The accounts of the County are organized, operated and presented on the basis of funds and an account group. Funds are independent fiscal and accounting entities with self-balancing sets of accounts.  Fund accounting segregates funds according to their intended purpose and is used to aid management in demonstrating compliance with finance-related legal and contractual provisions. The account groups are reporting devices to account for assets and liabilities not directly recorded in a fund.

The General Fund is the County’s primary operating fund. It accounts for all financial resources of the general government, except those required to be accounted for in another fund.

The Special Revenue Fund s account for revenue sources that are legally restricted to expenditure for specific purposes. The following are special revenue funds operated by the County:

• State and Federal Grants Fund – used to account for most State and Federal Grants.
• Governmental Library Fund – accounts for the operation of the law library which is available to the public but is primarily used by attorneys practicing in the courts.
• Public Library Fund – used to account for the operation of the county-wide public library system.
• Solid Waste Fund – Solid waste and recycling activities are accounted for in this fund.
• Hotel/Motel Tax fund – accounts for the collection and use of the amusement tax to promote tourism and related economic activity in the County.
• Drug Control – used to account for drug control activities restricted for drugs enforcement, drug education and non-recurring general law enforcement expenditures.
• Highway Fund – used to account for the County’s share of the State gasoline and motor fuel taxes that are utilized to maintain non state roads within the County.
• Constitutional Officers Fund – accounts for revenues and expenditures associated with administrative functions of the Constitutional Officers.
• School Federal Projects Fund – used to account for state, local and federal pass-through revenues which must be expended on specific educational programs.
• Central Cafeteria Fund – used to account for the cafeteria operations in each of the individual schools.

The Debt Service Fund is used for the accumulation of resources for, and payment of, principal and interest on general long-term debt for the County.

The Capital Projects Funds are used to account for the acquisition and construction of major capital facilities. The following are capital projects funds operated by the County:

• Public Improvement Fund – used to account for the various County construction projects in process (with the exception of school capital projects). These include, but are not limited to the Penal Farm, roads, the Farmers’ Market, sewer lines, Hillcrest Nursing Homes, recreation facilities, public library facilities, Juvenile Court renovations, City County Building renovations, etc.
• School Construction Fund – used to account for the building construction and renovations of the Schools.

Note: The funds listed are the major funds operated by the County. They do not comprise the entire accounting fund structure.