2019 CAFR - Laserfiche WebLink

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NOTE 1— SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED) S. Budgets and Budgetary Accounting Each fall the City Council adopts a General Fund budget for the following fiscal year beginning January 1. In addition, an annual budget is legally adopted for the Economic Development Authority, a nonmajor special revenue fund. The City has established budgetary control at the function level based upon GAAP serving as the basis of budgeting. Budget appropriations lapse at year-end. The government's department heads may make transfers of appropriations within a function. Transfers of appropriations between functions require the approval of the council. The Economic Development Authority budget is recommended by their board and final approval comes from City Council. T. Statement of Cash Flows For purposes of the Statement of Cash Flows, the City considers all highly liquid debt instruments with an original maturity from the time of purchase by the City of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Proprietary Funds' portion in the government -wide cash and investment management pool is considered to be cash equivalent. U. Risk Management The City is exposed to various risks of loss related to torts: theft of, damage to, and destruction of assets; errors and omissions; and natural disasters. The City participates in the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT), a public entity risk pool for its general property and casualty, workers' compensation, and other miscellaneous insurance coverages. LMCIT operates as a common risk management and insurance program for a large number of cities in Minnesota. The City pays an annual premium to LMCIT for insurance coverage. The LMCIT agreement provides that the trust will be self-sustaining through member premiums and will reinsure through commercial companies for claims in excess of certain limits. The City has elected higher deductibles through LMCIT in order to keep premiums at a minimum. To supplement the commercial coverages, the City established the Self -Insurance Internal Service Fund. This fund is funded primarily through dividend paybacks from LMCIT. Expenses from this fund consist solely of payments of those insurance related costs that are below the individual and/or commutative deductible amounts. Premiums for LMCIT policies are not paid from the Self -Insurance Internal Service Fund, but rather are budgeted and paid from the respective operating funds. The City does not retain significant uncovered risk. The City also carries commercial insurance for certain other risks of loss. Settled claims resulting from these risks have not exceeded commercial insurance coverage in any of the past three fiscal years. There were no significant reductions in the City's insurance coverage in 2019. V. Loans Payable to Met Council The City entered into a loan agreement with the Metropolitan (Met) Council to acquire property within the proposed right-of-way of highways designated as a part of the metropolitan highway system plan. State Highway 10, within Ramsey, is part of that highway system plan. The loans bear no interest, and are to be repaid upon the acquisition of the property by the State of Minnesota. 69