A city recently proposed the following “one-shot” measures to help balance its 2017 general fund budget (the only budget that is required by law to be balanced). For each of the measures, indicate how it would affect revenues (or their equivalent, such as gains) on its 2017 budget as well as its fund and government- wide December 31, 2017, financial statements. That is, indicate the amount, if any by which revenues will increase. The city’s budget is prepared on a cash basis; its financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Briefly explain and justify your answer.
1. The city will sell bonds (accounted for in the general fund) that it planned to hold to maturity as an investment. The bonds currently have a market value of $1,030,000 and could be sold for that amount. They were acquired for $1,000,000.
2. The city will reduce the protest period on traffic fines by 15 days, thereby increasing the amounts due in 2017 by $45,000. Of this amount $20,000 will be paid without protest, and $10,000 will be protested (hearings to be held in 2018). Of the $10,000 that will be protested, only $2,000 will actually have to be paid (all by February 2018). The balance will be voided as the result of successful protests. Of the remaining $15,000 that was neither paid nor protested in 2017, $6,000 will eventually be paid—evenly over the first six months of 2018 (i.e., $1,000 per month). The $9,000 balance will be uncollectible.
3. The city will sell an office building for $45 million. At the time of sale, the building had a book value of $18 million (cost of $30 million less $12 million accumulated depreciation).
4. It will advance the date on which sales taxes are due. Currently small merchants must remit by January 15 taxes on sales made in October and November. They will now have to remit them by December 31. The change will affect $4 million in taxes.
5. The city has been awarded a grant of $2 million from the county. The grant specifies that the funds are to be used by the city in 2019 to cover certain costs of a low-income housing program. Although the city expects to receive the funds from the county in January 2018, the county has agreed to the city’s request that it advance payment of the funds to December 2017.
6. The city will increase interest and penalties on delinquent property taxes. As a consequence the city expects to collect in December 2017 approximately $5 million in 2017 taxes that it otherwise would have collected in each of the first three months of 2018.