AGENDA DATE: 11/1/2017
TITLE:
Title
Financial Management Policies - Fund Balance/Reserves
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Approval of Revisions to Fund Balance/Reserves Section of the County's Financial Management Policies
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Walker, Letteri, Kamptner, Burrell, Allshouse, L.
PRESENTER (S): Lori Allshouse and Betty Burrell
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Douglas C. Walker
BACKGROUND: According to the Government Financial Officers Association (GFOA) guidelines and the County's Financial Advisors, financial policies should be reviewed periodically to ensure they are current and effective. The County's Financial Policies were initially adopted by the Board of Supervisors on October 5, 1994, with amendments approved by the Board on October 11, 2000, August 1, 2012, March 13, 2013, and September 6, 2017.
On September 6, the Board approved all of staff's recommended amendments to the County's Financial Management Policies except those in the Fund Balance or Reserve Policies section.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Mission: To enhance the well-being and quality of life for all citizens through the provision of the highest level of public service consistent with the prudent use of public funds.
DISCUSSION: On September 6, 2017, the Board directed staff to bring back further information regarding the recommendation to establish a more formalized Budget Stabilization Reserve. This work was to formalize a practice that has been followed for many years in which staff identifies and holds a separate reserve as part of the unassigned fund balance based on an assumption of volatility risks in a given fiscal year.
After discussing the conceptual elements of the Budget Stabilization Reserve on September 6, noting the value of codifying a current practice in policy, and hearing from Albemarle County Schools Chief Operating Officer Dean Tisdadt, the Board reached a consensus that the County's Financial Policies should include t...
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