In a unanimous vote, Kent council has agreed to move financial services to Envision Financial.
They agreed to sign a five-year contract, ending the district's agreement with Prospera Credit Union at the end of this year. It's a decision that could mean almost $50,000 more per year for the district coffers.
A formal bid process began late August, said Judy Lewis, director of financial services for Kent. In addition to posting the contract, an invitation was sent to 10 financial institutions, including Prospera. Eight responded, and two of those were disqualified for being incomplete.
The six remaining institutions were evaluated by two separate officers based on three main criteria: experience, reputation and resources, technical, and financials.
"In the financial category, there were significant variations in the proposals, resulting in estimated net cash flows ranging from $66,400 per annum to $112,500 per annum," Lewis told council.
Envision ranked higher than all other applicants. It is expected they will earn about $46,000 more annually than Prospera Credit Union currently does.
Coun. Duane Post mentioned that "we're a one-bank town" so it was unfortunate that Prospera couldn't keep the contract.
Coun. Holger Schwichtenberg was absent from the meeting.
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