06-24-2019 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF LITTLE CANADA, MINNESOTA MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2018 (15) Both of the government-wide financial statements distinguish functions of the City that are principally supported by property taxes and intergovernmental revenues (governmental activities) from other functions that are intended to recover all or a significant portion of their costs through user fees and charges (business-type activities). The governmental activities include general government, public safety, public works, and community services. The business-type activities of the City include enterprises for water operating and sewer operating. Fund Financial Statements – A fund is a grouping of related accounts that is used to maintain control over resources that have been segregated for specific activities or objectives. The City, like other state and local governments, uses fund accounting to ensure and demonstrate compliance with finance related legal requirements. The funds of the City are divided into three categories - governmental funds, proprietary funds, and fiduciary funds. Governmental Funds – Governmental funds are used to account for essentially the same functions as governmental activities in the government-wide financial statements. However unlike the government- wide financial statements, governmental fund financial statements focus on near-term inflows and outflows of spendable resources, as well as the balances of spendable resources available at the end of the fiscal year. Such information may be useful in evaluating a government’s near-term financing requirements. Because the focus of governmental funds is narrower than that of the government-wide financial statements, it is useful to compare the information presented for governmental funds with similar information presented for governmental activities in the government-wide financial statements. By doing so, readers may better understand the long-term impact of the government’s near-term, financing decisions. Both the governmental funds balance sheet and the statement of revenues, expenditures, and changes in fund balances provide a reconciliation to facilitate the comparison between governmental funds and governmental activities. The fund financial statements present information for each major governmental fund in separate columns. Data from the nonmajor governmental funds are combined into a single, aggregated presentation. Individual fund data for each of these nonmajor governmental funds is provided in the form of combining statements elsewhere in this report. The City adopts an annual appropriated budget for its General Fund, special revenue funds, and proprietary funds. Budget-to-actual comparisons for the General Fund and all special revenue funds are provided in this financial report. Proprietary Funds – The City maintains one type of proprietary fund. Enterprise funds are used to report the same functions presented as business-type activities in the government-wide financial statements. The City uses enterprise funds to account for its water and sewer. Proprietary funds provide the same type of information as the government-wide financial statements, only in more detail. The proprietary fund financial statements provide separate information for each of the enterprise funds which are considered to be major funds of the City. Fiduciary Funds – Fiduciary funds are used to account for resources held for the benefit of parties outside the City. Fiduciary funds are not reflected in the government-wide financial statements because the resources of those funds are not available to support the City’s own programs. The accounting used for fiduciary funds is much like that used for proprietary funds.