or investment acquired under this section including, but not limited to, safekeeping receipts evidencing securities deposited with a qualified trustee, as provided in Ohio R.C. 135.14, and documents confirming the purchase of securities under a repurchase agreement and deposited with a qualified trustee, provided, however that is the participating institution is a designated depository of the Village of Hicksville for the current period of designation, the securities that are the subject of the repurchase agreement may be delivered to the Fiscal Officer or held in trust by the participating institution on behalf of the Investing Authority.
(l) The Investing Authority of the Village of Hicksville shall submit quarterly to the Village Investment Advisory Committee a report detailing the total of all investments during the previous quarter including definitive descriptions of the securities, yield at cost, maturities, income, and the distribution of the income for the previous quarter and the names of the financial institution or broker/dealers that the investments were placed with. The report should also include the average-weighted yield and average-weighted maturity of the portfolio.
The Investing Authority shall recommend to the Village Investment Advisory Committee the investment strategy for the next ensuing six months.
(m) The Investing Authority shall distribute a copy of the investment policy and any revisions or updated versions to each of the public depositories and the eligible and accepted broker and/or dealers desiring to do business with the Village of Hicksville.
It shall be the responsibility of the designated officer of public depository and broker/dealer to certify to the Investing Authority that they have reviewed this investment policy and agrees to disclose any potential conflicts or risk to the public funds that could arise out of financial transactions between the public depository(s) or broker/dealer firms and the Village of Hicksville.
(n) The Investment Advisory Committee shall meet at least once every year at the call of its Chairman to review or revise its policies. Any amendments or revisions to this policy may only be made upon the advice and consent of the Committee.
(Res. 95-13. Passed 11-20-95; Res. 2005-16. Passed 10-3-05; Res. 2013-17. Passed 12-2-13.)