LEGAL LEVEL OF BUDGETARY CONTROL g.
h.
The budget shall be adopted at the legal level of budgetary control which is the fund/department level. This means expenditures may not exceed the total for any department within a fund without the County Board of Commissioner’s approval. In addition, the budgeted amount for salaries and benefits for each department may not be increased without the approval of the County Board of Commissioners. However, department heads shall have the authority to transfer appropriations within their department from one line item to another, (other than increasing salaries) subject to the approval of the County Administrator and/or the Finance Director. The Board may authorize a budget amendment for any fund by resolution at any time.
BUDGETARY REPORTING SYSTEM a.
b.
The County will maintain a budgetary control system to ensure adherence to the budget and will prepare timely, monthly financial reports comparing actual revenues, expenditures and encumbrances with budgeted amounts. These reports will be distributed to the County Board of Commissioners and department heads. Annually, the County will attempt to submit its adopted budget to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) to determine its eligibility to receive the GFOA’s “Award for Distinguished Budget Presentation.” The first budget will be submitted to GFOA for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013.
FUND EQUITY a. Any and all funds budgeted by the County shall not incur a negative fund equity/balance. b. The County will establish and maintain an unassigned/unrestricted balance for all funds, but specifically for the general fund and proprietary funds. These unassigned/unrestricted amounts can be used to pay expenditures/expenses caused by unforeseen emergencies; shortfalls caused by revenue declines; and to eliminate any short-term borrowing for cash flow purposes. c. Unassigned general fund balance will be funded each year as necessary at 1% of the current budget until fully funded. This balance will be considered fully funded at an amount which represents 25% of the current annual budget. d. To avoid the use of fund balance as a revenue source to balance a budget, the County may include a contingency line item to provide against unforeseen emergencies during the fiscal year. The total contingency amount in each budget will not exceed 5% or $250,000, whichever is less.
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