Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Porter County chooses investor advisor for new foundation

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By JEFF SCHULTZ

Interviewing a total of six firms on Monday, the Porter County Council and two County Commissioners decided to hire Capital Cities LLC of Indianapolis as its investment advisor for the county government’s new community endowment foundation.

Voting in favor were Commissioners Jeff Good, R-Center, and Laura Shurr Blaney, D-South. Council members voting in favor were President Dan Whitten, D-at large, along with members Jim Biggs, R-1st, Jeremy Rivas, D-2nd, Karen Conover, R-3rd, and Robert Poparad, D-at large.

Dissenting were Council members Mike Jessen, R-4th, and Sylvia Graham, D-at large, who had spoken in favor of considering another firm, SEI Institutional Group.

Not in attendance at the joint meeting was Commissioner President John Evans, R-North.

Whitten told the Tribune that all six firms had excellent qualifications but what made Capital Cities stand out was their direct experience with the state’s Major Moves money when the proceeds from long term lease of the Indiana Toll Road were invested.

“That is very similar to what we’re doing,” he said.

Capital Cities’ service fees will be $65,000 annually.

Some firms offered packages to the County that would take a lot of work off the hands of elected officials, Whitten said, but the consensus was for the Council and the Commissioners to maintain a hands-on approach, at least at the beginning of the foundation. Capital Cities also showed more attention to helping clients like Porter County who are just starting out with this kind of investment, Whitten said.

Both the Council and the Commissioners will need to vote on an enabling ordinance to start a foundation, which is being drafted by the Council’s attorney Scott McClure. The Commissioners will take a vote at their next meeting on Sept. 1 and the Council may be ready to vote at its meeting on Thursday.

Good and Blaney advocated investing what is currently liquid of the $157 million from the Porter Memorial Hospital sale principal and set aside $10 million for now in case of an emergency. Any use of the hospital sale principal funds requires a 10-0 vote from both Council and the Commissioners.

McClure is now writing the ordinance to say $10 million will be left for emergencies and that any of the hospital sale proceeds currently tied up in other investments that become available at the end of this year will be diverted to the foundation investment.

 

 

Posted 8.25.2015

 
 
 
 

 

 

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