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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sarah's post makes no sense without the following,
which i sent to her alone by error. sorry</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>stuart</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=sweisenberg@covad.net href="mailto:sweisenberg@covad.net">Hyattsville
CDC</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=sarah.wayland@gmail.com
href="mailto:sarah.wayland@gmail.com">Sarah Wayland</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, May 25, 2007 9:03 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [RP TownTalk] balancing the budget by letting the
infrastructuredecay</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sarah,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Nice discussion on GASB 34 standards, but
technically the statement: </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"So even if the Town of Riverdale Park *wanted* to
balance the budget</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>by letting the current infrastructure improvements
decay for 30 years,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>the policies of the GASB no longer allow them to do
so".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>is not accurate. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>GASB 34 is an accounting standard for recording
information, not a policy dictat for performance.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A municipality can opt to let its
infrastructure decay: <U>it need only publicly report that it is doing
so</U>.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In other words, GASB 34 reporting standards
make governments more accountable for recording infrastructure management
decisions and funding levels on an annual basis: </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>but elected officials, in tandem with their
administrative staff, make the policy choices to fund or not fund infrastructure
sustainably. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The electorate, having been informed of the
governments' policy choices regarding infrastructure maintenance and its
funding, is still the final arbiter of </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>who makes theses choices in the future: but now and
hereafter that decision is partially based upon better information, as required
under the GASB 34 standards.:<BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Stuart Eisenberg</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>----- Original Message ----- </FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>From: "Sarah Wayland" <</FONT><A
href="mailto:sarah.wayland@gmail.com"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>sarah.wayland@gmail.com</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>To: <</FONT><A
href="mailto:towntalk@riverdale-park.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>towntalk@riverdale-park.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 7:10 AM</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Subject: [RP TownTalk] balancing the budget by
letting the infrastructuredecay</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><BR><FONT size=2></FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>> It has been a common practice for governments to balance their
budgets<BR>> by letting their infrastructure decay.<BR>> <BR>> In
response to this, in 1999, the Governmental Accounting Standards<BR>> Board
(GASB) adopted new accounting standards (GASB No. 34) that<BR>> discourage
this practice. You can read a summary at:<BR>> <BR>> </FONT><A
href="http://www.gasb.org/st/summary/gstsm34.html"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>http://www.gasb.org/st/summary/gstsm34.html</FONT></A><BR><FONT
face=Arial size=2>> <BR>> Below are selected relevant quotes:<BR>>
<BR>> "Most governmental utilities and private-sector companies use
accrual<BR>> accounting. It measures not just current assets and liabilities
but<BR>> also long-term assets and liabilities (such as capital
assets,<BR>> including infrastructure, and general obligation debt). It
also<BR>> reports all revenues and all costs of providing services each
year,<BR>> not just those received or paid in the current year or soon
after<BR>> year-end."<BR>> <BR>> [Translation: We can't pave the roads
now, and then let them decay for<BR>> 30 years. We must instead include the
long-term cost of maintaining<BR>> those roads in the annual budget.]<BR>>
<BR>> "Governments should report all capital assets, including<BR>>
infrastructure assets, in the government-wide statement of net assets<BR>>
and generally should report depreciation expense in the statement of<BR>>
activities. Infrastructure assets that are part of a network or<BR>>
subsystem of a network are not required to be depreciated as long as<BR>> the
government manages those assets using an asset management system<BR>> that
has certain characteristics and the government can document that<BR>> the
assets are being preserved approximately at (or above) a condition<BR>> level
established and disclosed by the government."<BR>> <BR>> [Translation: We
have to document that our roads are being preserved.]<BR>> <BR>>
"Governments with less than $10 million in revenues (phase 3) should<BR>>
apply this Statement for periods beginning after June 15, 2003."<BR>>
<BR>> [Translation not required.]<BR>> <BR>> Furthermore, another
article on the GASB website<BR>> (</FONT><A
href="http://www.gasb.org/repmodel/IMGgasb34.pdf"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>http://www.gasb.org/repmodel/IMGgasb34.pdf</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>) states that "all<BR>> infrastructure assets acquired, renovated,
restored, or improved after<BR>> the effective date of GASB 34 are to be
reported on a prospective<BR>> basis."<BR>> <BR>> So even if the Town
of Riverdale Park *wanted* to balance the budget<BR>> by letting the current
infrastructure improvements decay for 30 years,<BR>> the policies of the GASB
no longer allow them to do so.<BR>> <BR>> -Sarah<BR>> <BR>> --
<BR>> Sarah Wayland<BR>> Maryland - USA<BR>> </FONT><A
href="mailto:sarah.wayland@gmail.com"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>sarah.wayland@gmail.com</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>>
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face=Arial size=2>> <BR>> For more information about Riverdale Park, visit
</FONT><A href="http://www.ci.riverdale-park.md.us"><FONT face=Arial
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