WS - C - City of Tiffin 2024 - Auditor's Report - Final

City of Tiffin Notes to Basic Financial Statements NOTE 1 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES The City of Tiffin is a political subdivision of the State of Iowa located in Johnson County. It was first incorporated in 1906 and operates under the Home Rule provisions of the Constitution of Iowa. The City operates under the Mayor-Council form of government with the Mayor and Council Members elected on a nonpartisan basis. The City provides numerous services to citizens including public safety, public works, culture and recreation, community and economic development, water utilities, sewer utilities, recycling utilities, stormwater utilities and general government services. A. Reporting Entity and Jointly Governed Organizations For financial reporting purposes, the City of Tiffin has included all funds, organizations, agencies, boards, commissions, and authorities. The City has also considered all potential component units for which it is financially accountable and other organizations for which the nature and significance of their relationship with the City are such that exclusion would cause the City's basic financial statements to be misleading or incomplete. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has set forth criteria to be considered in determining financial accountability. These criteria include appointing a voting majority of an organization's governing body, and 1) the ability of the City to impose its will on that organization or 2) the potential for the organization to provide specific benefits or impose specific financial burdens on the City. The City has no component units which meet the Governmental Accounting Standards Board criteria other than noted below. 1. Jointly Governed Organizations The City participates in several jointly governed organizations for which the City is not financially accountable or the nature and significance of the relationship with the City are such that exclusion does not cause the City's basic financial statements to be misleading or incomplete. City officials are members of the following boards and commissions: Johnson County Assessor's Conference Board, City Assessor's Conference Board, Johnson County Emergency Management Commission, Johnson County Landfill Commission and Johnson County Joint 911 Service Board. B. Basis of Presentation Government-Wide Financial Statement – The Cash Basis Statement of Activities and Net Position reports information on all of the nonfiduciary activities of the City. For the most part, the effect of interfund activity has been removed from this statement. Governmental activities, which are supported by tax and intergovernmental revenues, are reported separately from business type activities, which rely to a significant extent on fees and charges for services. The Cash Basis Statement of Activities and Net Position presents the City's nonfiduciary net position. Net position is reported in the following categories/components: Expendable Restricted Net Position results when constraints placed on the use of cash balances is either externally imposed or imposed by law through constitutional provisions or enabling legislation. Unrestricted Net Position consists of cash balances not meeting the definition of the preceding categories. Unrestricted net position is often subject to constraints imposed by management which can be removed or modified. 17