Agenda Packets - 2024/05/13 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Government -Wide Financial Statements — The government -wide financial statements are designed to provide readers with a broad overview of the City's finances, in a manner similar to a private sector business. The Statement of Net Position presents financial information on all of the City's assets, liabilities, and deferred inflows/outflows of resources, with the difference reported as net position. Over time, increases or decreases in net position may serve as a useful indicator of whether the financial position of the City is improving or deteriorating. The Statement of Activities presents information showing how the government's net position changed during the most recent fiscal year. All changes in net position are reported as soon as the underlying event giving rise to the change occurs, regardless of the timing of related cash flows. Thus, revenues and expenses are reported in this statement for some items that will only result in cash flows in future fiscal periods (e.g., uncollected taxes and earned, but unused, vacation leave). Both of the government -wide financial statements distinguish functions of the City that are principally supported by 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 of the City include general government, public safety, streets and highways, sanitation, culture and recreation, and economic development. The business -type activities of the City include water, sewer, storm water, and street light. The government -wide financial statements include only the City itself. The Economic Development Authority, although legally separate, functions for all practical purposes as a department of the City and, therefore, has been included as an integral part of the primary government. 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. All of the funds of the City can be divided into two categories: governmental funds and proprietary funds. Governmental Funds — Governmental funds are used to account for essentially the same functions reported as governmental activities in the government -wide financial statements. However, unlike the governmental -wide financial statements, governmental fund financial statements focus on the near -term inflows and outflows of spendable resources, as well as on 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. The governmental funds Balance Sheet and the governmental funds Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances provide a reconciliation to facilitate this comparison between governmental funds and governmental activities. INS