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CITY OF EUGENE, OREGON <br />Notes to Basic Financial Statements <br />(1) Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, continued <br />(J) Capital Assets <br />Capital assets include land, right-of-way (included with land), buildings, improvements, equipment, <br />infrastructure, and other tangible assets costing over $5,000 used in operations that have initial useful lives <br />extending beyond a year. Infrastructure are those capital assets that are stationary in nature and can be <br />preserved for a significantly greater number of years than most other capital assets. The City has a <br />transportation infrastructure system reported in governmental activities consisting of roads, bridges, sidewalks, <br />and traffic and lighting systems. Infrastructure reported in business-type activities consists of a regional airfield, <br />and stormwater and wastewater collection systems. As permitted by GASB 34, the City has limited the <br />retroactive capitalization of governmental fund infrastructure to fiscal years ending after June 30, 1980. <br />Although, the majority of such infrastructure was placed in service before that date, it has not been included in <br />these financial statements since it has been primarily depreciated. <br />All capital assets, except for infrastructure in governmental activities prior to July 1, 1980, have been capitalized <br />in the government-wide and proprietary fund financial statements. In accordance with the current financial <br />resources measurement focus, capital assets are not capitalized in the governmental fund financial statements. <br />All purchased capital assets are valued at cost where historical records are available and at estimated historical <br />cost where no historical records exist. Historical cost is measured by the cash or cash equivalent price of <br />obtaining an asset, including ancillary charges necessary to place the asset into its intended location and <br />condition for use. Donated capital assets are reported at their estimated fair value at the time of acquisition plus <br />ancillary charges, if any. Additions, improvements, and other capital outlays that significantly extend the useful <br />life of an asset are capitalized. Amounts expended for maintenance and repairs are charged to <br />expenditures/expenses in the appropriate funds as incurred and are not capitalized. Capital improvements <br />financed by special assessments which provide assets to the City’s Stormwater Utility Fund and Wastewater <br />Utility Fund are capitalized on the proprietary fund Statement of Fund Net Assets. <br />Capital assets are depreciated unless they are inexhaustible in nature (e.g., land and right-of-ways). <br />Depreciation is an accounting process to allocate the cost of capital assets to expense in a systematic and <br />rational manner to those periods expected to benefit from the use of capital assets. Depreciation is not <br />intended to represent an estimate in the decline of fair market value, nor are capital assets, net of accumulated <br />depreciation, intended to represent an estimate of the current condition of the assets, or the maintenance <br />requirements needed to maintain the assets at their current level of condition. <br />Depreciation is computed over the estimated useful lives of the capital assets. All estimates of useful lives are <br />based on actual experience by City departments with identical or similar capital assets. Depreciation is <br />calculated on the straight-line basis, except for infrastructure and improvements other than buildings reported in <br />the governmental activities column of the government-wide financial statements, which are calculated using a <br />composite depreciation method. The estimated useful lives of the various categories of assets are as follows: <br /> Estimated <br /> useful life <br />Category <br />Buildings 40-50 years <br />Improvements other than buildings 20 years <br />Infrastructure25-40 years <br />Equipment 3-15 years <br /> <br />Upon disposal of capital assets, cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and, if <br />appropriate, a gain or loss on the disposal is recognized. In accordance with the composite depreciation <br />method, no gain or loss is recorded upon disposal, but rather, cost is removed from the capital asset account <br />and charged to the accumulated depreciation account. <br />continued <br />ìî <br />