SC MUNICIPAL BENCHMARKING PROJECT
General Instructions for FY04 Cost Data Spreadsheet
This document outlines the general instructions for the financial information and then, where appropriate,
gives information related to each of the service departments.
Indirect costs are those costs associated with the central support departments (e.g., payroll, administration,
IT, etc.). The allocation factors, as developed by the Finance Committee, for each of these departments is
outlined on the Allocation Factor Form. Each city is asked to submit this form in conjunction with the
spreadsheet. By reviewing these forms from all of the cities, project staff ensures that all cities are using a
similar basis for spreading these costs. Each finance department, not the service departments, should
calculate the indirect costs for the departments participating in the project.
1. All data submitted should be for FY04
2. All capital items $5,000 and greater for police, fire, solid waste, and parks and recreation
should be included and amortized over the life of the capital. Include any items less
than $5,000 as supplies.
3. General/Enterprise Fund & Special Revenue Fund- These two columns constitute the
direct costs for each department. Please include all costs or expenses for the departments
that are requested for this project, regardless of type of fund. The figures reported in
Special Revenue Fund column are the costs for the operation that are assigned to this
fund. Please do not consider the actual revenues when calculating these costs.
4. Depreciation Costs - In this newly added column, please report depreciation costs for
the departments according to the schedules you are using for GASB 34.
5. Exclude any building or land purchases. Also exclude lease purchase payments on
equipment or buildings, if you've already depreciated these items. Please include the
cost of any lease payments (non-lease purchase payments) the city has. Please see item
#2 under Parks and Recreation on page three for the only exception to this.
SANITATION 1. Service Area Definitions The following information explains how the sanitation divisions or functional areas
have been defined for the purpose of this project:
 Residential Garbage Waste generated by households and small businesses that is placed into a roll
cart or trash can for collection. This material includes putrescible material
that must be disposed of in a sanitary landfill.
 Residential Recyclables -
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Household-generated materials that are capable of being recycled and which
would otherwise be processed or disposed of as solid waste.
 Residential Yard Waste, Trash and Leaves Residentially generated solid waste that consists solely of vegetative matter
that has resulted from landscaping material.
 Commercial Solid Waste All types of solid waste generated by stores, offices, restaurants, warehouses,
and other non-manufacturing activities, excluding residential and industrial
waste that is put into a commercial container (dumpster) for collection. This
material includes putrescible material and other material that must be
disposed of in a sanitary landfill.
2. "Collection" and "Disposal" The collection of waste refers to all of the costs, processes, and employee time
involved in collecting the refuse from the receptacle. Disposal refers to the costs
associated with disposing the refuse either at the landfill or transfer station.
Tipping fees and MRF operational costs, if applicable, should be included as
disposal costs.
3. Residential Recycling Disposal/Processing Residential recycling disposal/processing includes the operational costs of a cityowned processing center. If the county handles recyclable processing, the city
will need to estimate the portion of the county's costs that is related to the
disposal and processing of the city's recyclables. Also include tipping fees
charged by the county, if applicable.
POLICE 1. Victim/Witness Advocacy Program This program is designed to assist victims and witnesses involved in crimes. The victim
advocate may be sworn or non-sworn employees or unpaid, citizen volunteers. Include
in your police total all personnel who work with this program, regardless of where the
program is housed (e.g., municipal court, etc.).
2. Salary and Benefit Information The requested salary and benefit information on the second page is a breakout of the
direct costs reported on page one.
FIRE 1. Salary and Benefit Information The requested salary and benefit information on the second page is a breakout of the
direct costs reported on page one.
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PARKS AND RECREATION 1. In FY04, your parks and recreation department will be tracking the direct costs
associated with the youth soccer, youth basketball, and youth baseball/softball
athletic programs. They will then report this information to you or someone in your
department to compute the indirect costs and total costs.
2. One of the items the parks and recreation departments will be including as direct
costs is gym/facility rental. For consistency purposes, if your city owns a gym,
please include gym depreciation in the depreciation column on page one for parks
and recreation. This should be based on the percentage of time the athletic program
uses the gym. You will need to get this information from your parks and recreation
department.
3. Service area definition:
 Maintenance
The continual operation that preserves and improves public areas in a safe, efficient
and aesthetically pleasing manner. Maintenance activities include mowing,
trimming, planting, litter control, athletic field preparation, and equipment and
building repair related to parks and other recreational facilities.
4. All of the figures reported on page two for parks and recreation (#2-#8) should be
only for those dollars that are used for parks and recreation services, programs and
events. Include concessions, ad valorum taxes, and any other revenue in #8 "Amount of Other Collected".
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