DeKalb County, Illinois

Financial Policy

(ADOPTED MAY 16, 1984)

 
Purpose: The purpose of a County Financial Policy is to serve as a foundation for long and short range planning, facilitate decision making, and provide direction to staff for handling the County's day-to-day financial business. Because of the broad and diverse nature of the County's numerous committees and departments, having written, clearly defined financial policies minimizes the risk of developing conflicting or inconsistent goals and objectives which could have a negative impact on the overall financial position of the County.
I. Reserves
A. Each fund should maintain a fund balance at a level which will provide for a positive cash balance throughout the fiscal year.
B. Adequate insurance or fund reserves will be maintained to not jeopardize the financial position of the County in the event of a major unplanned occurrence.
C. The paid-hours-off (PHO) system should be funded in an amount that equals the total expected payout for terminating employees in a given fiscal year, less their normal annual accrual.
D. One-time revenue sources, which are substantial in nature, will be held in reserve until such time as the County Board would identify a specific use.
II. Use
A. A financial system should be utilized which will provide for on-going budgetary control.
B. The County Board should annually receive and approve specific goals for departments prior to June 1.
C. Budget goals for the next fiscal year should be established by the Finance Committee prior to July 1.
D. A five year capital projects budget should be presented with each annual operating budget.
III. Funding
A. Revenues
1. Sound appraisal procedures will be maintained to keep property values current.
2. Where possible, the County will identify and establish all user charges and fees at a level related to the cost of providing the services; these charges and costs will be re-evaluated annually.
3. Disbursement, collection and deposit of all funds will be scheduled to insure an efficient cash flow and to maximize investments.
4. When permitted by law, the County should pool cash from different funds for investment purposes.
5. The County will encourage the continued growth of the property tax base by adopting a policy statement which allows for new industries to DeKalb County to receive abatements of their county property taxes. It is noted that the degree of success of this policy statement will be contingent on the support of other local government entities in DeKalb County; this support should be a priority of the policy.
B. Expenditures
1. The County will pay all current expenditures with current revenue.
2. Annual appropriations will be made for the adequate maintenance of capital plant and equipment.
3. A plan should be devised and funded which provides for the orderly replacement of equipment.
4. The County will not use long term debt for current operations.
5. Revenue sharing funds will be used only for capital projects or items determined to be "one-time-only" in nature.
IV. Controls
A. Financial systems will be maintained in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
B. An independent certified public accountant will perform an annual audit and will publicly issue a financial opinion; a statement on internal controls and a management letter will be part of this report.
C. The County should carefully monitor state legislation and its impact on DeKalb County.
D. Policies and procedures should be developed to provide for position control, as it relates to authorized positions, hours budgeted and worked, and filling vacancies.
E. The County should maintain separate policies and administrative procedures for the following areas:
a. personnel
b. information processing
c. purchasing
d. fleet management
e. building utilization
f. travel
g. petty cash
h. risk management
F. The County will maintain a fixed asset inventory.
G. Internal control procedures should be formally documented and reviewed periodically.
H. The County will maintain a comprehensive accounting procedures manual and update it on a continuing basis.
V. Definitions
For purposes of this policy, terms peculiar to governmental accounting will be defined as printed in "Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting" by Municipal (Governmental) Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada, 1968.

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