Laserfiche WebLink
NOTE 1— SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED) <br />The government's department heads may make transfers of appropriations within a function. Transfers of <br />appropriations between functions require the approval of the council. The Economic Development <br />Authority budget is recommended by their board and final approval comes from City Council. <br />T. Statement of Cash Flows <br />For purposes of the Statement of Cash Flows, the City considers all highly liquid debt instruments with an <br />original maturity from the time of purchase by the City of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The <br />Proprietary Funds' portion in the government -wide cash and investment management pool is considered to <br />be cash equivalent. <br />U. Self -Insurance Plan and Risk Management <br />The City is exposed to various risks of loss related to torts: theft of, damage to, and destruction of assets; <br />errors and omissions; and natural disasters. The City participates in the League of Minnesota Cities <br />Insurance Trust (LMCIT), a public entity risk pool for its general property and casualty, workers' <br />compensation, and other miscellaneous insurance coverages. LMCIT operates as a common risk <br />management and insurance program for a large number of cities in Minnesota. The City pays an annual <br />premium to LMCIT for insurance coverage. The LMCIT agreement provides that the trust will be <br />self-sustaining through member premiums and will reinsure through commercial companies for claims in <br />excess of certain limits. <br />The City has elected higher deductibles through LMCIT in order to keep premiums at a minimum. To <br />supplement the commercial coverages, the City established the Self -Insurance Internal Service Fund. This <br />fund is funded primarily through dividend paybacks from LMCIT. Expenditures from this fund consist <br />solely of payments of those insurance related costs that are below the individual and/or commutative <br />deductible amounts. Premiums for LMCIT policies are not paid from the Self -Insurance Internal Service <br />Fund, but rather are budgeted and paid from the respective operating funds. The City does not retain <br />significant uncovered risk. <br />The City also carries commercial insurance for certain other risks of loss. Settled claims resulting from <br />these risks have not exceeded commercial insurance coverage in any of the past three fiscal years. There <br />were no significant reductions in the City's insurance coverage in 2016. <br />V. Loans payable to Met Council <br />The City entered into a loan agreement with the Metropolitan (Met) Council to acquire property within the <br />proposed right-of-way of highways designated as a part of the metropolitan highway system plan. State <br />Highway 10, within Ramsey, is part of that highway system plan. The loans bear no interest, and are to be <br />repaid upon the acquisition of the property by the State of Minnesota. <br />W. Use of Estimates <br />The preparation of financial statements, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the <br />United States of America, requires management to make estimates that affect amounts reported in the <br />financial statements during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from such estimates. <br />X. Prior Period Adjustments <br />In fiscal year 2016, the City recorded a prior period adjustment in the government -wide financial statements <br />increasing net position by $2,689,667 to record 2015 capital contributions from developers. $1,045.874 <br />was recorded as governmental activities and $1,643,793 as business -type activities/enterprise funds. <br />69 <br />