ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio — Athens County Treasurer Taylor Sappington announced Oct. 6 that he decided not to renew the county’s investment in Israel foreign government bonds, which was due on Oct. 1. At the same time, Sappington also decided not to renew $1 million in domestic government debt maturity.
The domestic government debt was a “.45% Freddie Mac Federal Home Loan agency instrument,” Sappington told the Independent.
Israel foreign government bonds are investments in the state of Israel’s treasury, which earn interest for the investors; such investments in Israel have raised objections from the Palestine solidarity movement, with activists concerned in part about the bonds’ support for the Israeli military.
In a press release, Palestine solidarity organizations Jewish Voice for Peace, SE Ohio; Students for Justice in Palestine; and Ohio University Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine praised Sappington’s decision on Israel government bonds.
“It’s great to see county treasurers across the state, including Taylor Sappington, making the morally and fiscally responsible choice of investing closer to home,” OU student and Students for Justice in Palestine member Eden Truax said in the press release.
Sappington told the Independent the choice not to renew the Israel bonds was purely apolitical.
“It has to be about what works for the community and what the mission is of basically my investment strategy,” Sappington told the Independent.
Sappington reinforced the apolitical nature of his decision in an email he sent to the Athens County Commissioners, which was shared with the Independent by representatives of Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine.
“It is important that I communicate to you directly that the decision was made without political considerations and focused solely on the yield offered to the taxpayer dollars we manage, the liquidity concerns of foreign government bonds (which are locked and cannot be redeemed for any reason), and the negative outlook/downgrade of the investment at hand,” Sappington wrote.
Athens County Commission Charlie Adkins told the Independent, “Based upon [Sappington’s’] presentation, it sounds like it was pretty risky, and I’m not one to put taxpayers money in something that is as risky as he thinks that is.”
Sappington said the process of determining not to renew the investment was shaped by conversations with local residents on both sides of the issue.
“I’m an elected official who’s been on the ballot in the county a number of times, and folks understood who I was and knew how to get a hold of me – and so I more than once had either interested individuals in the topic … reach out and express not just really strong feelings on the subject matter, but in some cases, asked for a chance to sit down and really talk to one of their representatives and and politicians, and just talk over the subject,” Sappington said.
Emails the Independent obtained through public records included one from the Development Corporation for Israel encouraging reinvestment in Israel bonds, as well as four from Athens County residents either encouraging Sappington not to reinvest in the bonds or praising his decision not to.
“I was really impressed with some of these folks’ knowledge in the finances of not just counties in Ohio, but the Israeli government, the rating agencies, the trends nationwide and how government entities were handling this type of investment in this moment,” Sappington added. “I saw it as not just an opportune moment to be close and do my job with my constituents, but also just a chance to learn.”
Sappington said his experience learning about the issue was “democracy in action.”
Several other counties in Ohio have decided not to renew investments in Israel bonds, according to the Ohio Divestment Coalition’s website. The Ohio Divestment Coalition is organizing to encourage divestment across Ohio counties because, “Investing in Israel Bonds directly funds a government under active international investigation, and which has been found guilty of committing genocide,” according to the coalition’s website.
“We have a long road ahead to redirect state treasury investments out of Israel bonds, but these county divestments are a great start to move the state toward investing in our communities,” Truax said in activists’ press release.
In a text message after his interview with the Independent, Sappington noted that he spent a summer in Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan in 2013, calling it “an important moment in my personal and professional growth.”
“I know with some personal experience the difficulty and pain so many folks that I met there expressed to me,” Sappington said in the text message. “All the more reason it’s important that Athens County trusts that my decisions are transparently based on the facts impacting their money they worked so hard to earn.”
Athens County still has $700,000 invested in Israel bonds, of which $200,000 will expire in 2027. The remainder matures in 2028, Sappington told the Independent.
Sappington said in his email to the commissioners that he is working to reinvest recently matured investments in Israel foreign government bonds and domestic government debt “as close to home as possible.”
Regarding the $1 million matured domestic investment, Sappington said that the funds were automatically returned to the county. He reinvested “$720,000 of those funds into a Federal Treasury at 3.375%, a much more attractive rate” than what the county had been getting, Sappington told the Independent in an email.
“The rest of the funds are being combined with the Foreign Government Bond for diversification somewhere closer to home if possible,” he added.
Currently, the funds awaiting reinvestment are sitting in a money market account, earning a “pretty competitive” 3.98% interest rate. Sappington said he does not want to leave the funds there, however, because “we are in a declining rate moment with the Fed and money markets are susceptible to rate changes.”
“It will serve the county to reach for as many medium-long term investments as is reasonable so that the interest rates earned are locked in before they drop further,” Sappington said in his email. “Of course, nobody can tell the future and the best thing we can do is diversify and protect these funds in a range of safe, strong buckets that earn a pretty return, no matter the external factors.”
Sappington said he hopes to reinvest money “locally in our bank, so that they could turn that money around into Athens County,” Sappington said.
He noted in his email to the commissioners, and conversation with the Independent, that he is looking at additional ways to redirect the county’s investments locally, beyond the bonds that recently matured.
Sappington said the decision to invest locally is not necessarily a personal value judgement or political decision, but rather a way to ensure Athens County’s investments support the community financially.
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