2004 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

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regulations. Budgetary Controls. In accordance with Indiana statutes, the City maintains budgetary controls integrated within the accounting system. The objective of these budgetary controls is to ensure compliance with legal provisions embodied in the annual appropriated budget (prepared on a cash basis) which is adopted by the City Council and then reviewed and approved by the Indiana's Department of Local Government and Finance. Activities of the general fund, certain special revenue and capital projects funds and the debt service funds are included in the annual budget. The level of budgetary control (that is, the level at which expenditures cannot legally exceed the appropriated amount) is established by major budget classification within funds. The City Council may transfer appropriations from one major budget classification to another within a department by ordinance as long as the total appropriations for that department are not exceeded. Transfers from one department to another, or additional appropriations in excess of the original budget, must be submitted to and approved by the Department of Local Government and Finance after these appropriations have been approved by the City Council. The City also maintains an encumbrance accounting system as one technique of accomplishing budgetary control. Encumbered amounts do not lapse at year end and are carried over to the subsequent year as a part of the subsequent year's budget. Property Tax Controls. In addition to budgetary and other controls established by Indiana statute, the City must operate within specific and rigid controls governing the amount of property tax it may levy. The property tax control program, which began in 1973, limits the amount of property taxes that may be levied by each unit of government in its legally budgeted funds. Indiana law prescribes a maximum property tax levy, which is calculated as a 5% increase over the previous year's maximum levy. However, if a local government has experienced growth in assessed valuation in excess of 5 %, the municipality may use a percentage equal to that growth, up to a maximum of 10 %. Growth is calculated as the average growth in assessed valuation over the last three years, not counting a year of reassessment. In addition, if the governmental unit finds that it cannot maintain basic governmental services for its residents within the property tax "freeze," it may appeal to the Department of Local Government and Finance for an "excess levy" in certain specific instances. As a part of the property tax control program, the state transfers an amount generally equal to 20% of the total property tax levy (except for debt service levies as described below) to the County Auditor to be distributed to each taxing unit as a replacement for 20% of the property taxes levied. This "property tax replacement" is funded through the state sales tax. The levy for Debt Service funds is controlled via a review and approval process by the Government Tax Control Board (with a subsequent review and approval by the Department of Local Government and Finance) for each issuance of general obligation indebtedness (or lease - purchase) entered into by a taxing unit. In addition, all indebtedness incurred after 1983 no longer receives the 20% state property tax replacement funds mentioned above. A historical view of the City's tax rate and its net assessed valuation has been included in the statistical section of this document.