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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The City of Morgantown Finance Department has been given the formal go-ahead to move portions of funds saved in money market accounts to the West Virginia Board of Treasury Investments Consolidated Fund.
The Morgantown City Council passed a resolution in a 6-0 vote (Councilor Mark Downs was not in attendance) that will allow for the City Finance Department to move funds out of the City Financial Stabilization Fund Money Market Account, the Hazel Ruby McQuain Park Sinking Fund Money Market Account, and the City Capital Escrow Fund Money Market Account (approximately up to 75 percent of the account balance) into the WVBTI fund. City Finance Director Jonathan Furgison recommended the approval of the resolution after a presentation to the council during their regular meeting Tuesday.
“We’re not going to move everything all at once, we’re going to dip our toes into the water, and we’re basically going to move over a portion of what we have,” said Furgison. “Specifically, we’re going to be looking at three different pools of money.”
According to Furgison, approximately $19.4 million is currently spread across seven money market accounts within two financial institutions. The three accounts that will see transfers of funds over to the WVBTI Consolidated Fund have a combined investment of approximately $14.4 million, which receives an actual interest rate (APY) of approximately 2.716 percent as part of their investments with United Bank. With the rates originally at around 4 percent at the time of initial investment, Furgison noted the need for a change to avoid a continuing downward trend on interest earned.
“Across six different money market accounts that we have with United Bank, we are currently earning, and this is as of today, 2.472 percent interest,” said Furgison. “Roughly a year ago when we did begin opening these accounts, those interest rates were significantly higher.”
In the move to the WVBTI Consolidated Fund, data provided to the council and showcased as part of the general meeting packet highlighted interest rate returns at a value of approximately 4.370 percent. Using a sample of funds allocated to the City Capital Escrow Money Market Account with United Bank, Furgison showcased how any funds moved over to the WVBTI fund will have almost doubled in earnings in comparison to staying where they are. With the WVBTI fund supporting over $8 billion in municipal assets from across the Mountain State, the move is considered a safe and financially sound decision.
“There is no cost to having these funds, there is no sales charge, and there’s no account fees because this is with the West Virginia Board of Treasuries,” said Furgison. “This is a pooled account where other municipalities and state agencies are pooling their money together.”
For Furgison, the goal is to follow the earnings performance of the transferred funds from the three accounts over to the WVBTI Consolidated fund. No change was announced for the Morgantown Building Commission Money Market with Community Bank, which currently receives an interest rate of approximately 3.56 percent, with a promotional rate that expired in October 2025. The plan for the City of Morgantown Finance Department is to continue following the funds once they are moved to the new accounts and see how they perform before larger transfers take place.
“With the West Virginia Board of Treasury Investments, the following objectives here align with the city’s core financial values,” said Furgison. “Which includes safety of principal, liquidity, and accessibility, it also has a very competitive yield performance.”