County Board combines monies into one local bank

In an effort to lower banking fees, Rock County Commissioners moved five checking accounts and two savings accounts to a single bank in action taken at their Aug. 4 meeting.
Last month the county sent out a proposal for professional services to local banks.
Proposals were received from Minnwest, Farmers & Merchants, and Exchange State banks, all in Luverne.
The board unanimously awarded the contract to Exchange State Bank. Its offer involved no service fees and an interest rate of 0.85 percent on checking and savings account balances.
Minnwest’s and Farmers & Merchants’ proposals involved varying fees for checks, deposits, wire and ACH transfers.
They offered 0.1 and 0.3 percent respectively in interest rates.
The county’s general checking account maintains a monthly balance of $5.8 million. The balance peaks at $11.5 million at the end of May through the end of June.
The county averages 335 checks/debits, 51 deposits, 1,056 deposited items and an average of 21 items per deposit.
The no-fee structure and 0.85 interest rate would also apply to the county’s rural water, library and corrections accounts. Also included is the Buffalo Ridge Regional Railroad account, which has limited activity.
The two savings accounts of the county and rural water have balances average around $898,000.
The change becomes effective Sept. 1.