16-4-105. Accumulated retained earnings or fund surplus; capital improvements reserve.

(a) A municipality may accumulate retained earnings in any enterprise or intragovernmental service fund or accumulate a fund surplus in any other fund. With respect to the general fund the accumulated fund balance may be used to meet any legal obligation of the municipality or to:

(i) Provide cash to finance expenditures from the beginning of the budget year until general property taxes and other revenues are collected;

(ii) Provide a reserve to meet emergency expenditures; or

(iii) Provide a reserve by the carryover from one (1) biennium to another of any surplus generated by community service and continuing education programs operated by community colleges.

(b) A municipality may appropriate funds from estimated revenue in any budget year to a reserve for capital improvements and for depreciation within any capital improvements fund, and for the purpose of purchasing or replacing specified equipment or a depreciation reserve for equipment, which has been duly established by ordinance. Money in the reserves may be allowed to accumulate from year to year until the accumulated total is sufficient to permit economical expenditure for the specified purposes. Disbursements from reserves shall be made only by transfer to a revenue account within a capital improvements fund pursuant to an appropriation for the fund. The amount appropriated to reserves under this subsection in any budget year shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the municipality's total revenues for that budget year.

(c) Expenditures from capital improvement or equipment budget accounts shall conform to all requirements of this act as it relates to the execution and control of budgets.