Financial Policies - Reserves

7.01

The County will maintain an unallocated reserve to provide for small increases in service delivery costs and unanticipated needs that may arise throughout the year.

THEREFORE, IT WILL BE NECESSARY FOR OFFICIALS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS TO REVIEW AND CONTROL EXPENDITURES SUCH THE RATE OF EXPENDITURE DOES NOT EXCEED THE APPROVED BUDGET.

A request should cover anticipated material deviation cases for a transfer to any of the control categories. This request shall be from the Department Head in writing and justify such action. Such requests should be submitted to the Office of Budget and Evaluation for initial review; they will then be forwarded to Commissioners Court for their consideration and approval.

7.02

The above-described unallocated reserve and specified contingencies shall be established at a minimum of one-half articles of one percent of the total general fund expenditures for any year.

These funds can only be appropriated by an affirmative vote of three of the five Commissioners Court members.

7.03

The County will also establish an emergency reserve for use in the event of a calamity and the loss of a major revenue source. This reserve will be maintained at not less than 10% of the general fund expenditures, and its use is restricted to one-time expenditures to pay for disaster recovery and unanticipated liability. It may only be used to offset operating expenditures where major revenue shortfall occurs. These funds can only be appropriated by unanimous consent of the Commissioners Court.

7.04

Insurance reserves will be established at a level consistent with the Risk Manager’s recommendations, which, together with purchased insurance policies, adequately indemnify the County and its officers and directors against loss.

7.05

Upon completion of any project or purchase of capital equipment or final payment for a specific allocation (i.e., grant match, consultant study, etc.), any remaining allocation shall be refunded to the appropriate unallocated reserve of that fund and considered available for other purposes. Therefore, it is incumbent to identify a project manager before initiating a project. The designated project manager will be responsible for notifying the Office of Budget and Evaluation that a project is completed. The Office of Budget and Evaluation will verify the same to the Auditor’s Office. The funds will be transferred after the Commissioners Court has authorized the same. This will be accomplished every quarter.