The City's Budget is financed by the use of different "funds." A fund can be thought of as a separate bank account used for specific purposes. These funds can be views independently through the OpenGov site.
The General Fund is the City's main operating fund used to pay for traditional City services such as police and fire protection, administration, and street maintenance. These activities utilize most tax dollars, such as property tax and occupational/ gross receipt fees, but are also supported by licenses and permits, user fees, and investment earnings. Some activities in the General Fund, such as building inspection or photo copying, are intended to be substantially self-supporting through fees for services provided and charged to individuals or businesses.
Another major group of City funds are called Enterprise Funds, used to account for specific services funded directly by fees and charges to users. In Newport, these funds are represented by the refuse and Newport on the Levee (garage) funds. The intent is that the funds be completely self- supporting and not be subsidized by general revenue or taxes. These funds are accounted for as if each activity were a separate, independent non-profit business of the City.
The City also maintains a Capital Projects Fund used to fund capital improvements. A capital improvement is usually a large construction project such as reconstruction of a roadway, the development of parkland, or the construction of a building.
Finally, the City maintains Debt Service, Special Revenue, Internal Service and Fiduciary Funds.
- Debt Service Funds are used to pay the principal and interest payments associated with retiring bonds issued by the City.
- Special Revenue Funds set aside special revenue, i.e., the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) federal revenue, which is restricted in its use.
- Internal Service Funds, such as the City Employee Benefits Fund, capture revenue received from user departments and user charges.
- Fiduciary Funds include the legacy pension funds for employees, fire and police.