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Major projects or initiatives that were completed during fiscal year 2017 are listed below: • GoLine Bus Transfer Hub - GoLine is the Indian River County public transportation system with bus service on 14 fixed routes throughout the County. The main hub facility was completed at a cost of $1.9 million. • Shooting Range Skeet & Trap Facility Improvements - The $1.7 million improvements at the Indian River County Shooting Range consisted of national competition skeet and trap fields, hi/low trap houses, and a 15 station sporting clays course. • Sheriffs Helicopter Hangar & Helipad - The Sheriff Department's on-site helicopter hangar building and helipad was constructed at a cost of $2.3 million. • Sebastian Corners Retail Center - The 2.35 acre property located on US Highway 1 in Sebastian was purchased for $2.7 million to relocate the North County offices of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, Utilities Department and Veteran's Services. Relevant Financial Policies In accordance with Section 218.415, Florida Statutes, the County adopted an investment policy, which guides the investment of County surplus funds. This policy establishes investment objectives, maturity and liquidity requirements, portfolio composition, risk and diversification requirements, and authorized investments. The primary objectives of investment activities are to preserve capital and maintain sufficient liquidity to meet anticipated cash flow needs. The secondary objective is to obtain competitive returns on the investment of County surplus funds. On September 23, 2008, the County established the OPEB (Other Postemployment Benefits) Trust. An OPEB investment policy was approved by the Board of County Commissioners in February 2009. The objective was to establish an advisory committee and to provide short-term and long-term investment guidelines. This policy also outlines the same criteria as noted in the County's investment policy, as well as including performance measures. The County's policy is to fund the annual OPEB obligation monthly. The County's goal is to maintain an overall fund balance equal to 30% of the annual budget in all of its taxing funds, which provides a three month cushion for operating expenses. The three month reserve is necessary due to the timing of property tax levies in the State of Florida. Although the fiscal year begins in October, property tax monies are not typically received until mid to late December, which would require the County to operate in a deficit position for the first two months of the fiscal year without this reserve. Reserve funds are needed in order to allow the County to respond to events without facing serious financial burdens. County policy is to maintain fund balance levels and prohibit the use of fund balance to fund recurring expenditures. Information on the County's fund balance policy can be found in County Note 16. During fiscal year 2017, the County implemented Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 74, Financial Reporting for Postemployment Benefit Plans Other than Pension Plans. The objective of this Statement is to improve the usefulness of information about postemployment benefits other than pensions (other postemployment benefits or OPEB) included in the general purpose external financial reports of state and local governmental OPEB plans for making decisions and assessing accountability. u