By William Cherry – March, 2024
Both are famous sayings that you have heard many times over the years. Both have also proven over time to be absolutely correct. But did you know that both of these truisms also directly apply to you as a county official?
Information, in the form of accurate intelligence and reliable data, has always been of critical importance to any organization’s strength and advancement. From the earliest prehistoric scouting expeditions to determine a military opponent’s strengths and weaknesses to today’s vast satellite-based technological advances in information gathering, well-timed, unbiased, and accurate data has proven to be the most essential key to success.
Over the past 20 years or so, county governments have been asked to take on more and more responsibilities and provide a level of public services that were once unimaginable. Counties that were at one time responsible for basic services such as Sheriff’s law enforcement, road maintenance, and preserving public records, are now also responsible for a multitude of additional, wide-ranging, and highly complex public services. Managing a county government is now more complicated than ever, which means that accurate, dependable data – and embracing the most reliable new tools – are now more important than ever.
One other thing that every county government all across the U.S.A. has in common is cash. And as we know, “cash is king.” Every county has cash sitting on deposit in its many bank accounts. The amount can vary from less than one million dollars to more than one billion dollars, and every one of those dollars has a true worth that significantly exceeds its face value. In March of 2024, that “true worth” adds approximately 5.5% to 6.0% to the face value. So, for a county that has $10 million on deposit, the true worth can add another $550,000 to $600,000 in cold, hard, spendable cash to that total.
How can we best tap into that significant pool of additional cash and use it for county projects and priorities? By combining “Cash is King” with “Information is Power.” Accurate, reliable, unbiased data that analyzes overall liquidity levels, future cash-flow forecasts, impartial interest-rate comparisons, and the fees being charged by banks, can give your finance office and county decision-makers the critical information they need to maximize the value of every dollar on deposit. In today’s complex world, where counties have more needs than resources, just letting cash sit idly on deposit and accepting whatever the bank is paying in interest should no longer be an option.
NACo and the NACo Edge program search out and select service providers that help county governments increase their revenues, reduce expenses, and provide public services in the most cost-effective ways possible. three+one® is honored to have been selected by NACo and NACo Edge because we are the nation’s leader in providing public entities with precise, unbiased, accurate data on their cash and liquidity, covering all their banking relationships and every single bank account.
“Information is Power’” and “Cash is King” are two time-tested axioms that can be paired together to help your county government be more efficient and generate higher revenues. NACo understands that, and so does three+one.
The author served for 24 years as a County Treasurer responsible for analyzing and managing public funds. He now serves as the Director of Public Partnerships for three+one and can be reached by phone at 585-484-0311, ext. 709 or by email at wec@threeplusone.us or through the company website at www.threeplusone.us