News | New Mexico State Treasurer's Office

Santa Fe – As the one-year anniversary of Governor Bill Richardson's appointment of Douglas Minge Brown as New Mexico State Treasurer approaches, the Treasurer is pleased to announce that significant progress has been made to restore controls and improve operations at the State Treasurer's Office.

Transparency and disclosure lead the list of practices that now typify the Office. All material transactions are open to public scrutiny. All decision-making meetings are open to public participation. The soon-to-be-released newly-revised web site will post a full display of all investment transactions and performance measures. All professional services contractors are now hired through the state’s procurement process.

As to oversight, the Treasurer’s Office now welcomes the participation of the State Board of Finance which is involved in all key decisions, such as investment policy approval, hiring of auditors, selection of consultants, and review of the portfolio.

Committed to controls in every aspect of the Treasurer's Office operations, particular attention is given to investment transactions, banking transactions, procurement, personnel processes, building security, and computer security.

In regard to the talent and skills of the staff, Treasurer Brown noted that "a year ago, there was one person aboard who had prior investment experience. Now there are four." Significant capability has also been added in accounting, banking, and human resources. This strengthening was accomplished despite a 12 percent staff reduction. The Office has a renewed commitment to training staff to develop skills at all levels of the organization. In addition, significant improvements were made in the quality of key providers. The Office has new independent auditors, new outside legal counsel, new bond and disclosure counsel, and a new general investment consultant.

The Office's efficiency has been greatly increased through the implementation of an electronic trading platform that provides optimal pricing in addition to commission savings of more than half of last year's rate; and, the new SHARE statewide accounting system should enable further efficiencies. Furthermore, the State Board of Finance authorized the Office to operate the Bond Proceeds Fund on a pooled basis that will both cut expenses and boost yield.

The Treasurer's Office is also focused on its outreach to New Mexico communities. One outreach avenue is the Local Government Investment Pool, available to eligible New Mexico public investing entities, and now brand-named New MexiGROW. "Since the beginning of the year, the yield on this fund has grown from 3.26 percent to the current yield of 5.18 percent, as of August 7, 2006. Now that yields are fully competitive with marketplace alternatives, the staff plans an ambitious schedule of public appearances to promote the fund’s utility to local governments and public entities," said Doug Brown. "Further enhancements to this service include a pending reduction of withdrawal notification time from 48 hours to 24 hours, and an anticipated high rating from Standard and Poor’s rating service." Additionally, the Treasurer's Office assists local non-profit agencies in their financial literacy efforts.

Timely and accurate reporting will be a hallmark of the Treasurer's Office. A new independent public accounting firm was selected to perform the fiscal year 2006 audit, and the Office's goal is to complete the audit by the December 15, 2006, deadline and reduce the number of audit findings from 14 to no more than three. Additionally, a new quarterly audit will be performed on all investment transactions to verify compliance with investment policies and procedures, providing transparency and timely disclosure of investments and financial transactions.

"The good news gets better with the fact that investment earnings are up to $97 million compared to $56 million a year ago," stated Treasurer Brown. "Even though it was a challenging year, it was also a successful year. The progress is due to the excellent efforts of a dedicated staff, as well as contributions from others throughout state government, most especially, support and resources from the Governor's Office and the Legislature."