2006 Utah Code - 17A-1-415 — Accumulated fund balances -- Limitations -- Excess balances -- Unanticipated excess of revenues -- Reserves for capital projects.

     17A-1-415.   Accumulated fund balances -- Limitations -- Excess balances -- Unanticipated excess of revenues -- Reserves for capital projects.
     (1) Districts are permitted to accumulate retained earnings or fund balances, as appropriate, in any fund. For the general fund only, any accumulated fund balance is restricted to the following purposes:
     (a) to provide working capital to finance expenditures from the beginning of the budget year until general property taxes or other applicable revenues are collected, thus reducing the amount which the district must borrow during the period, but this subsection does not permit the appropriation of any fund balance for budgeting purposes except as provided in Subsection (4);
     (b) to provide a resource to meet emergency expenditures under Section 17A-1-426; and
     (c) to cover a pending year-end excess of expenditures over revenues from an unavoidable shortfall in revenues. This provision does not permit the appropriation of any fund balance to avoid an operating deficit during any budget year except as provided under Subsection (4), or for emergency purposes under Section 17A-1-426.
     (2) The accumulation of a fund balance in the general fund may not exceed the greater of:
     (a) 100% of the current year's property tax; or
     (b) 25% of the total general fund revenues for districts with annual general fund budgets greater than $100,000 or 50% of the total general fund revenues for districts with annual general fund budgets equal to or less than $100,000.
     (3) If the fund balance at the close of any fiscal year exceeds the amount permitted under Subsection (2), the excess shall be appropriated in the manner provided in Section 17A-1-416.
     (4) Any fund balance in excess of 5% of the total revenues of the general fund may be utilized for budget purposes.
     (5) (a) Within a capital projects fund the governing body may, in any budget year, appropriate from estimated revenue or fund balance to a reserve for capital projects for the purpose of financing future specific capital projects, including new construction, capital repairs, replacement, and maintenance, under a formal long-range capital plan adopted by the governing body.
     (b) The reserves may accumulate from year to year until the accumulated total is sufficient to permit economical expenditure for the specified purposes.
     (c) Disbursements from these reserves shall be made only by a budget appropriation adopted in the manner provided by this part.
     (d) Expenditures from the above appropriation budget accounts shall conform to all requirements of this part relating to execution and control of budgets.

Amended by Chapter 216, 1995 General Session