City of Little Rock Financial Policies

Operating Management
Capital Management
Debt Management
Reserves
Cash Management and Investments
Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting
Debt Compliance Policy (PDF Document)

OPERATING MANAGEMENT

All City Departments will share in the responsibility of meeting policy goals and ensuring long-term financial health. Future service plans and program initiatives will be developed to reflect current policy directives, projected resources and future service requirements. When appropriate, sunset provisions will be incorporated into service plans.
The budget process is intended to weigh all competing requests for City resources. Requests for new, on-going programs made outside the budget process will be discouraged.
Addition of personnel will only be requested to meet program initiatives and policy directives, after service needs have been thoroughly examined and it is substantiated that additional staffing will result in increased revenue or enhanced operating efficiencies. To the extent feasible, personnel cost reductions will be achieved through attrition.
Current expenditures will be funded by current revenues. A diversified and stable revenue system will be developed to protect programs from short-term fluctuations in any single revenue source.
No revenues will be dedicated for specific purposes, unless required by law or Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP). All non-restricted revenues will be deposited in the General Fund and appropriated by the budget process.
User fees and charges will be examined annually to ensure they recover all direct and indirect costs of service. If the user fees and charges required to meet full cost recovery would be excessively burdensome on citizens receiving service, the Little Rock City Board of Directors may approve a lower user fee or charge. The City will consider market rates and charges levied by other public and private organizations for similar services in establishing rate and fee structures. Rate adjustments for Waste Disposal will be based on five (5)-year financial plans.
Grant funding should be considered to leverage City funds. Inconsistent and /or fluctuating Grants & Trusts should not be used to fund on-going programs. Programs financed with grant moneys will be budgeted in separate cost centers, and the service program will be adjusted to reflect the level of available funding. In the event of reduced grant funding, City resources will be substituted only after all program priorities and alternatives are considered during the budget process.
All grants and other Federal and State funds shall be managed to comply with the laws, regulations, and guidance of the grantor, and all gift and donations shall be managed and expended according to the wishes and instructions of the donor.
Fleet replacement will be accomplished through the use of a "rental" rate structure. The rates will be revised annually to ensure that charges to operating departments are sufficient for operation and replacement of vehicles.
Balanced revenue and expenditure forecasts will be prepared to examine the City's ability to absorb operating costs due to changes in the economy, service demands, and capital improvements. The forecast will encompass five (5) years and will be updated annually.
Comparison of service delivery will be made to ensure that quality services are provided to our citizens at the most competitive and economical cost. Departments will identity all activities that can be provided by another source and review alternatives to current service delivery. The review of service delivery alternatives will be performed continually. During the annual budget process, funding for Outside Agencies, FUTURE-Little Rock, and special projects will be evaluated.
To attract and retain employees necessary for providing high quality services, the City shall establish and maintain a very competitive compensation and benefit package with the public and private sectors.
The City will follow an aggressive and professional policy of collecting revenues.
In each Annual Budget, the City may authorize a transfer from one fund to another for one or more special projects. Expenditures from the special project shall be consistent with the purpose of the special project. Unspent appropriations for special projects shall carry forward into the next fiscal year. Unspent special project appropriations remaining on June 30th in the next fiscal year shall be returned to the fund of origin unless the City Manager authorizes a special project to continue.
The City will strive to maintain fair and equitable relationships with its contractors and suppliers.

CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

A Five (5)-Year Capital Improvement Plan will be developed biannually and updated annually, including anticipated funding sources. Capital improvement projects are defined as infrastructure or equipment purchases or construction that results in a capitalized asset costing more than $5,000 and having a useful life (depreciable life) of two (2) years or more.
The capital improvement plan will include, in addition to current operating maintenance expenditures, an adequate level of funding for maintenance and replacement to ensure that all capital facilities and equipment are properly maintained.
Proposed capital projects will be reviewed by a cross-departmental team for accurate costing (design, capital, and operating), congruence with City objectives and prioritized by a set of deterministic criteria. Financing sources will be sought for the highest-ranking projects.
Capital improvement operating budget impacts will be coordinated with the development of the annual operating budget. Future operating, maintenance, and replacements costs will be forecast as part of the City's five (5)-year financial forecast.
The City will provide for a minimum of 5% of internal, pay-as-you-go financing for its Capital Improvement Program. Funding may come from fund balance reserves or any other acceptable means of funding.

DEBT MANAGEMENT

The City will seek to maintain and, if possible, improve its current bond rating in order to minimize borrowing costs and preserve access to credit. The City will encourage and maintain good relations with financial bond rating agencies and will follow a policy of full and open disclosure.
Every future bond issue proposal will be accompanied by an analysis showing how the new issue combined with current debt impacts the City's debt capacity and conformance with City debt policies.
The City will attempt to develop a coordinated communication process with all other overlapping jurisdictions with which it shares a common tax base concerning collective plans for future debt issues.
Financing shall not exceed the useful life of the asset being acquired.
The City will not use long-term debt to finance current operations.
The general policy of the City is to establish debt repayment schedules that use level annual principal and interest payments.
The general policy of the City is to fund capital projects (infrastructure) with new, dedicated streams of revenue or voter approved debt. Nonvoter approved debt may be utilized when a dedicated revenue source other than general revenue can be identified to pay debt service expenses.
Interest earnings on bond proceeds will be limited to: 1) funding the improvements specified in the authorizing bond ordinance; or 2) payment of debt service on the bonds.
Utility rates will be set to ensure debt service coverage exceeds the bond indenture requirement of 125%.
The City shall comply with the Internal Revenue Code Section 148 - Arbitrage Regulation for all tax-exempt debt issued. An annual estimate of arbitrage liabilities shall be obtained by the City and recorded on the financial statements.
The City shall use a competitive bidding process in the sale of debt unless the use of a negotiated process is warranted due to market timing requirements (refunding), or a unique pledge or debt structure. The City will award competitively issued debt on a true interest cost (TIC) basis.
Proceeds from debt will be used in accordance with the purpose of the debt issue. Funds remaining after the project is completed will be used in accordance with the provisions stated in the bond ordinance that authorized the issuance of the debt.

RESERVES

All fund designations and reserves will be evaluated annually for long-term adequacy and use requirements in conjunction with development of the City's Five (5)-Year Financial Plan.
The General Fund goal is to set aside $10,000,000, or 10%, of General Fund revenues, whichever is greater, into a restricted reserve fund on or before December 31, 2005. Thereafter, the restricted reserve shall be maintained at the greater of $10,000,000, or 10%, of General Fund revenues.
Each annual operating budget will include a contingency appropriation in the General Fund sufficient to provide for unforeseen needs of an emergency nature for that year. The desired level of the contingency appropriation each year shall be based on the average of the three (3) prior years' experience levels but no less than .5% of General Fund revenue for the current fiscal year.
The Waste Disposal fund will maintain an unrestricted retained earnings reserve of no less than 15% of current year revenues.
Fleet Management reserves will be maintained based upon lifecycle replacement plans to ensure adequate fund balance required for systematic replacement of fleet vehicles. Operating departments will be charged for fleet operating costs per vehicle class and replacement costs spread over the useful life of the vehicles.
Self-insurance reserves will be maintained at a level that, together with purchased insurance policies, will adequately indemnify the City's property and liability risk. A qualified actuarial firm shall be retained on an annual basis in order to recommend appropriate funding levels.
A Facility Maintenance Reserve will be maintained based upon lifecycle replacement plans to ensure adequate funding for infrastructure repair and operating equipment replacement (HVAC, roofing, etc.).

CASH MANAGEMENT AND INVESTMENTS

Cash and Investment programs will be maintained in accordance with the City Charter and the adopted investment policy and will ensure that proper controls and safeguards are maintained. City funds will be managed in a prudent and diligent manner with an emphasis on safety of principal, liquidity, and financial return on principal, in that order.
The City will maintain written guidelines on cash handling, accounting, segregation of duties, and other financial matters.
The City will conduct periodic reviews of its internal controls and cash handling procedures.
The City will annually identify and develop an Internal Audit Work Plan.

ACCOUNTING, AUDITING AND FINANCIAL REPORTING

The City's accounting and financial reporting systems will be maintained in conformance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and the standards set by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).
An independent public accounting firm will perform an annual audit. The auditor's opinion will be included with the City's published Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).
The City's CAFR will be submitted to the GFOA Certification of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program. The financial report should be in conformity with GAAP, demonstrate compliance with finance related legal and contractual provisions, provide full disclosure of all financial activities and related matters, and minimize ambiguities and potentials for misleading inference.
The City's Budget will be submitted to the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Program. The budget should satisfy criteria as a financial and programmatic policy document, as a comprehensive financial plan, as an operations guide for all organizational units and as a communications device for all significant budgetary issues, trends and resources.
Financial systems will be maintained to monitor revenues, expenditures, and program performance on an ongoing basis.
Monthly and Quarterly Reports shall be prepared and presented to the Little Rock City Board of Directors on a timely basis.