The underlying purposes of these procedures are:
A. To develop effective financial management within the Town;
B. To simplify, clarify, and modernize the financial systems of the
Town of Barnstable;
C. To permit continued development of financial management policies
and practices;
D. To provide for increased public confidence in the procedures followed
in public financial management;
E. To provide increased economy and financial performance and to maximize
to the fullest extent practicable the use of public funds of the Town
of Barnstable; and
F. To provide safeguards to ensure quality and integrity of the financial
systems.
This policy applies to every revenue source and expenditure
of public funds irrespective of their source, including federal and
state assistance monies.
This policy becomes effective on June 30, 1993.
The words defined in this section have the meanings set forth
below whenever they appear in this policy:
ADVANCE REFUNDING
The issuer of bonds may sell new bonds at lower rates to
replace a prior issue.
ARBITRAGE
Using existing debt proceeds and investing at a higher rate
so as to generate a profit.
BETTERMENT
A special and local imposition upon the property in the immediate
vicinity of municipal improvements, which is necessary to pay for
the improvement, and is laid with reference to the special benefit
which the property is supposed to have derived therefrom.
BOND ANTICIPATION NOTES (BANS)
Short-term interest-bearing notes issued by the Town in anticipation
of bonds to be issued at a later date. The notes are retired from
proceeds of the bond issue to which they are related.
BOND COUNSEL
An attorney retained by the Town to give a legal opinion
that the issuer is authorized to issue proposed bonds, has met all
legal requirements necessary for issuance, and that interest on the
bonds is, or is not, exempt from federal and state income taxation.
CALL PROVISIONS
Permitting the issuer of bonds to repurchase the bonds before
maturity at a predetermined price.
CAPITAL APPRECIATION BONDS (CAB)
Long-term securities on which the investment return is reinvested
at a state compound rate until maturity. The investor receives a single
payment at maturity representing both the principal and investment
return.
CAPITAL BUDGET
Outlays for equipment, for construction or for purchase of
land or a facility that provides services over an extended period
of time.
CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION
Documents, in fully registered form, that act like bonds.
However, security for the certificates is the government's intent
to make annual appropriations during the term of a lease agreement.
No pledge of full faith and credit of the government is made. Consequently,
the obligation of the government to make basic rental payments does
not constitute an indebtedness of the government.
DEBT SERVICE
The sum of all interest payments in a period plus the dollar
amount of any principal due that same period.
ENCUMBRANCE ACCOUNTING
Recording expenditures that intend to purchase a particular
object, even prior to incurring a definite liability.
EXCISE TAX
Those levied by local government on a wide variety of individual
products and services, but the major taxes are those on automobiles,
boats and the rental of hotel/motel rooms.
GAAP
Generally accepted account principles established by the
Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB).
GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS
Those whose payments are financed by all taxpayers and are
secured by the full faith, credit, and taxing power of the issuer.
OPERATING BUDGET
A financial document setting forth expenditures for personnel,
services, materials, supplies, contractual services, utilities, and
other resources necessary to provide public services for the fiscal
year.
PAR VALUE
The bond principal payable at maturity.
PROGRAM BUDGET
A format where government activities are organized in a series
of services and activities that have clearly defined goals and objectives.
PUT BOND
A bond in which the bondholder has the right to sell the
bond back to the issuer or a third party at a fixed price.
RATINGS
Evaluations of the credit quality of notes and bonds, usually
made by independent rating services, which generally measure the probability
of the timely repayment of principal and interest on municipal bonds.
REVENUE BONDS
Those whose payments are financed by the users of projects
which benefit a specific group.
SECURITIES
Those available for local government investment such as Treasury
securities, government agency securities, repurchase agreements, and
negotiable certificates of deposit.
SPREAD
The difference between the underwriter's bid on a bond issue
and the resale price; includes bid preparation expenses, selling commission,
underwriter's fee, management fee, and profit.
USER FEES/CHARGES
Prices charged for voluntarily purchased, publicly provided
services that benefit specific individuals or groups.
Financial information is public information to the extent provided in the Massachusetts General Statutes and Section
8-9, Open Meeting of the Voters, of the Town Charter and shall be available to the public as provided in these statutes and Charter.
These policies and procedures are based on the premise that
good accounting provides timely information as to when expenses will
exceed budget plans, when capital funds are diverted to operations,
when expenditures are outpacing revenues, and when the local government
is incurring financial obligations beyond its fiscal capacity.
A. Accounting standards. Standards for accounting are guided by GAAP
and are described by a subcommittee of the FASB as follows: Generally
accepted accounting principles are primarily conventional in nature.
They are the result of decisions; they represent the consensus at
any time as to how the financial accounting process should operate
and how financial statements should be prepared from the information
made available through the financial accounting process. Inasmuch
as generally accepted accounting principles embody a consensus, they
depend heavily on notions such as "general acceptance" and "substantial
authoritative support," which have not been and probably cannot be
precisely defined. There is concurrence, however, that the notions
of "general acceptance" and "substantial authoritative support" relate
to the propriety of practices, as viewed by informed, intelligent,
and experienced accountants in the light of the purposes and limitations
of financial accounting process.
B. Fund basis of accounting. The various types of funds for accounting
are as follows:
(1) General fund: for resources not devoted to specific activities and
finances many of the basic municipal functions;
(2) Special revenue funds: account for the receipts from revenue sources
that have been earmarked for specific activities;
(3) Special assessment fund: financing and construction of public improvements
that benefit a specific group of properties;
(4) Enterprise fund: business-type activities supported by user fees;
(5) Internal service funds: similar to enterprise funds, but the services
are rendered to other departments within the Town; and
(6) Trust and agency funds: assets held for others or nontax resources
under trust instructions.
C. Encumbrance accounting. This accounting technique shall be used with
the purpose of ensuring conformance with budget specifications.
(1) The steps for encumbrance accounting as part of the Town's purchase
order system are:
(a)
Submission of a purchase order by the requesting department;
all information must be completed by the requesting department.
(b)
Purchase order signed by the appropriate department manager.
(c)
Verification of funds availability by the Town Accountant's
office.
(d)
Entry of data into the accounting system by the Town Accountant's
office staff; funds are encumbered at this point.
(2) These first four steps open an account for future purchases; actual
purchases are made through requisitions from the requesting department
or invoices from vendors, which will draw down on the account opened
by the purchase order.
D. Financial reporting. This activity shall consist of three types:
(1) General purpose financial statements that provide an overview of
the financial position and the results of operations of all fund types
(Reporting format should be similar to that of budget and conducted
on a monthly basis.);
(2) Comprehensive annual financial reports that contain the general purpose
financial statements, an introductory section, management's discussion
and analysis, supporting statements, and a statistical section; and
(a)
Annual audit report as described in Subsection
D(2) above. It shall also contain the significant accounting policies of the Town summarized as "notes to financial statements," statistical information; current liabilities; and the arbitrage rebate amount due to the federal government.
(b)
Annual long-term debt report (ALTDR), which shall contain specific
details of all long-term debt of the Town, including refunding. The
ALTDR shall include, but not be limited to, a schedule of changes
in bonds, notes and loans payable; annual principal and interest payments
due until maturity; total debt outstanding by purpose; annual charter
bond limitations and issues; debt issue call provisions; and the legal
debt margin.
(c)
Annual fiscal indicators and financial forecast (See §
401-27B.), which should summarize the Town's financial condition by describing the necessary economic indicators, financial trends and credit ratios for the past 12 months. The information for this section should include, but not be limited to, assessed value of real property; ratio of net bonded debt to assessed value; net bonded debt per capita; bond coverage ratios current fund balance; ratio of annual debt service expenditures to general government expenditures; per capita income; population; revenue and expenditures trends; rapidity of principal repayment; and other financial and economic graphs and narrative.
(d)
The Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) as described in §
401-27F. The current version of the CIP should be included in the AFIR.
User fees and special assessment districts shall be designed
to relieve burdens on the general revenue system by extracting greater
contributions from service beneficiaries by resembling an enterprise
pricing system. User fees and special districts shall be based on
several principles which include:
A. Total costs. These costs include direct costs (personnel and benefits,
expenses) and indirect costs (general administration and facility
costs).
B. Comparability. Prices for services should be competitive and/or consistent
with the market for the particular service.
C. Consistency with community priorities. Prices for services should
reflect the priorities of the Town of Barnstable.
D. Conscientious subsidy policy. Subsidies should be established in
an overt manner and directed only to the targeted services or users.
E. Periodic review. A periodic review shall be conducted in order to
assess whether user fees are in line with adopted policy.