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CITY OF ELK RIVER <br />NOTES TO BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS <br />YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2016 <br />NOTE 1 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED) <br />R. Long -Term Liabilities <br />In the government -wide and proprietary fund financial statements, long-term debt and <br />other long-term obligations are reported as liabilities. Bond premiums and discounts, if <br />material, are amortized over the life of the bonds using the straight-line method. Bond <br />issuance costs are expensed as incurred. <br />In the governmental fund financial statements, long-term debt and other long-term <br />obligations are not reported as liabilities. The face amount of debt issued is reported as <br />other financing sources. Premiums or discounts on debt issuances are reported as other <br />financing sources or uses, respectively. Issuance costs, whether or not withheld from the <br />actual debt proceeds received, are reported as debt service expenditures. <br />S. Compensated Absences <br />It is the City's policy to permit employees to accumulate earned but unused vacation and <br />sick pay benefits. Unused vacation can be accrued by the employees up to a maximum <br />of 200 hours, the limit of which is determined by years of service. All vacation pay is <br />accrued when incurred in the government -wide and proprietary fund financial <br />statements. A liability for these amounts is reported in governmental funds only if they <br />have matured, for example, as a result of employee resignations and retirements. In the <br />event a liability is recorded in the governmental funds, the General fund would be used <br />to liquidate the compensated absences payable. <br />Employees can also accrue an unlimited amount of unused sick leave. Employees with <br />two or more years of service are entitled to receive severance pay equal to 50 percent of <br />unused sick leave, up to a maximum of 480 hours. The liability for severance pay is <br />accounted for the same as accrued vacation pay. <br />$R' 1% N <br />T. Fund Balance <br />In the fund financial statements, fund balance is divided into five classifications based <br />primarily on the extent to which the City is bound to observe constraints imposed upon <br />the use of resources reported in governmental funds. These classifications are as <br />follows: <br />Nonspendable - consists of amounts that cannot be spent because it is not in spendable <br />form, such as prepaid items. <br />Restricted - consists of amounts related to externally imposed constraints established by <br />creditors, grantors or contributors; or constraints imposed by state statutory provisions. <br />Committed - consists of amounts that are constrained for specific purposes that are <br />internally imposed by formal action (resolution) of the City Council. Those committed <br />amounts cannot be used for any other purpose unless City Council removes or changes <br />the specified use by taking the same type of action it employed to previously commit <br />those amounts. <br />(45) <br />