Fairfax County officials were looking to increase investment in the county when they asked auditors if the pension funds of county employees and police could be invested locally.
The short answer, they learned, is no.
The county, like many other public pension managers, hired outside investment advisers to make investment decisions and those advisers must have "full discretion" in choosing where they money goes.
"We know what percentage of their investments are coming back to Fairfax County, and it's a fraction of a fraction of a fraction," audit committee member Michael Hershman said.
The county's retirement administration agency reported that only about $17.3 million of the pension funds' $4.3 billion in assets were directly invested in businesses or properties in Fairfax County, the report said. And all of the county's investment managers are outside the county, with many of them located in New York or California.
Audit committee members said that while they would like to spur greater investment in the county, their plans to use the pension fund to do it hit a "brick wall."
"I think we're going too far as an audit committee," said Supervisor John Foust, D-Dranesville. "The investment managers want the best return. They're not interested in reinvesting in Fairfax County. Their responsibility is to the employees."
And Hershman, who voiced frustration about not being able to control how county employees' dollars are invested, also realized the pension funds' limits.
"I realize we have our hands tied because of the way it is structured," he said.
Supervisor Pat Herrity, R-Springfield, said the Board of Supervisors may look into the matter.
Pension funds are already on the board's radar as it considers how to close a $1.7 billion funding shortfall. The board in 2010 hired a consultant to study the problem and expects a report this fall.
