CHAPTER 12 - CONTINGENCY FUND TRANSFERS
- Source:
Each year at budget time the County Board Finance Committee sets aside a certain amount determined to be adequate to cover emergency requests during the coming budget year. This includes unforeseen revenue shortfalls, unanticipated repairs, breakdowns of equipment, illnesses, and position vacancies. At times the fund includes money for funding union contract settlements not agreed upon at budget time due to negotiations or arbitration's in progress. This would include the amount of wage settlements and all fringe benefits accompanying the settlement.
- Transfer from Contingency to Department Budgets or Line Items:
- Finance Committee by statute and by County Board resolution is authorized to transfer additional funding to a department or line item in an amount not exceeding 10% of the department's original approved official budget. Requests for contingency fund supplements to a budget are made on a form available from the Auditor's Office and acted on at the monthly Finance Committee meetings.
- The Finance Committee may decide that they do not want to transfer the funds to the department or line without full County Board involvement and may recommend the transfer be taken to the County Board for action.
- County Board transfer amounts needed to supplement a department or line item that exceed 10% of the original appropriation can only be approved by full County Board per state statutes.
- Action by the full County Board will require 14 votes to complete the transfer as it is amending the budget as it was originally published. If there are 16 present, it will still take 14 votes in favor.
- By County Board rule, any supervisor may present a resolution so therefore any supervisor may bring forth a request for a contingency fund appropriation. Finance Committee can recommend contingency funding also. The Finance Committee prefers to have the request for contingency funding go through their committee first for discussion and increased understanding of the need.
- Upon passage by either Finance Committee or County Board as required by statutes and recorded in the minutes, the transfer then is recorded on the books of the county and the department authorizing the increased expenditure.
- Departments are expected to ask for funding prior to obligating the County for funds necessary to pay the vouchers. This includes payroll vouchers.
- Contingency fund requests will be handled until the end of the calendar year for the current year.
Approved by the County Board, January 27, 2004
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