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• North County Office at Sebastian Corners Renovations — Improvements and renovations to the existing commercial plaza known as Sebastian Corners are being done for the relocation of the North County offices at a cost of $1.8 million which is funded by the Optional Sales Tax Fund. • Countywide Meter Replacement Program - Indian River County Department of Utility Services is currently working on a countywide meter replacement program to replace over 32,000 manual read meters, many of which are over 20 years old. Aging manual read meters which require a meter reader to physically drive to every meter location to obtain a visual read are being replaced with an Automated Meter Reading (AMR) solution. With AMR, a meter read is obtained by driving by a location and automatically receiving the meter read via a hand held meter reading device, tablet or laptop computer. Major projects or initiatives that were completed during fiscal year 2018 are listed below: • Fire Station #14 — The $2 6 million facility on 26th Street was opened to accommodate new growth and development in the County. • Administration Buildings Roof Replacements- The roof replacements of County Administration Buildings A & B were completed at a cost of $1.8 million. • Vero Lake Estates Sidewalks — The 87th Street and 91st Avenue sidewalk and drainage improvements were constructed totaling $1.2 million. • County Road 512 Resurfacing - The $3.5 million project consisted of dual resurfacing of the westbound lanes from Roseland Road to US Highway 1 and the eastbound lanes from Easy Street to US Highway 1. 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 v