The fiscal year of the County shall begin with the first day of January and end with the 31st day of December of each year.
In accordance with § C4-7 of the Charter, immediately before the beginning of each fiscal year, the County Executive shall require the head of each spending agency of the County to submit a work program for the year, which program shall include all appropriations for operation and maintenance expenditures and for the acquisition of property and shall show the requested allotments of said appropriations for such spending agency, by quarters, for the entire year. The County Executive shall review the requested allotments in the light of the work program of the spending agency concerned, and the County Executive shall, if deemed necessary, revise, alter or change such allotments before approving the same. The aggregate of such allotments shall not exceed the total appropriations available to said spending agency for the fiscal year. Copies of the allotments, as finally approved by the County Executive, shall be filed with the Director of Finance and shall be transmitted to the head of the spending agency concerned. All expenditures to be made from such appropriations shall be made only in accordance with such approved allotments. The head of any spending agency, whenever deemed necessary by reason of changed conditions, may revise the agency's work program during the fiscal year and submit such revised program to the County Executive with a request for a revision of the allotments for the remainder of the fiscal year, whereupon the County Executive may authorize such changes in the work program and allotments as in the Executive's judgment are expedient. In order to provide funds for possible emergencies arising during the current fiscal year in the operation and maintenance expenditures of the various spending agencies, the County Executive may require the head of each spending agency in making the original allotments or at any time during the year to set aside at least five 5% of any appropriation as a reserve fund. At any time during the year, this reserve or any portion of it may be returned to the appropriation to which it belonged and be added to any one (1) or more of the allotments, provided that the County Executive shall deem such action necessary and give his or her approval thereto.
[Amended 6-10-2014 by L. L. No. 2-2014]
Pursuant to § C4-8 of the Charter, the County Executive shall prepare an annual report for each fiscal year and file such report with the County Legislature. Such report shall depict the financial condition of the County. It shall provide balance sheets and revenue and expense statements. Copies of such report or summaries thereof shall be made available by the County Executive for download on the County website. Such report or a summary thereof may be published in one (1) or more newspapers of general circulation in the County, at the discretion of the County Executive.
During a fiscal year, the County Legislature, upon the recommendation of the County Executive, by resolution, may make additional appropriations or increase existing appropriations, the funds therefor to be provided from any unencumbered balances in appropriations, the contingent funds or unanticipated revenues and unappropriated cash surplus or pursuant to the Local Finance Law of the State of New York.
[Amended 5-19-1992 by L.L. No. 4-1992, approved 6-18-1992]
A. 
If at any time during the fiscal year it appears that available revenues will be insufficient to meet the total amounts appropriated or it appears that the budget modifications in the current fiscal year will be necessary to avoid a deficit projected for a future fiscal year, the County Executive shall report to the County Legislature within thirty (30) days the estimated amount of the deficit, any remedial action taken or planned and any recommendations or further budget modifications necessary to avoid such deficit.
B. 
Upon receipt of the County Executive's report, the County Legislature shall take such action as it deems necessary to prevent any deficit. For that purpose, it may, by resolution, reduce one or more appropriations, but no appropriation for debt service may be reduced, and no appropriation may be reduced by more than the unencumbered balance thereof or below any amount required by law to be so appropriated. The legislature may also, if it so desires, authorize borrowing temporarily for such purpose, pursuant to applicable law, in an amount not greater than such estimated deficit.
A. 
Unanticipated revenues; unappropriated cash surplus. The County Legislature, upon the recommendation of the County Executive, by resolution, may at any time appropriate for any lawful purpose the unanticipated revenues or unappropriated cash surplus within a particular fund, but only to the extent, in each case, that the estimated total of all revenues of such fund received by the County for the fiscal year, including unappropriated cash surplus, exceeds the total of all revenues of such fund as estimated in the budget, including appropriated cash surplus.
B. 
Appropriation of grants-in-aid, gifts and insurance proceeds. Notwithstanding Subsection A above, grants-in-aid received from the state and federal governments, other gifts which are required to be expended for particular objects or purposes and insurance proceeds received for the loss, theft, damage or destruction of real or personal property when proposed to be used or applied to repair or replace such property may, upon recommendation of the County Executive, be appropriated by resolution of the County Legislature at any time for such objects or purposes.
Unless prohibited by law or contractual obligations, the County Executive, from time to time, may transfer unencumbered balances in appropriations within the object level of a department entirely within one (1) fund. Additionally, the County Executive may transfer other unencumbered balances in appropriations between departments entirely within one (1) fund, although no such transfer for any purpose may increase the appropriation received in a subobject more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.), subject to the following limitations: the contingent fund is specifically excepted from this authority; any equipment accounts set up in account 30-01 (County General) may be distributed to any account in the "A" fund (General Fund), subject to the above general limitations; all such transfers within accounts shall be filed monthly with the County Legislature; all "300" series accounts (Provisions for Down Payments — Capital Projects, and Provision for Capital Projects) shall be specifically excepted from this authority; and for the purposes of this transfer authority, each pure waters district shall take on the characteristics of a fund.
No officer, employee, department, board, commission or other spending agency shall, during a fiscal year, expend or contract to expend any money or incur any liability or enter into any contract which, by its terms, involves the expenditure of money for any of the purposes for which provision is made in the budget in excess of the amounts appropriated or authorized by the County Legislature to be borrowed for such fiscal year or any other purpose, except as otherwise provided in this Article or the Local Finance Law of the State of New York. The unexpended balances of each appropriation, less the commitments outstanding at the close of the fiscal year for which it was made, shall lapse at the close of such fiscal year, provided that nothing herein shall be construed to require the lapsing of appropriations which may be or are required to be made for an indefinite period or which include state refunds, allocations or grants applicable to said appropriations, pursuant to any other provisions of law. Nothing herein shall prevent the making of a contract or lease for a term exceeding one (1) year, when authorized by law, nor shall anything herein require a County which has entered into a contract or lease for a term exceeding one (1) year to pay, during the current fiscal year, any amounts larger than those which become due and owing during that year under the terms of such lease or contract. Also, nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the making of appropriations for the construction of permanent public improvements or works not to be completed during the fiscal year or the acquisition of property therefor. Each such appropriation shall continue in force until the purpose for which it was made shall have been accomplished, as certified by the Director of Finance, or abandoned by the County Legislature. Any contract, oral or written, made in violation of this section shall be null and void.
The County Executive may include in the proposed annual budget an amount recommended as necessary to be appropriated for a general contingent fund. The County Legislature, by resolution, may at any time appropriate all or any part of the moneys in the general contingent fund for general County purposes.