COVINGTON, KY – Tuesday evening, the Mayor and City Commission accepted the Fiscal Year 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (FY 16 CAFR) and were presented with the allocation matrix for the $4.7 million in carryover funds as authorized by the Fiscal Stability Ordinance.
Director of Finance & Operations Lisa Desmarais gave the presentation summarizing the specific allocation of carryover funds in alignment with the Fiscal Stability Ordinance themes of Responsibility, Sustainability and Investment.
Desmarais stated, “Through the Fiscal Stability Ordinance, as enacted by the Mayor and City Commissioners in 2015, clear direction in the ordinance prioritizes the use of any carryover funds in order to achieve fiscal stability for the City.
“In the City’s third year of realizing carryover funds, we are seeing a positive trend and we plan to continue along a fiscally responsible and disciplined path to continue this trend.”
In December 2015, the Mayor and City Commission adopted the Fiscal Stability Ordinance outlining a prioritized schedule of responsible and strategic uses for carryover funds for future years. The ordinance establishes and prioritizes fiscal stability, sustainability and growth while adhering to the Board of Commissioners’ Spirit of Progress 2015 Vision Statement.
The Spirit of Progress 2015 Vision Statement emphasized the City’s commitment to continuing improving its transparency, efficiency and effectiveness when investing and planning for its future.
The ordinance begins with a focus on responsibility which includes contributions to the City’s two legacy employee retirement plans, building up the City’s minimum reserve fund to the Government Finance Officers Association’s recommended two months of operating expenses, and funding of the City’s two self-insured funds, liability and the employee health plan.
Next, the ordinance focuses on its other two themes of sustainability and investment with contributions to personnel and benefits, infrastructure projects and investments in economic development initiatives.
Thanks to the Mayor and City Commission’s adoption of the Fiscal Stability Ordinance, the City is experiencing the ordinance’s numerous benefits, including an increase its financial transparency, short term cash availability, maintenance and improvement of the City’s Moody’s credit rating as well as progress toward the reduction of its long term debt.
City Manager Larry Klein stated, “The Fiscal Stability Ordinance requires fiscal discipline. The City has not been in this type of financial position in decades and thanks to the ordinance’s implementation, we’re beginning to see positive results.
“The Fiscal Stability Ordinance is furthermore a commitment to our departments, residents, businesses and infrastructures that we are focusing on our current needs and obligations while we plan for an even better future.”
The CAFR’s results were positive overall, noting the City’s total revenues of $52,396,379 exceeded the FY 16 Budget by $3,428,104. This included specific increases of $1,568,298 in “Payroll License Fees” revenue.
Additionally, the CAFR results follow other FY 16 City successes, including its elimination of the Tax Anticipation Note (TAN) and reliance on short-term debt, launch of the interactive transparency platform “OpenGov,” and in June, 2016, the City’s Moody’s rating change from a negative to a positive outlook.
Audited by the Lexington firm RFH Certified Public Accountants, the CAFR consists of the City’s FY 2016 finances and establishes a comprehensive internal control framework to adhere with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
The CAFR is printed and made available at the City Hall Finance Window, 20 W. Pike Street for interested parties. Additionally, the CAFR is available on the City’s website by clicking here.
Below is a graphical representation of the City’s allocation of its FY 2016 carryover funds.
