The Balance Sheet
The Balance Sheet
The Balance Sheet is the blog of the Local Government Commission staff. Click below to sign up to receive email alerts when new blog posts are released.
For announcements and resources related to the impacts of COVID-19, visit our Local Government COVID-19 Resources page.
Should You Consider Adopting an Interim Budget for a portion of the 2020-2021 Fiscal Year?
We have received many questions recently about interim budgets, and for good reason. Revenue estimates for the 2020-2021 fiscal year are very likely to be anyone’s guess for sources like sales tax and utility charges for services, at least in the short term. As time passes and we collect more information, we should get a clearer picture of what to expect. But what does that mean for your budget process?
Rather than trying to “guestimate” revenue amounts, some local government officials are considering adopting an interim budget to buy themselves time for more data to come in on how revenues are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. An interim budget is one that covers a relatively short period of time – often 60 days or less – and appropriates only those funds necessary to keep the government operational. In fact, NCGS 159-16 (where you will find the authority to adopt an interim budget) says that the appropriations may be used only to pay salaries, debt service payments, and the usual ordinary expenses of the local government. Interim budgets do not include new spending, and they don’t include capital items. There are no revenue estimates in an interim budget – the appropriations are offset by an appropriated fund balance figure. Note that existing capital...
Zoom Call for Local Government Utilities About Executive Order No. 124
When: Thursday, April 2, 1:00 - 2:30pm
Cost: Free
Details: The Governor issued an Executive Order on March 31 (EO 124) that, among other things, prohibits local government utilities from disconnecting water, wastewater, electric, and natural gas service to residential customers for at least 60 days, prohibits local government utilities from imposing certain fees and charges, mandates payment plan parameters, and imposes a new reporting requirement. We are still working on analyzing all the provisions of the EO, and seeking clarification on certain aspects from the Governor’s and AG’s staff. We will host a zoom call for all local government utilities tomorrow (Thursday, April 2, 2020) from 1:00-2:30 pm. The call-in information is below. We will be able to accommodate 500 participants on the call and will make the recording available online afterward.
Join Kara Millonzi and Shadi Eskaf from the School of Government and the Environmental Finance Center, and Sharon Edmundson from the Department of State Treasurer, among others, will be on this call. Please feel free to send any questions in advance to Kara at millonzi@sog.unc.edu or Shadi at eskaf@sog.unc.edu.
Call-in Info:
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Are Local Governments Required to Suspend Water Disconnections?
The guidance that was provided in this post is no longer accurate due to Governor Roy Cooper’s Executive Order No. 124 issued on March 31, 2020 and has been removed. Please refer to the order for details or contact us at SGLFD@nctreasurer.com with questions.
GASB to Consider Delaying the Implementation of Statements 84 and 87
In a press release dated March 26, 2020, the GASB announced it is considering postponement of implementation of all standards and implementation guides with effective dates that begin on or after reporting periods ended June 30, 2018, and beyond. Of particular interest to NC local governments is that included in this consideration are both Statement 84 on Fiduciary Funds and Statement 87 on Leases. This is excellent news for local governments faced with myriad challenges as a result of COVID-19. The exposure draft for this project will be issued in April, and full board consideration will occur in May, 2020. Read the full text of the press release here.
ZOOM Call for Local Government Finance Officers About COVID-19 Response
If you were unable to call in to the ZOOM call held on Wednesday, March 25, the UNC School of Government is sponsoring a repeat of the call on Friday, March 27, at 1:00 p.m.
If you participated on the March 25 call, please DO NOT join the call on March 27. We will be repeating the same information and want to reach the maximum number of people. We will also make the recording of that call available.
Please note that we will be hosting additional calls in the next few weeks.
Here is the information about the March 27 call:
Date/Time: Friday, March 27, 2020 1:00 p.m.
Link to join ZOOM meeting: https://unc.zoom.us/j/720349870
Meeting ID: 720 349 870
Phone Number: 877-853-5257 US Toll-free
ZOOM Calls for Local Governments
The UNC School of Government is sponsoring two free ZOOM calls this week for local governments about water/wastewater utilities operations and information for local government finance professionals during COVID-19.
UNC School of Government Zoom Call on Water/Wastewater Utilities Operations During COVID-19
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Information and Resources on COVID 19 for Local Governments
UNC School of Government faculty members Diane Juffras and Jill Moore will host live webinars on March 18 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (with on-demand viewing to follow) to prime local governments on steps to take to combat the spread of coronavirus in the workplace and broader community. This webinar was originally scheduled for March 24, but has been rescheduled to this earlier date. Anyone registered for the March 24 date does not need to re-register.
To register for the webinar, please visit the SOG course registration webpage.
The SOG also has established a resource page for legal information and updates about COVID-19. You can access that page here.