TOTAL FUND BUDGET AND HISTORICAL SUMMARIES (cont)

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement Number 54 (Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions) is used by the Town. The statement provides clearlydefined categories of fund balance to make the nature and extent of the constraints placed on a government’s fund balance more transparent. The categories of fund balance are as follows: nonspendable, restricted, committed, assigned and unassigned. The fund balances reported in this document reflect the total of these categories. The Town’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) provides the breakdown on a historical basis.

Updated budget information by fund is always available online via Town of Parker Open Budget

BASIS OF PRESENTATION, BUDGETING AND ACCOUNTING

BASIS OF PRESENTATION—FUND ACCOUNTING

The activities of the Town are organized into separate funds that are designated for a specific purpose or set of purposes. Each fund is considered a separate accounting entity, so the operations of each fund are accounted for with a set of self-balancing accounts that comprise its revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities and fund equity as appropriate.

The number and variety of funds used by the Town promotes accountability but can also make municipal budgeting and finance complex. Therefore, understanding the fund structure is an important part of understanding the Town’s finances. The three basic fund categories are Governmental Funds, Proprietary Funds and Fiduciary Funds; within each fund category there are various fund types. Following is a description of the seven fund types that contain the Town’s various funds. Only six of these funds are budgeted as the Town does not have the authority to spend on its own the resources accounted for in the Fiduciary Fund.

Governmental Funds

General Fund

The General Fund is the Town’s primary operating fund and is used to track the revenues and expenditures associated with the basic Town services that are not required to be accounted for in other funds. This includes services such as police, public works, parks and recreation, and other support services such as finance and human resources. These services are funded by general purpose tax revenues and other revenues that are unrestricted. This means that the Town Council, with input from the public, has the ability to distribute the funds in a way that best meets the needs of the community as opposed to other funds that are restricted to predefined uses.

Special Revenue Funds

Special Revenue Funds account for activities supported by revenues that are received or set aside for a specific purpose that are legally restricted. The Town has four Special Revenue Funds that it budgeted in 2023, the Parks and Recreation Fund, Conservation Trust Fund, Cultural Fund and Recreation Fund. A fifth, the Law Enforcement Assistance Fund, was closed in 2022, and the activities in this fund were moved to the General Fund.

Capital Projects Funds

Capital Projects Funds account for financial resources that must be used for the acquisition, improvements or construction of major capital projects. The Town has eight Capital Projects Funds:

• Public Improvement Capital Project Fund

• Excise Tax Fund

• Capital Renewal and Replacement Reserve Fund

• Impact Fee Funds

• Public Works

• General Government

• Police Facility

• Court Facility

• Hess Ranch Metro District Fund