What do you do when a tornado rips through the middle of downtown or a blizzard dumps inches upon inches of snow on the ground and paralyzes the town for days? Of course you don’t intend for these events to happen when you prepare the budget, but you have to anticipate the realities of an emergency – and sooner rather than later.

According to state law (T.C.A. § 6-56-205), the governing body may spend more than the estimated available funds, but only when there is “an actual emergency threatening the health, property or lives of the inhabitants of the municipality and declared by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all members of the governing body present, when there is a quorum.”

In such a case, T.C.A. § 6-56-304 (3) requires the following recordkeeping:

A record of any such emergency purchase shall be made by the person or body authorizing such emergency purchases, and shall specify the amount paid, the items purchased, from whom the purchase was made and the nature of the emergency. A report of any emergency purchase shall be made as soon as possible to the municipal governing body and the chief executive officer of the municipality, and shall include all items of information as required in the record.

From a financial perspective, this is why you have an unassigned fund balance, net assets and, possibly, contingency funds. Disaster assistance may be available in some situations; however, cities and towns should be prepared to handle the immediate circumstances. A good rule of thumb is to have the equivalent of at least two months’ operating expenses available as an unassigned fund balance.