OFFICE ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 581 



Insurance. For want of a better place, the item of insurance will be 

 briefly discussed here. 



Insurance is a specialized work and the underwriters should be freely 

 consulted for advice on all occasions. The amount of insurance to be carried 

 on various properties and classes of risks will be the result of the policy of 

 the governing body. But should the executive in charge have any discre- 

 tion at all he will see that all his buildings and inflammable structures 

 of any kind are amply protected from loss by fire, tornado or any similar 

 disaster which might occur in that locality. Exactly to what extent cover- 

 age should be obtained depends upon other factors than the judgment of 

 the department itself, and of these the character of the improvement is 

 not the least. Generally speaking, fire insurance for eighty per cent of the 

 value of the property would ordinarily be ample, but individual cases arise 

 which may necessitate one hundred per cent coverage. Still other cases may 

 require only fifty per cent. If co-insurance is carried, particular care should 

 be taken of the valuation of the property itself, that its real value actually 

 corresponds with the value on the insurance policy. It is well, if possible, 

 to have no more than one insurance company on each building so that all 

 policies in connection with any one building may be concurrent and that 

 facility of adjustment may be readily obtained. Other forms of insurance, 

 such as general liability, workmen's compensation, robbery, theft, etc., 

 should all be investigated carefully and the entire problem laid before the 

 local insurance underwriters to see that all phases of the work are amply 

 protected. 



It is rare that the park department will find it to its advantage to 

 carry its own insurance on any kind of a risk, except perhaps workmen's 

 compensation. 



Financial Records of Municipal Funds. 



I. Funds. An understanding of municipal funds is prerequisite to a 

 clear understanding of municipal finance, consequently it is discussed first 

 in the financial records. 



Classification and definition. There are two general classes of funds 

 known as (i) general or current expense funds and (2) special funds. General 

 funds are available for any purpose which the spending body has authority 

 to use money for. Special funds are restricted in their use to special items 

 of expenditure. The revenues for general funds are the receipts from taxes 

 and miscellaneous general sources. 



Special funds. Special funds include (a) capital funds, (b) sinking funds, 

 and (c) special and trust funds. They are usually the result of revenues 

 obtained from the sale of municipal securities, and funds so derived are 



