SUBJECT:
Title
A Resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Erie, Colorado Designating Portions of General Fund Reserves for Specific Purposes.
Body
DEPARTMENT: Administration
Department
PRESENTER(S): Malcolm Fleming, Town Administrator
First Name Last Name, Title
TIME ESTIMATE: 40 minutes (for all Budget related actions)
only required for non-consent items
FISCAL SUMMARY:
Consistent with applicable provisions in the Erie Municipal Code and State law, this resolution specifies the Town's policy on General Fund reserves to maintain the Town's ability to respond effectively to emergencies, to continue providing General Fund services during economic downturns, and to provide a designated source of funding for capital improvements, equipment replacement, maintenance needs, and repayment of bonds issues for such purposes.
POLICY ISSUES:
The policy issues to consider are (1) what is the appropriate level of reserves to maintain the Town's ability to respond effectively when faced with unanticipated economic events or opportunities, without maintaining unnecessarily high reserves (which could be better allocated for projects of benefit to the community or enabling the Town to reduce taxes), and (2) what is the best structure for the reserve so funding is available when needed and if used it is replenished in a reasonable period of time?
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve the resolution.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
On October 24, 2023, consistent with staff's recommendation and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) best practices, the Board of Trustees repealed Resolution 10-40. That Resolution, adopted in 2010, required maintaining a $7.5 million additional General Fund reserve on top of the requirement to maintain 25% of General Fund current year's budgeted operating expenditures. The 25% reserve requirement is specified by Erie Municipal Code Section 2-1-3.D.4. Given the Board's action, staff pr...
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