LENDING TO MUNICIPALITIES & Other Governmental Units PRESENTED BY BANKERS INSIGHT GROUP Jeffery W. Johnson Bankers Insight Group 1 Introduction Types of Local Governments Fund Accounting / Types of Funds Fund Financial Statements Financial Reporting Under GASB 34 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) Revenue Sources & Expenditures Basis of Accounting (Accrual & Modified Accrual Basis) Financial Reporting Entity Business Analysis Checklist Borrowing Causes Ratio Analysis Bankers Insight Group 2 1
I don t necessarily need to know how to analyze a governmental unit because we don t make many loans to that type of borrower, however; when we do, I really need to know how! Bankers Insight Group 3 It s Profitable Business To obtain profitable ancillary business To develop goodwill in the community Bankers Insight Group 4 2
A Community Service Considered a Charitable Contribution Bankers Insight Group 5 What happened to this great American City? 1. Crushing Debt ($18.5 Billion) 2. Budget Deficit ($380 million this year alone) 3. Eroding Economic Base (Loss of Auto Industry due to competition, economy and loss of Middle and Upper class residents to the Suburbs) 4. Eroding Population (down 25% from 2000 to 2011 fell from 5 th largest to 50 th largest) 5. Falling property values 6. Unfunded and Unsustainable Retiree Benefits ($3.5 Billion in Pension Liabilities) 7. Unemployment (18%) 8. Half of the city s property owners don t pay taxes (abandoned) 9. Safety is more pressing concern than housing Bankers Insight Group 6 3
Stockton, California San Bernardino, California Fresno, California Jackson County, Alabama Birmingham, Alabama Philadelphia, Pennsylvania New Orleans, Louisiana North Las Vegas, Nevada Chicago Illinois Declared Declared Declared Bankers Insight Group 7 American governmental units can be traced to 15 th century England and even further to the Roman Empire where local government was formalized In Roman times, cities, were established and granted corporate status as subdivisions of the Roman Empire These subdivisions had little independent rights and powers because they were established for Roman Administrative purposes instead of permitting self-rule. Bankers Insight Group 8 4
During the 15 th century, England governmental units, particularly cities, enjoyed some democratic powers, including the ability to tax locally. In exchange for these powers, the cities or towns were required to make payments to the Crown. The legal relationship between the city and the Crown was formalized through a written charter, a term used today in many states to describe the legal powers of certain municipalities. It is upon this foundation that American municipalities, including cities, towns, villages and boroughs were based. Bankers Insight Group 9 State County City Borough (Boro) Township Town Village Special Districts Municipal Corporation Bankers Insight Group 10 5
The objectives of governmental accounting are to follow the flow of funds to determine how government is using taxpayers money and being able to compare inflows and outflows to budgets. Fund accounting does a good job in meeting both of these objectives. Bankers Insight Group 11 A Fund is a fiscal and accounting entity with a set of accounts recording cash and other financial resources They are segregated for the purpose of carrying on specific activities or attaining certain objectives Bankers Insight Group 12 6
Funds are often funded from property taxes, income or sales of goods and services. They may also receive funds from grants from other government entities; from fines, licenses and user fees as well as charges for government-provided services Bankers Insight Group 13 Resources within Funds can only be expended in support of their defined function. For example, a fire department fund may not make expenditures to pay expenses of a city s parks and recreation department. Bankers Insight Group 14 7
Each fund has its own asset, liability, revenue and expense accounts. Full and separate financial statements must be prepared for each fund at the end of each fiscal period. Bankers Insight Group 15 Three fund categories. Nine fund types. Account groups Not Funds but are special classifications used to account for fixed assets acquired and long-term debt incurred by government funds. Bankers Insight Group 16 8
Government Fund Account for general operations Statement of Activities Proprietary Funds Account for business-like activities Fiduciary Funds Account for assets held as trustee or agent Bankers Insight Group 17 Fund Accounts for Resources General Special Revenue Not Specifically accounted for in another fund Restricted to specific purposes Capital Projects Debt Service Permanent Used to acquire or construct major capital assets Used to pay interest and principal on long term debt Resources that are legally restricted Bankers Insight Group 18 9
Fund Accounts for Resources Internal Service Enterprise Intra-government goods and services Business-type activities Bankers Insight Group 19 Fund Accounts for Resources Trust Agency Trustee, including expendable and non-expendable funds Agent Bankers Insight Group 20 10
Current Assets Current Liabilities Fund Balance Reserved Unreserved Total Assets Total Liability & Fund Balance Bankers Insight Group 21 Notice that the balance sheet has a short-term focus on resources available to support There are no longterm assets or liabilities shown on the balance sheet. they are included in account groups, separate non-fund accounts used for the government's long-term capital assets and longterm debt. Current Assets include Cash, Investments, receivables while Shortterm debt on the sheet includes accounts payable, accrued payroll, or shortterm notes such as tax anticipation notes Bankers Insight Group 22 11
The fund balance is divided between Unreserved and Reserved Unreserved funds are amounts available to the governing board for future use and reserved Reserved amounts are generally encumbered funds that have been set aside for a specific future purpose. They are not expenditures but are treated in almost the same way as expenditures in governmental accounting. Bankers Insight Group 23 When a government obligates itself to pay for something, the amount needed to pay the obligation is set aside immediately. This method of recording "pre-spent" funds serves as a control function to prevent overspending Bankers Insight Group 24 12
Revenues XXX Expenditures XXX Excess of Revenues over Expenditures XX Other Financing Sources or Uses X Excess Revenues & Other Items over Expenditures and Other Items XX Fund Balance, Beginning of Fiscal Period X Changes in Reserves of Fund Balance X Fund Balance, End of Fiscal Period XX Bankers Insight Group 25 Has three major sections Operating Section (Revenues minus Expenditures) resulting in Excess of Revenues or Shortfall of Revenues over Expenditures Other Financing Sources (i.e. bond proceeds and inter-fund transfers) Reconciliation of Unreserved Fund Balance Bankers Insight Group 26 13
Determines when transactions are recognized in financial statements. Cash Accrual Modified accrual Bankers Insight Group 27 Bankers Insight Group 28 14
A hybrid system that includes some aspects of Accrual Accounting and some aspects of Cash Basis of Accounting Bankers Insight Group 29 Revenues are recognized when available and measurable. Available means Revenues are collected in the current year or soon enough thereafter to pay liabilities from the current year. For example, Property Taxes can be accrued if they will be received within 60 days after FYE Bankers Insight Group 30 15
Expenditures are recognized in the accounting period when liability is incurred, if measurable, however: If the liability will not be liquidated with current resources, it is not reported as an expenditure at the time incurred Exceptions are un-matured interest on general long term debt and special assessment debt secured by interest bearing special assessment levies, which are always recognized Bankers Insight Group 31 Fixed assets and long term debt are not recorded on the balance sheet They are considered as operating expenditures of the fund where the purchase is made Also, as an asset in the non fund fixed assets account group Bankers Insight Group 32 16
Long-term debt issuance is considered a financing source on the Fund s Operating Statement as well as a liability in the non fund long term debt account group Principal payments are considered an expenditure (in the debt service fund and a reduction of liability in the general long term account group. e Bankers Insight Group 33 Depreciation may be reported (optionally) in the fixed assets account group, but not recognized as an expenditure of the fund owning the asset Remember, the full value of the purchase was originally recognized as an expenditure when acquired Bankers Insight Group 34 17
Fund Accounting Basis Governmental Modified Accrual Proprietary Accrual Fiduciary Agency: Modified Accrual Others: Accrual Bankers Insight Group 35 A Financial Reporting Entity Should Include: The primary government. Organizations for which the primary government is financially accountable. Other organizations for which the nature and significance of their relationship with the primary government are such that exclusion would cause the reporting entity's financial statements to be misleading or incomplete. Bankers Insight Group 36 18
Defined as: a state, general purpose local government (city, county, etc.) Or a special purpose government (school districts, special districts, etc.) Bankers Insight Group 37 A Special Purpose qualifies as a Primary Government if it: Has a separately elected governing body. Is legally separate (can sue and be sued and buy property in its own name). Is fiscally independent of other governments (establishes its own budget, levies its own taxes, or sets its own charges, and issues its own longterm debt or bonds). Bankers Insight Group 38 19
If a SPG is not legally separate, it is reported with the PG that holds its corporate powers These are called Component Units CU are any other legally separate organizations that the PG is financially accountable for or that should be included to prevent the f/s from being misleading or incomplete Bankers Insight Group 39 Financial accountability exists if: The primary government appoints a majority of the governing body. The primary government can impose its will on the organization. Must be presented in the primary government financials. Can be blended in or presented discretely. Bankers Insight Group 40 20
Most component units are presented in separate columns on the financial statement. However, if the activities are intertwined with those of the primary government (such as both boards are the same or the component unit provides services chiefly to the primary government), the activities of the component unit will be blended into those of the primary government. Bankers Insight Group 41 Requires the following for GAAP Basic financial statements that include a combination of fund financial statements, government-wide financial statements, and notes. Management discussion and analysis (MD&A). Required supplementary information Bankers Insight Group 42 21
1. Government-wide Statements a. Statement of Net Assets b. Statement of Activities Bankers Insight Group 43 Fund Financial Statements a. Governmental Funds I. Balance Sheet II. Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances Ill. Reconciliations to the Government-wide Statements Bankers Insight Group 44 22
Proprietary Funds I. Statements of Net Assets or Balance Sheet II. Statement of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Fund Net Assets III. Statement of Cash Flows Bankers Insight Group 45 Fiduciary Funds I. Statement of Fiduciary Net Assets II. Statement of Changes in Fiduciary Net Assets Notes to the Financial Statements Bankers Insight Group 46 23
The CAFR is a voluntary report format that many state and local governments choose to use for financial reporting. It is a very detailed report that goes beyond the requirements of GAAP. It covers all funds and account groups and all financial transactions that took place during the year. It s more than a financial report, in that it contains supplementary information that is useful to a variety of audiences. Bankers Insight Group 47 Introductory section Financial section Statistical section Bankers Insight Group 48 24
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DeKalb County Stonecrest Lithonia Bankers Insight Group 51 These three local governments are typical in that they represent a wide range of revenue sources. It is safe to say that there are as many combinations and variations of revenues as there are cities, counties, townships, and villages in the country Bankers Insight Group 52 26
Taxes as a source of local revenue fall into 4 categories: Property taxes Income Taxes Sales and Use Taxes Other Taxes Each of the above taxes may be levied subject to state regulation, at the local level. Also, states distribute a portion of state tax revenues to their local governments, usually through complex formulas that attempt to achieve a certain fairness of distribution Bankers Insight Group 53 Grants General Fiscal Assistance Reimbursement of Costs Review case study Bankers Insight Group 54 27
Things to remember Many sources of revenues Some come with restrictions Most are susceptible to shrink or not renewed Can create a significant planning and accounting challenge for local GU Bankers Insight Group 55 Three primary categories of expenditures: Current. Capital projects. Debt service. The most significant expenditures are made from the general and special revenue funds, which are generally true for most local governments Bankers Insight Group 56 28
Significant unfunded liabilities for many municipalities Must focus on the underfunding and the plan to resolve Must also understand normal funding requirements Detroit, Michigan Bankers Insight Group 57 A local government's fiscal capacity is its ability to generate taxes and their revenues from its own sources. Recall earlier, we identified local government s revenue sources as: Bankers Insight Group 58 29
Taxes (property, income, sales/use & other) Fees and assessments Sales of services and government enterprises. Intergovernmental sources (grants, general fiscal assistance & reimbursement of costs) Bankers Insight Group 59 Because intergovernmental funds are not generated from a local government's own sources, we do not consider them in measuring the government's fiscal capacity. Bankers Insight Group 60 30
The most important factors that influence a local government's fiscal capacity are: 1. Individual tax and revenue sources that are diverse and growing 2. Access limitations-legal and other constraints that impair the government's ability to tap the full potential of a revenue source 3. Underlying strength of the local and regional economies, which affects the future of taxes and revenues. Bankers Insight Group 61 A key to analyzing and understanding munis and other GU is the impact of the economic environment on their ability to generate revenue Bottom Line: GU are highly susceptible to an economic downturn Proven by the economic decline starting in 2007 Bankers Insight Group 62 31
Primary factors: High Unemployment Falling Property Values Georgia s Story DeKalb County Georgia one factor affects another Response: The County went into the RE Business Bankers Insight Group 63 Bankers Insight Group 64 32
Property Taxes Strength of local economy. Market demand for property. Growing economy equals demand for property equals higher property values Diversity of property type. Industrial, Commercial & Residential (beware of concentrations) Extent of tax-exempt property. Usually for NPO and other for other For Profit Organizations to attract them to an area Bankers Insight Group 65 Income Taxes Regional and local economies. More sensitive to swings in the economy than property taxes Look primarily at the regional economy because income taxes are always earned from the host governments Surrounding area income tax rates. Lower tax rates in neighboring areas may lure away residents Diversity of employer base. Watch concentration levels Bankers Insight Group 66 33
Sales and Use Taxes Mix and health of local economy. Strength of retail base. Draw from other areas Nearby communities' sales tax rates. Bankers Insight Group 67 Fees, Assessments, and Sale of Services Need or market for underlying service. Local economic health. Bankers Insight Group 68 34
Government Enterprises Health of local economy. Demand for service sold. Price. Competition from neighboring governments or private sector. Bankers Insight Group 69 Access Limitations Legal restrictions. Policy limitations. Competitive limitations. Bankers Insight Group 70 35
Population trends. Growth rate, age, education skills and income level Demographics. Retirement community or haven for young adults Employment rates. Nature of employment. Other measures. Dollar value of building permits; percentage of taxable sales growth from previous year; rate of property tax collection Bankers Insight Group 71 Bankers Insight Group 72 36
Why Do Local Governments Borrow Money? To cover financing gap between revenues and expenditures. To finance long-term assets and projects. Bankers Insight Group 73 Governments are not always able to collect their revenues on precisely the same timetable as their expenditure obligations. For example, tax revenues do not flow into a city's coffers evenly over the course of a year Bankers Insight Group 74 37
Property taxes are usually collected twice annually, Income taxes generally are collected no more often than quarterly, and governments that levy sales taxes are likely to see seasonal variations in collections. Grants are subject to timing issues too. Bankers Insight Group 75 For these reasons, governments, like businesses, can have working capital financing needs. These are typically funded using anticipation financing, a type of bridge financing. The local government issues short-term that are timed to come due when the government's anticipated revenue source becomes available. Bankers Insight Group 76 38
Local governments are no different from businesses in their need to spread out the cost of major projects and fixed assets over long periods of time. Road and highway improvements, municipal to be financed. Long-term debt for municipalities generally takes the form of either general obligation debt or revenue debt. Bankers Insight Group 77 General obligation debts. Revenue debt. Bond anticipation notes. Bankers Insight Group 78 39
Revenue debt is repayable only from user fees or dedicated taxes, and it does not carry the full faith and credit of the borrowing government. Either type of long-term financing may be used to finance a given long-term project The choice to use one or the other is based on a variety of considerations including: legal restrictions on the amount of general obligation debt, availability of suitable revenue streams to support revenue debt and differences that may exist in the rate of interest paid on the two types of debt. Bankers Insight Group 79 Municipal leases. Cash flow notes. Commercial paper and variable rate demand obligations. Other debt types. Bankers Insight Group 80 40
Rating agencies are private companies that analyze municipalities' creditworthiness and rate individual debt issues. Obtaining a debt rating for a debt issue is voluntary, but large issues will not be marketable to the public without a rating. Private placements of municipal debt are often made without a debt rating although purchasers will be sure to check the rating of other debt issued by the same borrower as a part of their own due diligence. Bankers Insight Group 81 There are three primary agencies that rate municipal debt issues in the United States: Moody's Investors Service Standard and Poor's Corporation, owned by McGraw Hill. Fitch Investors Service, owned by Female SA (France). Bankers Insight Group 82 41
These agencies take very similar approaches to evaluating the risk of repayment of a debt issue. Each does an exhaustive analysis of the very same credit issues we have been discussing in this course. The four general areas of analysis used by each agency are: Bankers Insight Group 83 Economic factors, Debt factors, Governmental/administrative factors, Financial Performance Factors Bankers Insight Group 84 42
ABC System Suffixes to Ratings Important to obtain their definitions Bankers Insight Group 85 Moody's ratios give us an idea of the financial creditworthiness of a municipal borrower Annually, Moody 's Investors Service's U.S. Public Finance Group prepares a Special Comment entitled "US Local Government Medians," which calculates the medians for financial ratios and other criteria for cities, counties, and school districts. Moody's presents the financial ratio analysis for cities overall and by size of the city. Bankers Insight Group 86 43
The ratios cover the three primary areas: 1. Financial 2. Debt Levels and Debt Service 3. Economic and Tax Base Statistics Arguably, the most important factor is the economy of the municipality compared to regional, state and national averages Bankers Insight Group 87 Most banks desire to lend to investment grade (Baa or better) Some banks may also want A or above. May selectively consider below investment grade. Bankers Insight Group 88 44
Ratio Analysis is useful in review; however, all sections of the CAFR, including Notes to the F/S, Auditor s Opinion, Management Letter and Supplementary Schedules should be reviewed Bankers Insight Group 89 The GASB 34 full accrual statements are used for the calculation of ratios related to all important liquidity of the municipality For the rest of the Ratios, the Fund Financial Statements are utilized and in some cases, a combination of the Fund and GAAP statements are utilized. Bankers Insight Group 90 45
Thank you for participating. TTS Kyle Bennett 800-831-0678 www.bankwebinars.com info@ttstrain.com Upcoming Webinars June 23 rd Compliance Perspectives: A Monthly Update June 28 th HMDA: A Summary of the New Final Rules June 28 th Handling Social Security Representative Payee Accounts July 6 th Federal Benefit Payments Garnishment Requirements July 7 th Entering the World of Consumer Lending Part 1 July 12 th Alert! Implementing New Customer Due Diligence Rules Legal Entity Customers July 12 th Call Center Representative Training July 13 th Email Security Oops, You Clicked: Now What? July 13 th Developing a Star Teller July 14 th Entering the World of Consumer Lending Part 2 Bankers Insight Group 91 46