Not all Ohio counties follow obscure state law on reporting how they invest taxpayer money

Some of Ohio's 88 county treasurers are not complying with state law by failing to report their investment balances earned on public tax money to the Ohio Treasurer.

That means that residents looking to see how their tax dollars are being invested or how their county's results compare to others would be left out.

A review by The Dispatch during Sunshine Week of Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague's website portal shows that several treasurers in central Ohio are breaking state law. One treasurer said he didn't know the law existed. And an expert in First Amendment and media law thinks the law should be enforced.

The documents are supposed to provide monthly updates on county investment portfolios that may include treasury bills, bonds, municipal notes, bank certificates of deposit and — the most popular tool — State Treasury Asset Reserve of Ohio accounts — high-grade, short-term securities with safe, penalty-free liquidity.

And how public money is invested in those instruments varies widely among counties.

Since 2011, the Ohio Treasurer's office is required by law to collect the monthly reports, its website stating "we pride ourselves in being trusted stewards of the state’s treasury, wise investors in Ohio’s future, and bold innovators committed to improving lives across the Buckeye State."

But The Dispatch's review of several Greater Columbus counties indicates sporadic compliance, at best.

Fairfield County has monthly entries over the past three years, but they stop in September. Delaware County's end in July. Franklin, Licking and Union counties have none during the same period.

Roy Van Atta, Licking County's first-term treasurer who prior to that was the county's deputy auditor since 2012, was unaware of the law that requires Ohio counties to provide a copy of their monthly county investment advisory committee reports to the Ohio Treasurer's office.

Despite attending numerous seminars and training sessions, he said "That's not something that's really been covered. There's so much of these little reports we have to do."

Sunshine on open government clouded by noncompliance

Sunshine Week, coinciding annually in mid-March with the birthday of President James Madison, is a national observation of the importance of public records and open government.

And advocates say that lapses such as those in Ohio, especially with tools intended to promote access and transparency, are troubling.

"It's certainly counter to what appears to be the intent — to make the information widely available," said attorney Jack Greiner, who specializes in media and First Amendment law and represents The Dispatch and other news organizations.

Brittany Halpin, spokeswoman for the Ohio Treasurer's office, conceded the quality of the reports, and even their existence, is the responsibility of the county treasurers who create and provide them.

"There's not an enforcement mechanism here," she said.

A similar resource promoting transparency is Ohio Checkbook, created in 2014, and updated several times since. It currently includes real-time state financial and transactional data and local government data such as employee salaries. However, compliance is voluntary.

The state law requiring submission of investment reports, however, is required.

Enforcement remedy suggested

Greiner thinks a lawmaker could change that simply with legislation.

"What someone needs to do is go to the state Legislature and say, 'Let's get some sort of enforcement in the law.'"

Janie Harris, a first-term treasurer in Hocking County, said she's submitted her reports every month. But none appear for 2022 or for the first two months of 2023. She said she finds the data from those counties that comply with the law helpful, even though the reports are not standardized and vary widely among counties.

"I was just curious to see where other counties were investing and how much they were investing," she said. "I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to."

County treasurers are not required to have financial backgrounds or experience. And many hire professional investment brokers to handle their funds.

Others do it themselves.

Andrew Smarra, Union County treasurer, considers his job to be "county banker" and "chief investment officer." A former corporate controller for several multinational corporations, according to his website, he's also a CPA and has a securities license. His office oversees an average portfolio of $65 million and recently earned about 4% in investment income.

Yet his reports are not on the state's website either, he said, because of technical problems uploading them.

"Every time we tried, it wouldn't accept an upload," he said. "Eventually, we said, 'Well, it must not be important to them (state treasurer). So, we stopped trying.

"We have better things to do than to work with the state system when they obviously don't care," Smarra said.

dnarciso@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio law requiring counties to report investments not being enforced