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Long -Term Financial Plan <br />Page Seven <br />l—. <br />Staff has prepared a replacement schedule for all <br />City vehicles and equipment. The City has <br />established a fund into which monies will be placed <br />annually for replacement of vehicles and equipment. <br />The purpose of thie fund is to ensure that necessary <br />funds be on hand for timely replacement of vehicles <br />and equipment and to avoid large unplanned expendi- <br />tures or "budget busters" which would place a strain <br />on the City'; finances. <br />One of the goals of the Department the past few years <br />has been to maintain and/or improve the City's bond <br />rating. The goal has been accomplished. in January <br />of 1988 tha City received a rating of A from Moodys <br />Investors Service for a Tax Increment Financing <br />issue. The City's financial advisors stated that <br />this was the best rating that could be obtained by a <br />City of our size. The rating committee of Moodys <br />felt that the City had sound financial management. <br />They were impressed with the City's financial <br />planning and the fact that designations for cash flow <br />and emergencies had been established. The City's <br />bond rating was maintained at an A rating when that <br />rating was assigned to a Tax Increment Financing Bond <br />Issue in February of 1989. <br />The Finance Department has the goal of substantially <br />improving the City's Comprehensive Annual Financial <br />Report. To achieve this goal several objectives have <br />been established. These objectives are outlined in <br />the following paragraphs. <br />The first objective is the implementation of a fixed <br />asset accounting system. Such a system will enable <br />the City to properly inventory and account for its <br />investment in equipment, vehicles, and buildings and <br />structures. In 1988 Staff inventoried existing <br />items. After the inventory was completed it was <br />entered onto the fixed asset accounting system. <br />A second objective is to obtain a Certificate of <br />Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for <br />the City from the Government Finance Officers <br />Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA). <br />This Certificate is given to those governmental units <br />whose financial reports are prepared in accordance <br />with generally accepted accounting principles as <br />promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards <br />Board. In 1987 only 969 Certificates were awarded to <br />governmental units in the United States and Canada. <br />Of these, approximately 50 were awarded to <br />governmental units in Minnesota. In order to receive <br />this Certificate the fixed asset accounting system <br />described in the preceding paragraph was implemented <br />and various statistical tables, listing ten years of <br />