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21-1559 Fund Balance Policy RESOLUTION NO. 21-1559 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LONGWOOD, FLORIDA, ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF LONGWOOD FUND BALANCE POLICY PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, CONFLICTS,AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the Governmental Accounting Standards issued Statement No. 54, Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions, in order to clarify the meaning of fund balance on financial statement; and WHEREAS, the City desires to establish a Fund Balance Policy consistent with the Government Accounting Standard Board Statement No. 54; and WHEREAS, such a policy has been prepared and copy thereof is attached as Exhibit "A" NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LONGWOOD, FLORIDA, as follows: SECTION 1. The City Commission of the City of Longwood hereby adopts the Fund Balance Policy, attached hereto as "Exhibit A", and directs the City Manager to implement said policy. SECTION 2. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Resolution, or application hereof, is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court or competent jurisdiction, such portion or application shall be deemed a separate, distinct, and independent provision and such holdings shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion thereof to the extent practicable. SECTION 3. Conflicts. To the extend this Resolution or any provision thereof conflict with any previously enacted Resolution of the City of Longwood, then this Resolution shall control only to the extent any such conflict(s) exists. SECTION 4. Effective Date. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. ADOPTED this 3rd day of May 2021, by the City Commission of the City of Longwood, Florida. CITY OF LONGWOOD, FLORIDA Richard Drummond, Mayor Resolution No.21-1559 Page 1 of 2 ATTE T c ell o go, C , FC M, City Clerk Approved as to form and legality for the use and reliance by the City of Longwood, only. Daniel W. Langle At6r Resolution No.21-1559 Page 2 of 2 Exhibit "A" COMMISSION POLICY CITY OF LONGWOOD SUBJECT: FUND BALANCE POLICY POLICY EFFECTIVE NUMBER DATE PAGE P-205 May 3, 2021 1 of 5 ADOPTED BY: Resolution No. 21-1559 DATED: May 3, 2021 AMENDED BY: REVISES POLICY: N/A BACKGROUND: In accordance with sound financial planning principles and recommended best practices of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), local governments should adopt a policy regarding adequate levels of fund balance and reserves. It is essential for local governments to maintain sufficient levels of fund balance and reserves to mitigate current and future risks such as revenue shortfalls, natural disasters, unanticipated expenditures, and to ensure stable tax rates. The GFOA recommends that governments adopt a formal fund balance policy that defines the appropriate level of fund balance reserves to mitigate risks and provide for revenue shortfalls. The recommended minimum reserve is no less than two months of regular General Fund operating revenues or regular General Fund operating expenditures. Furthermore, a government's particular situation often may require a level of unrestricted fund balance in the General Fund significantly in excess of this recommended minimum level. This fund balance policy has been developed within the framework outlined above. PURPOSE: The City hereby establishes and will maintain reservations of Fund Balance, as defined herein, in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) No. 54, Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions. Fund Balance shall be composed of non-spendable, restricted, committed, assigned, unassigned, and unrestricted amounts. By maintaining sufficient fund balances and reserves,the City will be well positioned to do the following: • Provide financial security and ensure continued delivery of City services • Promote stable tax rates, charges, and fees • Protect the City's creditworthiness • Offset significant economic downturns or revenue shortfalls • Provide funds for unforeseen expenditures related to emergencies • Consider long-term financial planning needs P-205—Fund Balance Policy Resolution No.21-1559 Page 2 of 5 DEFINITIONS Fund Balance The difference between assets and liabilities in a governmental fund. Non-Spendable Fund Balance Amounts that are not in spendable form (such as inventory, prepaid items) or amounts that are required to be maintain intact. Restricted Fund Balance Amounts that can be spent only for specific purposes stipulated by external resource providers such as creditors, grantors, contributors, or laws and regulations of other governments, or imposed by law through constitutional provisions of enabling legislation. Committed Fund Balance Amounts that can only be used for specific purposes pursuant to constraints imposed by formal resolutions or ordinances of the City Commission, the City's highest level of decision-making authority. Committed amounts cannot be used for any other purpose unless the City Commission removes or changes the specified use by taking the same action that imposed the commitment. This classification also includes contractual obligations to the extent that existing resources in the fund have been specifically committed for use in satisfying the obligations. Assigned Fund Balance Amounts intended to be used by the government for specific purposes. Intent can be expressed by the governing body or by an official to which the governing body delegates the authority. In governmental funds other than the General Fund, assigned fund balance represents the amount that is not restricted or committed.This indicates that resources in other governmental funds are, at a minimum, intended to be used for the purpose of that fund. Unassigned Fund Balance The residual classification representing fund balance that has not been restricted, committed, or assigned and is available for general purposes. Unrestricted Fund Balance The total of committed fund balance,assigned fund balance, and unassigned fund balance,which include only resources without a constraint on spending or for which the constraint on spending is imposed by the City. It is also referred to as Spendable Fund Balance. POLICY: This policy establishes the procedures for reporting,within the annual financial statements,fund balance within the City's governmental funds: General Fund, Special Revenue Funds, and Capital Projects Funds. P-205—Fund Balance Policy Resolution No.21-1559 Page 3 of 5 GENERAL FUND The General Fund is used to account and report all financial resources that are not required to be reflected in another fund. It is the goal of the City of Longwood to maintain unrestricted fund balance in the General Fund between 20%and 25%of General Fund operational expenditures measured on a GAAP basis. This target is inclusive of any committed, unassigned or assigned amounts. The minimum unrestricted fund balance target for the General Fund is 17% of general fund operating expenditures. This is equivalent to the total amount needed to cover two months of operations as recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association. The City requires unrestricted fund balance of no less than 17%. If unrestricted fund balance falls below 17% due to unforeseen revenue fluctuations, unanticipated expenditures, or any similar circumstances, the City Manager will immediately develop a restoration plan, implemented through the annual budgetary process, to bring the balance to the minimum target level of 17% over a period of no more than three (3) years. The plan may include one-time or recurring expenditure reductions, budget surpluses, transfers from other funding sources, etc. The plan of replenishment should not extend beyond a three-year planning horizon as recommended by GFOA. Fund Balance reserves should generally not be used to cover recurring expenses. Excess fund balance reserves can be used to cover one-time expenditures or carried forward for use in future years. Under certain circumstances,there may be a temporary need to use unassigned fund balance to meet a need(s) that requires utilization of reserves resulting in noncompliance with minimum funding levels identified in this policy. Examples of these circumstances may include, but are not limited to the following: • Unanticipated revenue shortfalls due to unforeseen circumstances including a significant and prolonged downward trend in an economic cycle • A natural disaster of significance • New Federal and State mandates/legislation • Immediate capital needs If such a need is addressed as part of the City annual budget process,the City Manager will communicate the need to the Commission at a special or regular meeting to receive approval prior to use of the funds. As previously defined, unrestricted fund balance is the total of the committed fund balance,the assigned fund balance, and the unassigned fund balance. Commitment of fund balance may be made from time- to-time by resolution of the City Commission. Commitments may be changed or lifted only by the City Commission taking the same action that imposed the constraint originally (resolution). The use (appropriation) of committed fund balances will be considered in conjunction with the annual budget adoption process or by budget amendment approved by resolution of the City Commission during the fiscal year. P-205—Fund Balance Policy Resolution No.21-1559 Page 4 of 5 a. Economic Stabilization Reserve: The City will commit an amount equal to five (5) percent of general fund expenditures for an Economic Stabilization Reserve. This reserve will protect the City from adverse financial impacts in the event of unexpected economic events. The Economic Stabilization Reserve would only be used in extraordinary or unforeseen circumstances and with the majority vote of the City Commission. SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS Special Revenue Funds are used to account for and report proceeds of specific revenue sources that are restricted or committed to expenditures for specific purposes other than debt service or capital projects. The term "proceeds for specific revenue sources" establishes that one or more restricted or committed revenues should be the foundation for a specific revenue fund. No specific reservation of Fund Balance is created by virtue or enactment of this policy. The amount of any reservation of Fund Balance shall be governed by the legal authority underlying the creation of the individual funds. CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND The Capital Projects Fund are used to account for and report financial resource that are restricted, committed, or assigned to expenditure for capital outlays, including the acquisition or construction of capital facilities and other capital assets. These projects may extend beyond a fiscal year. No specific reserve requirement is established for the Capital Projects Fund. However, at a minimum,the fiscal year end Fund Balance and estimated revenues for the ensuing fiscal year must be sufficient to meet all outstanding fund encumbrances. SPENDING ORDER OF FUND BALANCES The City establishes the policy to spend restricted amounts first when both restricted and unrestricted fund balance is available unless there are legal documents/contracts that prohibit doing this, such as in grant agreements requiring dollar for dollar spending. Additionally, the City would first use committed fund balance, followed by assigned fund balance and then unassigned fund balance when expenditures are incurred for purposes for which amounts in any of the spendable fund balance classifications could be used. AUTHORIZATION OF ENDING FUND BALANCE GASB 54 allows the City Commission authority to "assign" ending fund balances or bestow this authority to a city officer or designee. To provide the City with the most flexibility in financial reporting, the City Manager has the authority to assign resources and ending fund balances if applicable, with a report to Commission during the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report presentation. APPROPRIATION OF UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCE The actual amount of unrestricted fund balance (total of committed fund balance, assigned fund balance and unassigned fund balance) is not known until the completion of the annual audit which takes place P-205—Fund Balance Policy Resolution No.21-1559 Page 5 of 5 between four to six months after the end of the fiscal year being audited. However, an estimate of unrestricted fund balance (also called estimated beginning fund balance) must be made during the annual budget adoption process (July through September) which is prior to the end of the fiscal year, September 30th ESTIMATED BEGINNING FUND BALANCE In order to achieve the most accurate estimate possible, the City Manager or Finance Director shall project both Sources of Funds (revenues, prior years unrestricted fund balances carried forward and other financing resources) and Uses of Funds (operating and non-operating expenditures), including accruals, for each department in each governmental fund through September 30th of the then current fiscal year. These projections will be shown in a separate column entitled "Estimates"for each fund in the proposed and final budget documents. The difference between the estimated actual sources of funds and estimated actual uses of funds is the calculated estimated beginning fund balance for the subsequent fiscal year. If planned for use in the subsequent fiscal year, committed and assigned fund balances may be included in the estimated beginning fund balance. ESTIMATED ENDING FUND BALANCE For the year being budgeted, a calculation of estimated ending fund balance shall also be made. This calculation shall be the difference between the budgeted sources of funds and the budgeted uses of funds as described above. REVIEW AND REVISION OF FUND BALANCE POLICY Compliance with the provisions of this policy shall be reviewed by the Financial Services Director as part of the annual budget process at which time an update on the financial health of the city will be provided. At least every five years, City Commission will reaffirm or revise the Fund Balance Policy, including reserve categories and established targets. EFFECTIVE DATE This policy shall take effect immediately upon adoption and will be applied beginning with the preparation of the City's September 30, 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and adoption of the City's Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Budget.