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Story County board sends updated capital asset policy to seven‑day review to reflect GASB guidance and raise tagging threshold
Summary
The Story County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14 approved sending a proposed update to the county's capital asset policy out for a seven‑day review to reflect new GASB guidance on subscription‑based software and to raise the physical‑inventory tagging threshold from $500 to $1,000.
The Story County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14 approved sending a proposed update to the county's capital asset policy out for a seven‑day review, after county staff said the revision is needed to incorporate a new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) requirement and to raise the fixed‑asset tagging threshold.
Auditor Lucy Martin told the board the new GASB guidance covers subscription‑based software arrangements (referred to in the presentation as SBITA) and that the county's contract with COT qualifies as an intangible capital asset under the standard. Martin also said the policy language was updated to reflect current practice and that the county's purchasing policy was retitled "purchasing and procurement policy." She recommended increasing the physical inventory tagging threshold from $500 to $1,000 to reduce the number of low‑cost items that must be tagged.
Martin said departments had requested a higher tagging threshold at recent meetings of department heads and elected officials, and that the proposed $1,000 level was chosen to balance tracking needs and administrative burden. She told the board staff do not plan to remove existing inventory items priced under the new threshold; those items will be removed as they naturally phase out.
The board voted to place the proposed policy on seven‑day review. The motion passed on a voice vote (Bridal, aye; Basil, aye; Merkin, aye). Martin said she will distribute the draft to department heads and elected officials and return to the board for final approval after the review period.
Why this matters: the change implements newly issued GASB guidance for subscription‑based software, clarifies procurement language, and reduces recordkeeping for lower‑cost equipment — changes that affect county accounting, inventory control, and department workflows. The board did not adopt the policy permanently; it approved the proposed update only for the statutorily required review period.
Next steps: the draft will be posted for seven days for review and comment and will either return to the board for final approval at the next meeting or be placed on the consent agenda if there are no substantive comments.
