BFPD FY26 GFOA Budget - Flipbook - Page 16
| FINANCIAL POLICY OVERVIEW
Balanced Budget:
The District’s budget is considered balanced when revenues are equal to or exceeding
expenditures.
FY26 Example:
Budget Item | Dollar Amount
Total Expenditures
Total Revenues
Over Expenditures
$
$
$
FY26 Budget
14,845,331
15,809,650
964,319
In FY26, the District’s budget is balanced because revenues exceed expenditures.
Budget Procedure:
The Board of Trustees follows a strict set of procedures when establishing the annual budget.
This includes a timeline, rules about expenditures and appropriations, and legal powers of the
Board. More information about this procedure is included in the appendix of this document.
Fund Balance Policies:
In the fund financial statements, governmental funds report aggregate amounts for five
classifications of fund balances based on the constraints imposed on the use of these resources.
These five classifications are as follows: 1) non-spendable fund balance, 2) restricted fund
balance, 3) committed fund balance, 4) assigned fund balance, and 5) unassigned fund balance.
The District’s goal for fund balance minimums in the General and Ambulance fund is 25%. This
is based on the 3-month rule, which states that local governments should have enough reserves in
their primary operating funds to maintain service delivery for 3 months without their typical
revenue streams. More information on these classifications can be found in the appendix.
Calculation | Fund (FY26 Budget)
Est. Ending Fund Balance
Budgeted Operating Expenditures
Budgeted Capital Acquisitions
Fund Balance %
$
$
$
Ambulance Fund
General Fund
1,884,554 $
2,139,196
6,053,331 $
7,666,450
$
31%
26%
In FY26, both the General and Ambulance funds are above the 25% goal. Their percentages will
continue to increase as the District draws up reserves for a few major capital purchases in the
next 6 years.
Debt Policy & Limitations:
The District enters into debt transactions to finance additions of machinery, equipment, and
major improvements to fire facilities. Before debt can be incurred it must be approved by the
District’s Board of Trustees and be within the District’s defined debt limit. Because the District
is a non-home rule entity, it has a designated debt limit that is controlled by 70 ILCS 705/12.
This states that the District cannot incur debt in any manner, or for any purpose, in an amount
exceeding 5.75% of its current EAV.
P a g e 16 | BARTLETT FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT | INTRODUCTION
