Treasurer presents CELIP; BOCC approves adding state investment pool as depository

Elbert County Treasurer and Public Trustee Sherry Hewlet introduced Ben Mendenhal of the Centennial State Liquid Investment Pool (CELIP) at the May 13 meeting and the board approved amending its organizational resolution to authorize CELIP as a county depository.

Mendenhal described CELIP as a statutory trust that provides local-government liquidity with daily withdrawals, an investment-adviser structure and an advertised AAA rating. He said the fund’s yield was approximately 3.7% at the time of presentation and that CELIP emphasizes conservative, short-term government and agency instruments. Treasurer Hewlet said CELIP would be an additional diversification option for county funds and staff will update the county's investment policy, which has not been revised since 2018.

The resolution also included a name change for an existing designated depository (Sigma renamed to Peaks Investment Management). The board approved the resolution by voice vote.

Treasurer Hewlet and staff said no fees from CELIP are expected to the county and that procedures for transfers and liquidity are in place; staff will bring any necessary investment-policy updates to a future meeting.