budget organization
FY 2024 ANNUAL BUDGET
budget organization
The City’s financial operations are budgeted and accounted for in numerous funds. A fund is a separate accounting unit. Funds are approved through the appropriation ordinance adopted by City Council. Within the Ordinance, reference is made to the Funds that comprise the overall budget, of which there are three basic types plus component units as illustrated in the Operating Funds Structure chart. The following funds are appropriated, except two of the Fiduciary Funds mentioned below:
Governmental Funds
Government Funds account for activities primarily supported by taxes, grants, and similar revenue sources.
General Fund
Special Revenue Funds
- Social Services Fund to account for the provision of health and welfare services. In addition to the General Fund transfer, financing is primarily provided by federal and state funds, which may be used only for this purpose.
- Grants Fund to account for the proceeds of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
- Highway Maintenance Fund to account for the proceeds of state street highway maintenance grants, and the related expenditure which is to be used for this purpose. This fund is only used for maintenance related expenditures, capital expenditures are recorded in other applicable funds.
- Transit Fund to account for federal and state grants and monies received and used for the operations of the City’s public transit system.
- Emergency Medical Services Fund to account for the provision of emergency medical transportation services. Financing is provided by fees charged to customers and insurance providers.
- Winchester-Frederick County Convention and Visitors Bureau Fund to account for the costs of a shared visitors bureau. Financing is provided by the City of Winchester and Frederick County based on a Memorandum of Agreement.
- Law Library Fund to account for the purchase of reference material for the law library. Financing is provided by fees paid by local attorneys; such fees are limited to expenditures for this purpose.
Capital Projects Fund
Each year the City adopts a five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Fund to account for the financing and construction of capital projects of the City government. Financing is provided by transfers from other Funds (primarily the General Fund); bond issues; federal and state aid; private contributions; and other outside sources.
Proprietary Funds
Account for operations that receive significant support from fees and charges and are operated on the accrual basis of accounting.
- Enterprise Funds account for the fees charged to users for goods and services provided. The City’s Utilities Fund provides water and sanitary sewer service to approximately 11,000 customers located within the City and in specific areas of Frederick County, Virginia. The City created a new Storm Water Utility Fund and fee in FY2023 to address the storm water infrastructure and maintenance needs in the city.
- Internal Service Funds are used to account for fees charged to other funds for goods or services provided on a cost reimbursement basis. The City has two internal service funds, Equipment Operating Fund and Employee Benefits Fund.
Fiduciary Funds
Fiduciary Funds are used to account for resources held for the benefit of parties outside the government. The City has two appropriated fiduciary funds: Northwestern Regional Jail Authority Construction Fund and Northwestern Regional Juvenile Detention Center Fund. The accounting used for fiduciary funds is much like that used for proprietary funds. The City has two other fiduciary funds; the Special Welfare Fund and Economic Development Authority Fund which are included in the financial statements but are not appropriated with the budget.
Component Units
Component Units are legally separate organizations for which the City is financially accountable but does not provide services exclusively to the City, and therefore its financial information is reported in a separate column on the City's government-wide financial statements.
- School Board: In November 2019 the residents of Winchester voted via a referendum to transition from an appointed School Board to one that is elected. The School Board consists of seven members, four of the seats were elected in November 2020 and the remaining seats will be elected in November 2022. The Board is authorized to oversee the operation and management of the City’s primary and secondary school system. The School Board sets its own budget and requests an annual transfer from the General Government. Excess of revenues over expenditures are returned to the General Government at each year-end and reappropriated to the School Board the following fiscal year. These excess funds are available for the School Board’s use in future years for capital improvement projects. The School Board does not have the ability to raise taxes or issue debt. All debts are issued by the General Government and associated debt service payments are budgeted by the General Government.
- The Winchester Parking Authority (WPA) operates and maintains four parking garages, on-street parking meters, and off-street parking meters. The WPA has the authority to issue revenue bonds for the Parking Authority, payable solely from its revenues. The WPA is responsible for the imposition and collection of parking rates, rentals, fees, and charges for the use of and for the services furnished by the parking facilities. All members of the WPA are appointed by the City’s Common Council.
Budget Expenditures
Budget expenditure sections (Departments and Divisions) are organized according to categories prescribed by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Auditor of Public Accounts. Departmental summaries may be found in the Budget Summary section of this document. Funds are further divided into Department and Divisions, such as the Public Safety Department which has a specific Division for Police. These budgetary units are based on function and are used for planning and reporting departmental activities. See the Operating Funds Structure diagrams.
The budgeted expenditures within Division are delineated by Budget Line Items which further break down expenses into specific categories which is necessary to provide the City with the data needed to comply with its many reporting requirements. The City uses a fourteen-digit account number format where the first three digits represent the Fund, the next four digits represent the Department and Division, the next three digits represent the Activity and Sub Activity, the next four digits represent the element (expenditure category) and the object (expenditure detail). For example: Account number 111-3111-431-11-01