Adopted 9-15-04 Revised 6-24-12
The Towsontowne Recreation and Parks Council is a community service organization operating under section 501 (C) 3 of the Internal Revenue Service code. As such, it is necessary that the following financial procedures are strictly applied when conducting Council financial business.
The Program Director of any Council program is responsible for coordinating the collection and distribution of all funds from registration donations and sponsorships. Whenever possible, a program should have a volunteer Treasurer to conduct program financial business in coordination with the Program Director. Duties include formulating a balanced annual program budget, collecting registration donations and other income for deposit, considering and authorizing program expenditures and keeping a reasonably accurate inventory of program supplies and equipment.
Deposit slips, check request forms, budget forms, copies of the Md. Tax exempt card and ledger sheets are available through the treasurer or the bookkeeper at Recreation Council meetings.
The Council fiscal year is June 1st through May 31st.
The Council Treasurer is Chuck Warns.
The Council’s bookkeeper is Chuck Warns
1729 York Rd- Ste 210- Lutherville, MD 21093.
cewwmsc@aol.com
Annually, the Council bookkeeper, in conjunction with the Treasurer, will prepare the Council’s tax return (Form 990) and submit to the IRS.
Deposits
Every attempt should be made to deposit checks promptly, as a courtesy to the check maker and tool of efficient accounting. In any event, all income must be deposited within fourteen (14) days of the final acceptance of registrations.
All checks must be made payable to the Towsontowne Recreation Council, (TTRC) and must be deposited along with all cash receipts into the Council checking account maintained at the Bank of America. When accepting checks, write the program name in the notation space for identification purposes in the event that a check is returned for insufficient funds.
When making a deposit, write the Program Name on the deposit slip. The teller at Bank of America should return two (2) validated copies. Keep one for your records. Mail the other copy promptly to the Council Bookkeeper. (address above) If the bookkeeper does not receive a validated copy of the deposit slip your program will not be credited for the amount of the deposit and it will be listed as an unclaimed deposit. (see below) If the bank sends an adjustment notice for an inaccurate deposit or a returned check from your program, you will receive notice from the Council Treasurer and/or bookkeeper. The bookkeeper will adjust the Council records accordingly.
Expenditures
Program directors are authorized to purchase any necessary equipment, uniforms, supplies, etc. to operate the program. Any purchases made for the program are exempt from Maryland State sales tax. To pay for these purchases, a check request form including the payee’s name and address, the amount for which the check should be written, a description of the purchase, the program name, and an authorizing signature (Program Director or Treasurer) must be prepared. Attach any copies of vendor’s invoices, register receipts, or timesheets and forward to the Council bookkeeper for payment. Program Directors should retain copies of check requests and vendor invoices for their program records.
The Council bookkeeper will not process any payments without an authorized check request form. For certain types of expenditures (such as refunds of program fees or monetary gifts), a vendor’s invoice will not be available. In these instances, the check request form will serve as the only support for the expenditure. All checks require dual signatures of two authorized board members. The Council bookkeeper will mail the check directly to the payee.
If you require an advance check for which you do not yet have an invoice or receipt, write receipt to follow in the upper left corner of the check request and forward it to the Council bookkeeper. When you receive the paid invoice or receipt make a copy for your records and forward the original immediately to the Council bookkeeper.
Program Assessment
Programs are charged an annual assessment to fund the general operating costs of the Council. The assessment is based on the number of registered program participants and is calculated by the Treasurer based on the Program director’s registration report. The current assessment is five dollars ($5) per registrant, youth or adult. Program directors will receive an assessment letter and program registration report form approximately two (2) weeks after the acceptance of final registrations. This report should be completed promptly and returned to the Treasurer. The Treasurer will send the Council bookkeeper a copy of the completed report and the bookkeeper will make the necessary adjustment to the Council’s accounting records.
Budget and Bookkeeping
Program directors and/or treasurers are responsible for formulating a realistic annual program budget and maintaining accurate records of all financial transactions (deposits, expenditures and a fund balance). Programs must be self-sustaining unless otherwise authorized by the Council Board. Checks for expenditures beyond the program fund balance will not be issued without prior Board approval. The fund balance per the program’s records should be reconciled with the balance per the Council Treasurer’s report each month. Any discrepancies should be resolved with the Council Treasurer immediately upon discovery.
At the end of each month, the Council bookkeeper will record all transactions on the Council’s financial records. The Council bookkeeper will also review the monthly bank statement to identify and record other transactions not previously recorded, including deposits appearing on the bank statement for which no deposit slip was received. The Council bookkeeper will prepare a summary of these unclaimed deposits each month and attach this summary to the Treasurer’s report. The Treasurer’s report and summary of unclaimed deposits will be distributed at the monthly Council meetings. Any such deposit which is not claimed by a program within six (6) months will be credited to the Council general fund.