It is the policy of the Town of Barnstable that
trust fund management be consistent with the legal requirements, including
Town ordinances, and the spirit of each respective trust document
and, to the maximum extent possible, realize the purposes the trusts
were intended to achieve. Trust fund management will be conducted
with the primary objectives of:
A.
Conformance to each trust document's specified purpose,
legal requirements, and administrative guidelines;
B.
Adherence to Town of Barnstable general ordinance
providing for the administration of Town trusts;
C.
Preservation of capital;
D.
Maintenance of security of trust funds and investments;
E.
Maximization of total return for each trust fund;
F.
Efficient disbursement of funds on an equitable basis;
and
G.
Effective collection of all due monies.
These procedures provide the basic principles
for establishing and maintaining effective management of the Town's
trusts. The procedures are structured to facilitate protection of
capital, maximum yield, and efficient disbursement and collection
of funds in an effort to realize the terms set forth in the respective
trusts. The procedures supplement but do not supersede applicable
provisions of state or federal law, Town Charter or ordinances.
These procedures apply to all trust funds left for the benefit and/or administration of the Town of Barnstable by a trust document listed in Attachment A.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Attachment A is included at the end of this chapter.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The day-to-day operations exercised by the Trustee.
The day-to-day financial operations of the trust funds themselves.
The attainment of income possible by a financial instrument.
Upon authority granted by the Town Council,
the Town Manager shall serve as Trustee for all Town trusts unless
a trust document explicitly and exclusively assigns control to another
person or agency.
Subject to regulations of the Town, the Trustee
may delegate authority to designees or to any department, agency,
or official.
Trust fund information shall be of public record
to the extent provided in the Massachusetts General Laws and Ordinances
and shall be available to the public as provided in such statutes.
The Trust Fund Advisory Committee, in conjunction with the Trustee
and the Town Council Human Resource Committee, shall distribute information
to the public regarding each trust, the eligibility and procedures
to gain benefit from these trusts.
Except as it may be modified by law with respect to particular trusts, the standard of prudence used by the Town of Barnstable shall be the "prudent person standard” and shall be applied in the context of managing the trusts. The prudent person rule is restated below: In acquiring, investing, reinvesting, exchanging, retaining, selling and managing property of any trust heretofore or hereafter created, the Town of Barnstable will exercise the judgment and care under the circumstances then prevailing which persons of prudence, discretion and intelligence exercise in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income as well as the probable safety for their capital. Specific procedures describing the Town's prudence and ethical standards are found in Article II, Code of Ethics, of the Administrative Policies and Procedures.
Trust fund investment procedures are based upon MGL c. 44, § 54. It is the policy of the Town to secure investment services only from those institutions included on the Town's approved list of broker/dealers and banks. To be included on the approved list, financial institutions and brokers must meet the standards set forth in § 401-69, Selection criteria for banks and broker/dealers, in Article VII, Investment Procedures. Other requirements for banks and brokers/dealers are also found in Article VII, Investment Procedures. In addition, the Investment Procedures also provides guidelines for acceptable investments, safekeeping of securities, delivery versus payment, collateralization, portfolio diversification, letters of credit, and limiting interest rate risk. The Town Investment Procedures should also be referred to for:
Except where an individual instrument dictates
otherwise, it is Trustee policy to expend monies for each trust that
are only in surplus of inflation as measured by the most recent consumer
price index for Boston metropolitan area furnished by the U.S. Federal
Reserve Bank as of the end of the Town of Barnstable's fiscal year.
Funds within the inflation rate shall be reinvested as part of the
principal.
Trust income may be used to fund the activities
of social and human service agencies that direct their services to
the Town of Barnstable. Disbursement of funds should be on a competitive
basis and be consistent with the terms of the respective trust(s).
Trust fund administration of the Town of Barnstable
is managed according to the terms of the respective trust documents
and sound management principles. Trust fund management is formulated
by the Town Manager and evaluated by the Town Council in the same
manner as other financial and operating reports.
The office of the Town Manager will review trust
funds on a regular basis to analyze performance and variances from
policy.
Trust fund administration is a function of the
Trustee and shall include, and not be limited to, the following:
A.
Review and maintain terms of each trust;
B.
Establish principal amount for each trust;
C.
Secure investment instrument(s);
D.
Forecast available cash for future disbursement;
E.
Formulate strategies concerning operating/programmatic
needs;
F.
Establish fund distribution criteria;
G.
Make awards or disburse funds for award consistent
with expressed intent;
H.
Monitor performance against trust procedures;
I.
Collect all due monies and receipts; and
J.
Establish terms for nonpayment of due monies
The Trustee shall periodically distribute information to the public concerning the objectives and eligibility for various trust funds. This information shall be sent to, at least, Barnstable area human services organizations. Attachment B lists the area agencies which the Trustee will contact.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Attachment B is included at the end of this chapter.
It is the general rule that the Attorney General
of the commonwealth, in addition to the beneficiaries of the various
trusts, is the only party who has standing to enforce the respective
trusts.
Trust fund performance shall be continually
monitored and evaluated by the Trustee. Financial and programmatic
performance reports shall be generated as part of the Town's financial
and performance evaluation systems. The Trustee will produce summary
reports on an annual basis for the Town Council. These reporting requirements
apply to all Trustees and their relationship with the Town Council.
B.
Annual review of policy. An annual review will be
made of the trust funds by the Trustee.
C.
Changes to the trust fund policy. The Trust Advisory
Committee, after adoption of this policy, must be notified of any
revisions to the policy. The Trust Advisory Committee shall be apprised
of policy changes in the following areas:
