DRAFT RESOLUTION OF THE MENDOCINO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AUTHORIZING AMENDMENTS TO THE INVESTMENT POLICY SO AS TO UPHOLD INTERNATIONAL LAW, PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS, AND REDUCE CLIMATE CHANGE
WHEREAS, The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors’ mission is “to create and maintain a responsive and responsible government that enhances the quality of life of the people of Mendocino County… to deliver services that meet: public safety, health, social, cultural, education, transportation, economic, and environmental needs of our communities;”
WHEREAS, the County Board of Supervisors has created an investment policy that directs the County Treasurer to address certain of the public’s key concerns and in the section titled “Social and Environmental Concerns” it is stated that “Investments are discouraged in entities that receive a significant portion of their revenues from the manufacture of fossil fuels, tobacco products, firearms, or weapons not used in our national defense;”
WHEREAS, the people of Mendocino are in agreement with this statement, they believe that investments made with their taxpayer dollars should promote the well-being of the people and the planet, advancing human rights, dignity, and agency for all–without contributing further to anthropogenic climate change; this resolution will more closely align the county’s investment policy with these values by strengthening its language and by setting in motion a process of disclosure and exclusion of investments in companies that do not abide by these standards;
WHEREAS, the international financial system has for decades been criticized for the inverse relationship of market returns to overall human and environmental well-being, and many of the largest entities in the market have aided, abetted, and profited enormously from war, human rights violations, and extractive industrial activity directly implicated in climate change;
WHEREAS, despite County-level governments not having the power to change the structure or character of the international financial markets, it is within their ability to exclude investments that are destructive to global welfare;
WHEREAS, it is also within the power of county governments to identify local and regional financial entities that would benefit from their support, a move which by its very definition would boost local economies;
WHEREAS, it follows that a realignment of the County of Mendocino’s investment portfolio to more closely comply with its own investment policy would likely have numerous benefits, injecting millions of dollars into the regional economy and at the same time honoring the values and principles held by the County’s residents and taxpayers,
WHEREAS, Mendocino County’s Consolidated investment portfolio was valued as of April 30, 2024 at $595,841,686.36 and it would not be feasible for the County to remove all out-of-compliance investments from its portfolio, the three companies listed below are so egregious in their violations of the County’s investment policy that they should be entirely excluded:
Royal Bank of Canada: Mendocino County holds $6,570,000 of RBC, which is out of compliance because of support of the fossil fuel industry and international sales for military applications,
Bank of America: Mendocino holds $4,600,000 of Bank of America, which is out of compliance because of investments in the fossil fuel industry and international sales for military applications;
Caterpillar Inc: Mendocino County holds $3,430,000 of Caterpillar, a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer which is out of compliance because of its international sales for military applications.
WHEREAS, these three holdings total $14,600,000, approximately 2.5% of Mendocino Consolidated’s portfolio;
WHEREAS, independent fund investment research found sustainable funds had a median return of 12.6% versus 8.6% for traditional funds across equity and fixed-income funds asset classes in 2023 (for more source material, click here);
BE IT RESOLVED, that the County of Mendocino will direct the County Treasurer to create an accounting of current holdings in securities, funds, notes, or other financial instruments that violate the current and amended investment policy;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County Treasurer is asked to remove Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of America, and Caterpillar from its portfolio and exclude any future investments in these three entities and that the funds will be either directed towards improving energy efficiency in county facilities, or reinvested with these criteria foremost:
- Compliance with the amended investment policy;
- Local or regional basing;
- Long-term economic stability;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that on page 13 of the County’s Investment Policy the following sentence: “Investments are discouraged in entities that receive a significant portion of their revenues from the manufacture of fossil fuels, tobacco products, firearms, or weapons and technologies not used in our national defense” will be amended to read: “Investments are prohibited in entities that receive a significant portion of their revenues from the manufacturer of fossil fuels, tobacco products, firearms, weapons not used in our national defense, or in operations which contribute directly to climate change” [italics represent amendments];
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that, considering that government transparency, accessibility, and accountability are essential hallmarks of democracy, the Treasurer of the County of Mendocino will commit to a quarterly disclosure to the public, including a summary of investment activity, with clarification from the County Treasurer and/or the Assets Manager in regards to transactions of concern and to the continued holding of assets that have been identified as being out of compliance;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution was created to strengthen implementation of the County of Mendocino’s already commendable investment policy.