Officials grill treasurer about lost interest

CLOVIS — Curry County missed out on about $2,700 in interest earlier this year when it took a month to get excess funds moved into a savings account.

County commissioners on Feb. 6 grilled County Treasurer Debbie Spriggs for 30 minutes about the lost interest.

After the commission received its latest Investment and Financial Outlook presentation from Rob Burpo on Dec. 19, Spriggs was asked to invest $3 million, but the money wasn’t moved until mid-January, county officials said. County officials estimated the county was missing out on roughly $100 a day in interest.

County Commissioner Chet Spear said county funds could be invested into a short-term interest-bearing account at 1.8 percent interest as opposed to the 0.25 percent interest from a checking account.

While the county keeps excess funds housed in a checking account, it’s only required to keep $2.5 million in reserve for its bills and expenses. All other funds could be invested and if needed could easily be withdrawn within the span of 24 hours, county officials said.

Spriggs said that while the money may not have been making as much as it would have if it were invested, it was still earning interest in the checking account.