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Board (GASB), new rules for the timing of revenue recognition have been implemented. Audit <br />adjustments have been made which increase current revenues by $394,000 and increase prior <br />year revenues by $512,000, for a net positive adjusUnent of $906,000. <br />These accounting adjustments relate to when sales tax and franchise revenues are recognized, as <br />discussed in more detail below. <br /> <br />Franchise fees are generally calculated on a calendar year, with the City receiving the fees in <br />January to March, after the calendar year end. The City has been "accruing" or recognizing a <br />part of these revenues in the Fiscal Year prior to their receipt, since they are partially eamed in <br />that prior period. However, GASB's Statement # 22 now instructs us to only accrue earned <br />revenues if they are received in a short enough time frame after Fiscal Year end to pay bills of <br />that fiscal year, generally 60 days. Therefore, in order to implement GASB 22, staff and the <br />auditors adjusted the prior year (1993-94), to take out the extra accrual and put it in 1994-95, and <br />did not make an additional accrual in 1994-95. The net result is a reduction of $400,000 in the <br />recognition of franchise fee revenue through June 30, 1995. <br /> The case of sales tax is different. Staff originally concluded that we should only accrue sales tax <br /> revenue specified on the State remittance form as June collections, provided the City received it <br /> by the end of August. Since we previously recognized some revenue received through <br /> September as June revenue, this would mean we would need to make a one time adjustment <br /> reducing revenues recognized through June 30, 1995 (similar to Franchise Fees). <br /> However, the California Committee on Municipal Accounting (CCMA), an organization created <br /> by the California Society of Certified Public Accountants and the League of California Cities to <br /> improve financial reporting by California cities, recently issued a white paper which instructs <br /> otherwise. Specifically its states that since sales taxes remitted to the State in July and August by <br /> retailers are primarily for the quarter ending June 30, that we should recognize those revenues <br /> also. This new interpretation resulted in staff and the auditors agreeing that we should make a <br /> one time net adjustment of $1.3 million, which results in an increase in the revenues recognized <br /> through June 30, 1995. <br /> <br /> Therefore, the net adjustment through June 30, 1995 for franchise fees and sales tax is $906,000. <br /> It is very important to emphasize that this increase is "on paper". The City did not receive more <br /> dollars, it simply is recognizing some revenue that we received in 1995-96 as 1994-95 revenue, <br /> because it was earned in the earlier period, and we received it shortly after the end of the fiscal <br /> year. Therefore, staff is recommending that this additional fund balance be placed in the Capital <br /> Projects Reserve, its use to be considered as pan of the next Capital Improvement Program <br /> process. Later in this report, under the "General Fund Reserves" section, staff will discuss in <br /> more detail this reserve recommendation and potential uses for these funds for already identified <br /> unfunded projects. <br /> <br /> 3 <br /> <br /> SR 95:386 <br /> <br /> <br />