The Budget Process

County Manager

• Discuss proposed operating and capital budget priorities, budget schedules and guidelines with the Management Team.
• Brief the Council on the budget process, proposed financial policies, and budget guidelines.
• Hold budget meetings to review departments' budget requests. Review budget requests, make budget decisions, and prepare budget message.
• Submit the proposed budget to the Council.

Departments

• Submit to the County Manager the department's budget requests, goals, and objectives for the new fiscal year, and accomplishments during the current fiscal year.
• Meet with the County Manager to review department's budget submittal.
• Participate in Council budget hearings to justify department's budget request.
• Implement and monitor the adopted budget for the department and funds.

Finance/Budget Team

• Review previous year's budget process, and identify improvements to both manual and automated procedures.
• Develop proposed budget guidelines and calendar for the new fiscal year.
• Participate in Management Team discussion of budget issues, concerns, and procedural changes.
• Review current year financial performance, and develop financial forecasts.
• Issue budget guidelines and interdepartmental charge (IDC) guidelines and rates approved by the County Manager to departments and outside agencies.

County Council

• Establish County goals for coming year, and meet with County Manager regarding proposed budget guidelines, financial policies, and budget schedule.
• Review County Manager's proposed budget and capital improvement
• Hold public hearings and adopt the annual operating budget and capital improvement program.

All budgets for the Incorporated County of Los Alamos are adopted consistent with generally accepted accounting principles. Annual appropriated budgets are adopted for all County funds except agency and pension trust funds. All annual operating appropriations lapse at fiscal year-end unless specifically approved by the County Council to carry over to the next fiscal year. In contrast, project-length financial plans are adopted for all capital project funds, and unexpended appropriations automatically carry over to the next fiscal year.

The County uses funds and account groups to report on its financial position and operating results. Fund accounting is designed to demonstrate legal compliance and to aid financial management by segregating transactions related to certain County functions or activities. A fund is a separate accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts.

Governmental Funds

Governmental funds account for all or most of a government's general activities, including the collection and disbursement of earmarked moneys (special revenue funds), the acquisition or construction of general fixed assets (capital projects funds), and the servicing of general long-term debt (debt service funds). The General Fund is used to account for all activities of the general government not accounted for in some other fund.

Proprietary Funds

Proprietary funds account for activities similar to those found in the private sector, where net income determination is necessary for sound financial management. Goods or services from such activities can be provided either to outside parties (enterprise funds) or to other departments or agencies primarily within the government (internal service funds).

Fiduciary Funds

Fiduciary funds are used to account for assets held in a trustee or agency capacity for others and therefore cannot be used to support the government's own programs. A pension trust fund is used to report resources that are required to be held in trust for the members and beneficiaries of the County's defined contribution plan (Los Alamos County Employee Pension Plan). An agency fund is used to account for situations where the County's role is purely custodial, such as the receipt, temporary investment, and remittance of fiduciary resources to individuals, private organizations, or other governments.