Chapter 5.14
BOROUGH BUDGET

Sections:

5.14.010    Preparation and submission of borough budget.

5.14.020    Fund transfers.

5.14.025    Annual review and approval of fee and rate schedule required.

5.14.030    Interfund lending.

5.14.010 Preparation and submission of borough budget.

At least five weeks before the beginning of the fiscal year, and in accordance with the borough charter, the borough manager shall prepare and submit to the assembly a proposed budget for the next year. [Ord. 815 § 7, 2008.]

5.14.020 Fund transfers.

A. A transfer of any funds from the swimming pool fund to any other fund requires a vote of the people.

B. None of the income, money, resources or property of borough-operated enterprise funds shall be placed in the general fund or be used for the benefit of anything outside of the fund to which it belongs without due compensation or due value received in return; provided, that this shall not prohibit payment into the general fund by borough-operated utilities of an amount in lieu of taxes reasonably estimated to be the amount which said utilities would pay in taxes if they were privately owned. [Ord. 815 § 7, 2008.]

5.14.025 Annual review and approval of fee and rate schedule required.

At the first regular assembly meeting in March of each year, the borough assembly shall approve the official fee and rate schedule for all fees and rates collected by the City and Borough of Wrangell.

A public hearing shall be required on the resolution that establishes such fees and rates.

The official fee and rate schedule shall be included as an appendix to the annual budget for the next fiscal year. [Ord. 1026 § 2, 2022.]

5.14.030 Interfund lending.

A. Interfund Lending Overview. Interfund lending is the loaning of money from any fund to any other fund within the city. Interfund lending benefits the city as it is more administratively efficient and cost effective than short-term bank loans or public borrowings. However, interfund loans should be an infrequent occurrence and should only be employed when appropriate justification is made.

1. The city shall allow interfund lending, as an alternative to bank loans or public debt issuance, when enterprise entities require funding and when a sufficient and legally available balance exists in the general fund which can be lent without impacting the city’s operations, including reserve and contingency requirements, and in compliance with the city’s debt covenants.

2. All interfund lending shall be coordinated by both the borough manager and the finance director.

B. Application. To request an interfund loan, the borough manager shall submit an interfund loan request to the assembly for approval. The request must substantiate the need of the interfund loan and shall be accompanied by a financial capacity assessment issued by the finance director.

C. Loan Criteria. Eligible interfund loans must meet the following criteria:

1. Loans shall be made in compliance with Alaska Statutes, budget constraints, city charter, municipal code and city financial policies.

2. Loan terms and amounts shall not adversely affect any city credit or bond ratings.

3. Loan terms and amounts shall attempt to accommodate the needs of proprietary funds and will be based on the city’s funding capacity. The borough manager and finance director shall determine, in conjunction with assembly approval, whether and where there is a sufficient general fund balance available to be lent.

4. In an interfund loan agreement whereby the general fund loans funds to an enterprise fund that are not gifted, the respective enterprise fund must demonstrate the ability to repay the loan. If such ability is not demonstrated, the enterprise fund must adjust operations (i.e., user rates) to sufficiently demonstrate they have the capacity to repay any interfund loan obligations.

5. Loan terms shall be set by the borough manager and finance director, with approval from the assembly.

6. Loan requests that are initially denied by the assembly are not subject to the rules for reconsideration and may be resubmitted by the borough manager for approval.

D. Repayment.

1. Interfund loans are interest bearing except for advance funding for grants, reimbursement resolutions, or when borough management and the assembly find it appropriate to forego the payment of interest. The interest rate charged and paid must comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The effective rate of interest on the interfund loan must be determined using one of the following methods:

a. The interest rate will be equal to the return earned on the borough’s short-term investment portfolio; or

b. The interest rate will be a defined reduction of the prevailing market rate; or

c. The interest rate will be set at zero interest providing the recipient fund does not demonstrate the financial capacity to pay loan interest.

2. Loans shall be repaid on time and may be prepaid in whole or in part on any date without penalty.

3. The borrowing and lending entities shall budget loan repayments in their respective budgets, at a time and in a manner allowable per policy.

4. Borrowing entities shall enact programmatic reductions, as needed, to repay loans in accordance with the repayment terms identified in the authorizing resolution and approved by the assembly.

5. If the borrowing entity is unable to repay a loan in accordance with the repayment terms identified and approved by the assembly, the borough manager and finance director shall identify alternative funding sources to accommodate the liquidity needs of the lending entity, the city’s general fund.

6. Loans shall not be written off.

E. Authorization.

1. Interfund loans shall be approved by resolution of the assembly. A public hearing shall be required on the resolution that authorizes the transaction.

2. The assembly resolution authorizing the interfund loan shall include:

a. The name of the borrowing entity; and

b. The fund from which the loan is made; and

c. The fund to which the loan is made; and

d. The purpose of the loan; and

e. The principal amount of the loan; and

f. The basis of the interest rate to be charged on the interfund loan; and

g. The loan maturity date; and

h. A loan amortization schedule showing how the principal and interest are to be budgeted and repaid to the lending entity. The schedule shall reflect that interest payments will be based on actual rates and not the estimates shown; and

i. The expected source of loan repayment.

3. Changes to any interfund loan terms shall be approved by a resolution of the assembly. A public hearing shall be required on the resolution that authorizes the changes to any interfund loan terms.

F. Documentation.

1. Loan terms shall be acknowledged via an interfund loan term agreement document, prepared by the borough manager and finance director, and approved by the assembly. Changes to any loan terms shall be acknowledged via an updated and revised interfund loan agreement.

2. Loans shall be recorded in the city’s central accounting system.

3. Loans outstanding over fiscal year-end shall be disclosed in the city’s annual comprehensive financial report.

G. Responsibility.

1. The borough manager and finance director shall coordinate the city’s interfund lending program. Enterprise fund directors shall be responsible for their timely development and submission of their interfund loan requests to the borough manager. Fund managers shall appropriately budget proceeds and repayment.

2. Nothing contained within this policy is intended to require the assembly to approve an interfund loan in order to prevent an enterprise entity from reporting a deficit cash position. If an enterprise fund has a recurring deficit cash position, it shall be the responsibility of the borough manager to coordinate discussion with the department director responsible for the fiscal administration of the fund in order to develop a plan to mitigate this deficit cash position. [Ord. 1018 § 2, 2022.]