The Delaware County Board of Commissioners has reached a partial settlement with County Treasurer Donald Rankey. In exchange for the Commissioners restoring Rankey as the County’s investing authority, Rankey will not purchase private-placement bonds for the duration of his term, which expires Aug. 31, 2025.
The settlement does not address the validity and enforceability of a Delaware County Investment Advisory Committee policy that has been at the crux of the conflict between the two offices. Rankey is a member of the IAC along with Commissioners Barb Lewis and Jeff Benton. On May 11, 2023, he voted with Lewis and Benton to approve an amendment to the IAC’s policies that requires unanimous approval by the IAC before any private-placement purchases of bonds can be completed.
On March 6, the Board of Commissioners filed a lawsuit in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, which sought to compel Rankey to abide by this policy. He had violated it three times in 2024 and the Commissioners followed a statutorily proscribed process for documenting these violations before they then sought legal remedies.