[Ord. No. 2812 §1, 10-1-2002]
All powers of the City are vested in an elective Board of Aldermen
which enacts legislation, adopts budgets, determines policies, and
appoints the City Administrator. The City Administrator is the Chief
Assistant to the Mayor, is the Chief Administrative Officer of the
City and is responsible to the Board of Aldermen, for the proper administration
of all the City's affair. The City Administrator keeps the Board of
Aldermen advised of the financial condition of the City and makes
recommendations concerning its future needs. The fiscal year of the
City begins on the first (1st) day of October and ends on the last
day of September each year. The fiscal year constitutes the budget
and accounting year.
[Ord. No. 2812 §2, 10-1-2002]
A.
The
Revenue Policy shall be as follows:
1.
The City will endeavor to maintain a diversified and stable revenue
base to minimize the effects of economic fluctuations as well as eliminate
an over dependence on any single revenue source.
2.
The City will project and update revenues annually. These revenue
forecasts will be presented to the City Board of Aldermen prior to
the beginning of the budget process.
3.
Departments submit their revenue estimates for the current year and
projected revenue for the next year to the City Administrator.
4.
Revenue trends are to be examined monthly and incorporated into annual
revenue forecasts.
5.
Revenue sources are not utilized by the City while legal action is
pending.
6.
Monthly reports comparing actual to budgeted revenues will be prepared
by the City Clerk and presented to the City Administrator.
7.
Cash investments of the City shall be undertaken in a manner that
seeks to ensure the preservation of capital in the portfolio.
8.
User fees and rates will be examined annually and adjusted as necessary
to cover the costs of providing the services.
9.
The City will follow a policy of collecting, on a timely basis, all
fees, charges, taxes, and other revenues properly due the City. The
City will follow an aggressive policy of collecting all delinquencies
due the City.
[Ord. No. 2812 §3, 10-1-2002]
A.
Between
one hundred twenty (120) and one hundred eighty (180) days prior to
the adoption of the budget, the City Administrator shall prepare and
submit to the Board of Aldermen a statement of the policy recommendations
for programs and priorities which, in the opinion of the City Administrator,
will be of benefit to the City.
B.
The
City Administrator shall submit a budget to the Board of Aldermen
at least sixty (60) days prior to the beginning of each budget year.
C.
Expenditures
proposed in the budget for each department, office or agency shall
be itemized by major and minor object, department/function, and fund.
D.
The
City Board of Aldermen shall hold public hearings on the budget as
submitted, at which all interested persons shall be given and opportunity
to be heard.
E.
The
budget shall be on record in the City Clerk's office and open to public
inspection. In addition, a copy of the budget is available for view
at the Scenic Regional Library Sullivan Branch. The budget shall also
be available for viewing and/or printing on the City's website.
[Ord. No. 3709 §2, 10-20-2015]
F.
After
adoption of the budget, the budget can be amended via ordinance or
resolution by the Board to increase expenditures or revenues. When
the Board approves the ordinance or resolution, additional appropriations
are made in the appropriate department.
G.
At
the request of the City Administrator and within the last six (6)
months of the fiscal year, the Board may, by resolution, transfer
andy unencumbered appropriation balance or portion thereof from one
(1) department or agency to another.
H.
All
appropriations shall lapse at the end of the budget year to the extent
that they shall not have been expended or lawfully encumbered.
[Ord. No. 2812 §4, 10-1-2002]
A.
The
City shall develop a multi-year program for capital improvements and
update it annually.
B.
The
City will identify the estimated costs and potential funding sources
for each capital improvement project proposal before it is submitted
to the Board of Aldermen for approval.
C.
The
capital improvement program will be included in the Annual Budget.
The Annual Budget will implement the first (1st) year of the capital
improvement program.
[Ord. No. 2812 §5, 10-1-2002]
A.
The
following fixed asset policy shall be in force commencing with fiscal
year 2003. This policy is consistent with Government Financial Officers
Association (GFOA) Recommended Practices and should be reviewed periodically
and compared to recommended practices of the GFOA or other nationally
recognized government finance organization. For purposes of GFOA or
other nationally recognized government finance organization. For purposes
of establishing an appropriate capitalization threshold for fixed
assets the following guidelines shall apply:
1.
Fixed assets should be capitalized only if they have an estimated
life of more than one (1) year following the date of acquisition and
have a purchase cost of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) or more.
Items which cost less than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) or have
a life of one (1) year or less will be expensed upon acquisition.
2.
Purchase cost of a fixed asset includes freight, installation charges,
carrying cases, adapters and other items which are connected to the
fixed asset and necessary for its operation or use.
3.
Fixed assets' capitalization threshold should be applied to individual
fixed assets rather than to groups of fixed assets.
4.
Departments will notify the Deputy City Clerk of any change in location
or loss of a fixed asset.
5.
Departments should exercise control over their non-capitalized fixed
assets by establishing and maintaining adequate control procedures
at the department level.
[Ord. No. 2812 §6, 10-1-2002]
A.
The
Accounting Policy shall be as follows:
1.
An independent financial audit shall be made of all accounts of the
City Government at least annually and more frequently if deemed necessary
by the Board of Aldermen.
2.
The General Fund, Special Revenue, Debt Service, General Capital
Projects, and Expendable Trust Funds will be accounted for under the
modified accrual basis of accounting.
3.
Enterprise Funds, Internal Service Funds, and Non-Expendable Trust
Funds will be accounted for under the accrual basis of accounting.
4.
Full disclosure will be provided in the financial statements and
bond representations.
5.
The Annual Financial Report will be prepared in accordance with revised
GASB standards.
[Ord. No. 2812 §8, 10-1-2002]
A.
The
Debt Policy shall be as follows:
1.
The City may issue general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, special
obligation bonds, and short-term notes and leases.
2.
The City may issue refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding,
extending or unifying the whole or any part of its valid outstanding
revenue bonds.
3.
The City will limit long-term debt to only those capital projects
that cannot be financed from current revenue or other available sources.
4.
When the City finances capital projects by issuing bonds, it will
repay the bonds within a period not to exceed the expected useful
life of the projects.
5.
The City's policy shall be to manage its budget and financial affairs
in such a way so as to ensure continued high bond ratings.
6.
No bonds shall be issued without the assent of the requisite number
of qualified electors of the City voting thereon.
[Ord. No. 2812 §9, 10-1-2002]
A.
The
City will calculate an unreserved, undesignated fund balance equal
to twenty percent (20%) of expenditures for the adopted budget. These
funds will be used to avoid cash flow interruptions, generate interest
income, reduce need for short-term borrowing and assist in maintaining
what is considered an investment grade bond rating capacity.
B.
Self
Insurance Reserves shall be maintained at a level to protect the City
against incurred and reported losses as well as those incurred but
not reported and future losses within the retention.
[Ord. No. 2812 §10, 10-1-2002]
A contingency reserve account will be appropriated annually
in the General Fund to provide for unanticipated expenditures of a
nonrecurring nature and/or to meet unexpected increases in costs.
[Ord. No. 2812 §11, 10-1-2002]
A.
Enterprise
funds will be used to account for the acquisition, operation, and
maintenance of City facilities and services which are intended to
be entirely or predominately self-supporting from user charges or
for which periodic net income measurement is desirable.
B.
The
Water & Sewer, Electric, and Solid Waste Departments will pay
into the General Fund of the City annually an amount substantially
equivalent to that sum which would be paid in taxes if the water,
sewer, solid waste, and electric light works were privately owned
at five percent (5%) of the gross receipts for charges and services.
(Revenue Accounts 3305, 3440, 3443, 3446, 3447, 3449, 3450, 3460,
3463, 3728, 3730, 3765, 3795, 3796)
[Ord. No. 2812 §12, 10-1-2002]
A.
Internal
Service Funds will be used to account for the provision for goods
and services by one (1) department of the City to the other departments.
B.
Internal
Service Funds are to be self-supporting from user charges to the respective
user departments.
C.
Internal
Service Funds are to only recover the complete cost of operations
without producing any significant amount of profit in excess of the
fund's requirements.
D.
Sullivan
Municipal Utilities incurs administration and City engineering costs
that are shared between governmental and enterprise funds. These costs
are to be reimbursed by the other funds to the General Fund form which
they are expended. The breakdown is as follows:
