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Fort Walton Beach — Comprehensive Financial Report September 30, 2017 — reading text
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properly included among
program revenues are reported instead as general revenues.
Separate fund financial statements are provided for the governmental and proprietary funds. Major
individual governmental funds and major enterprise funds are reported as separate columns in the
fund financial statements. Separate fund financial statements for the fiduciary funds are disclosed
within Note 8 of these financial statements.
Measurement Focus and Basis of Accounting
The government-wide financial statements are reported using the economic resources measurement
focus and the accrual basis of accounting, as are the proprietary fund and fiduciary fund financial
statements. Revenues are recorded when earned and expenses are recorded when a liability is
incurred, regardless of the timing of related cash flows. Pension plans recognize revenue when
contributions are due as there is a statutory requirement to make the contribution. Property taxes are
recorded as revenues in the year for which they are levied. Grants and similar items are recognized
as revenue as soon as all eligibility requirements imposed by the provider have been met.
31
CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
SEPTEMBER 30, 2017
1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY –
CONTINUED
Measurement Focus and Basis of Accounting – Continued
Governmental fund financial statements are reported using the current financial resources
measurement focus and the modified accrual basis of accounting. Revenues are recognized as soon
as they are both measurable and available. Revenues are considered to be available when they are
collectible within the current period or soon enough thereafter to pay liabilities of the current period.
For this purpose, the City considers revenues to be available if they are collected within six months
of the end of the current fiscal period, except for property taxes, for which the period is 60 days.
Expenditures generally are recorded when a liability is incurred, as under accrual accounting.
However, debt service expenditures, as well as expenditures related to compensated absences and
claims and judgments, are recorded only when payment is due.
Franchise fees, licenses, and interest associated with the current fiscal period are all considered to
be susceptible to accrual and so have been recognized as revenues of the current fiscal period. Only
the portion of special assessments and other receivables within the current fiscal period are
considered to be susceptible to accrual as revenue of the current period. Sales taxes, gasoline taxes,
and other intergovernmental revenues collected and held by the state at year-end on behalf of the
City, are also recognized as revenue. All other revenue items are considered to be measurable and
available only when cash is received by the government.
The Okaloosa County Tax Collector bills and collects property taxes for the City in accordance with
the laws of the State of Florida. Property taxes attach as an enforceable lien on property as of the
date of assessment and remain in effect until discharge by payment. Taxes are payable when levied
(on November 1, or as soon thereafter as the assessment roll becomes available to the Tax
Collector).
The following is the current property tax calendar:
Lien Date January 1, 2017
Levy Date November 1, 2017
Due Date November 1, 2017
Delinquent Date April 1, 2018
Discounts of 1% for each month taxes are paid prior to March 2018 are granted.
Revenue recognition criteria for property taxes under GASB requires that property taxes expected to
be collected within 60 days of the current period be accrued. No accrual has been made for 2017 ad
valorem taxes because property taxes are not legally due until subsequent to the end of the fiscal
year. Current year taxes, which are uncollected as of the end of the fiscal year, are generally
immaterial in amount and highly susceptible to uncollectibility and, therefore, are not recorded as a
receivable on the balance sheet date.
32
CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
SEPTEMBER 30, 2017
1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY –
CONTINUED
Basis of Presentation
The financial transactions of the City are recorded in individual funds. Each fund is a separate
accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash and other financial resources,
together with all related liabilities and residual equities or balances, and changes therein, which are
segregated for the purpose of carrying on specific activities or attaining certain objectives in
accordance with special regulations, restrictions or limitations. As a general rule, the effect of interfund
activity has been eliminated from the government-wide financial statements. Exceptions to this
general rule are other charges between the government's utility function and various other functions
of the government. Elimination of these charges would distort the direct costs and program revenues
reported for the various functions concerned.
Amounts reported as program revenues include 1) charges to customers or applicants for goods,
services, or privileges provided, 2) operating grants and contributions, and 3) capital grants and
contributions, including special assessments. Internally dedicated resources are reported as general
revenues rather than as program revenues. Likewise, general revenues include all taxes. Any portion
of franchise fees that is not based on gross receipts are reported as a charge for service in the function
or activity that generates the fee. During fiscal year 2017, franchise fees were all based on gross
receipts and thus recorded as general revenues.
Proprietary funds distinguish operating revenues and expenses from non-operating items. Operating
revenues and expenses generally result from providing services and producing and delivering goods
in connection with a proprietary fund's principal ongoing operations. The principal operating revenues
of the City's enterprise funds are charges to customers for sales and services. The City considers all
impact fee revenue as capital contributions for the water and sewer system; therefore, no amount
from the impact fees are included in operating revenue. Operating expenses for enterprise funds
include the cost of sales and service, administrative expenses, and depreciation on capital assets.
All revenues and expenses not meeting this definition are reported as non-operating revenues and
expenses.
The following three broad classifications are used to categorize the fund types used by the City:
Governmental
Governmental funds focus on the determination of financial position and changes in financial position
(sources, uses, and balances of financial resources) and not net income. The City has the following
major governmental funds:
General Fund – This is the City's primary operating fund and is used to account for all financial
resources except those required to be accounted for in another fund.
Community Redevelopment Agency Fund – The Community Redevelopment Agency Fund is the
operating fund of the Fort Walton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (the "Agency"). It is
used to account for the activities of the Agency. Revenue sources for this fund include tax increment
financing proceeds from ad valorem taxes as well as investment income.
33
CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
SEPTEMBER 30, 2017
1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY –
CONTINUED
Basis of Presentation – Continued
Proprietary
Proprietary funds focus on the determination of net income, changes in net position, financial position,
and cash flows. All of the City's proprietary funds are enterprise funds, as fees are charged to external
users for services. The following is a description of the major proprietary funds of the City:
Utilities Fund – Used to account for the operations of the City, which provides distribution of potable
water, sales and service and sanitary wastewater collection, treatment and disposal.
Sanitation Fund – Accounts for the operation of the City that provides for solid waste collection and
disposal.
Stormwater Fund – Used to account for the revenues and expenses associated with operating the
City’s stormwater utility system.
Fiduciary
Fiduciary funds are used to account for the assets held on behalf of outside parties, including other
governments, or on behalf of other funds within the City. The City has the following type of fiduciary
fund:
Pension Trust Funds – Used to report the resources that are required to be held in trust for the
members and beneficiaries of the three defined benefit pension plans administered by the City:
General Employees' Retirement Fund, Police Officers' Retirement Fund, and Firefighters' Retirement
Fund.
Assets, Liabilities, Deferred Inflows/Outflows of Resources, and Net Position or Equity
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The City defines cash and cash equivalents as cash held at a depository and cash on hand for
operating purposes and those investments which are short term and highly liquid. Generally, those
investments have original maturities of three (3) months or less from the date of acquisition. The City
maintains an equity in pooled cash fund. The City’s cash deposits are held by banks that qualify as
public depositories under the Florida Security for Public Deposits Act as required by Chapter 280,
Florida Statutes. The City’s cash deposits are fully insured by the Public Deposits Trust Fund.
Investments
Investments for the City are reported at fair value (generally based on quoted market prices).
Investments are pooled together for investment purposes while each individual funds and/or accounts
are maintained on a daily transaction basis. Investment earnings are distributed in accordance with
the participating funds’ relative equity. Allowable investments, with the appropriate minimum rating
requirements, can consist of certificates of deposit, local government surplus trust fund,
intergovernmental investment pool, SEC registered money market funds, United States government
securities, repurchase agreements, banker’s acceptances, commercial paper, United States
government agencies, federal instruments, securitized issues, corporate notes and state or local
government taxable or tax exempt debt.
34
CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
SEPTEMBER 30, 2017
1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY –
CONTINUED
Assets, Liabilities, Deferred Inflows/Outflows of Resources, and Net Position or Equity –
Continued
Investments
In addition the Beal Memorial Cemetery Perpetual Care special revenue fund and the pension trust
funds maintain separate investment accounts that are governed by separate investment policies. The
Beal Memorial Cemetery investment policy allows for investments in domestic equities, international
equities, real estate investment trusts, inflation hedges, fixed income
