The fiscal year of the City shall begin with the first day of
January and end with the last day of December of each year.
The Mayor shall be responsible for preparation and submission
to the Common Council of the tentative City budget.
A.
There shall be a Capital Program Committee, the members of which
shall hold their positions thereon by virtue of their official positions
in the City government, as follows: the Mayor who shall be Chair,
the Director of Administration and Finance, and the Superintendent
of Public Works. The Mayor, at their discretion, may appoint such
other officials or employees of the City as they may wish to act as
technical advisers to the Committee.
[Amended 10-3-2017 by L.L. No. 8-2017]
B.
On or before the first day of September of each year, or such earlier
date as the Committee may prescribe, the various boards and commissions
or, where no board or commission exists, the person appointed as administrative
heads of the units or authorized agencies of the City government shall
submit to the Committee their tentative capital projects for the next
six fiscal years. This submission shall be in the form prescribed
by the Administrative Code[1] and the Committee.
C.
The Mayor in their capacity as Chair of the Capital Program Committee
shall, at least 30 days before the presentation of the capital budget
to the Common Council, submit same to the Planning Commission. Upon
consideration by the Planning Commission, the Chair shall append thereto
a summary of that Commission's concurrence or objection to any item
or items in the recommendations of the Capital Program Committee for
the capital budget for the ensuing or future years. The Mayor shall
include this communication without alteration as an exhibit in their
budget message to the Common Council.
A.
On or before the first day of September of each year, or such earlier
date as the Mayor may prescribe, the various boards and commissions
or, where no board or commission exists, the persons appointed as
administrative heads of the units or authorized agencies of the City
government shall provide for the preparation of and submission to
the Mayor estimates of revenues and proposed expenditures of their
respective unit or authorized agency for the ensuing fiscal year,
exclusive of capital projects. These estimates shall be submitted
in the form prescribed by the Administrative Code[1] and the Mayor.
B.
In the event that any estimate of revenues and proposed expenditures
is not submitted by the date specified, the Mayor shall direct the
Director of Administration and Finance to prepare one forthwith.
C.
With the assistance of the Director of Administration and Finance,
the Mayor, upon receipt of the estimates and requests for appropriations,
shall proceed to make such review and investigation thereon as they
may deem necessary. They may require the board or commission or, where
no board or commission exists, the persons appointed as administrative
heads to furnish data and information and answer inquiries pertinent
to such review or investigation.
The contents and data in the budget shall be prescribed by the
Administrative Code.[1]
On or before the 15th day of October of each year, the Mayor
shall submit to the Common Council and file with the City Clerk the
tentative City budget, including the tentative operating budget and
the tentative capital budget for the ensuing fiscal year, the tentative
appropriation and tax-levying legislation, an accompanying budget
message and the report of the Capital Program Committee for the ensuing
six fiscal years. The tentative operating budget, the tentative capital
budget, the budget message and the appropriation and tax-levying legislation
shall be combined as one document, which shall constitute the tentative
City budget for the ensuing fiscal year.
Upon filing, the tentative City budget shall become a public
record in the office of the City Clerk. A notice of filing of the
tentative City budget shall be published in the official newspapers
of the City as soon as possible after filing.
The Common Council shall review and may modify the tentative
City budget as submitted by the Mayor and shall, not later than the
15th day of November, approve the resultant document, which shall
be the proposed City budget, and file the same with the City Clerk.
Such resultant document shall become a public record in the office
of the City Clerk. Copies of the same shall be made available by the
City Clerk for distribution, and a notice of filing of the proposed
City budget shall be published in the official newspapers of the City
as soon as possible after filing.
Not later than the first day of December, the City Clerk shall
cause to be published in the official newspapers of the City an itemized
abstract of the proposed City budget and a notice of the place and
time, not later than the 15th of December, at which the Common Council
shall hold a public hearing on the proposed City budget. At such hearing,
any persons may be heard for or against the proposed City budget,
or any item thereof.
After the public hearing, but not later than December 31, the
Common Council may add or subtract, increase or decrease, items of
appropriation or anticipated revenues from the proposed City budget,
except appropriations required by law or for debt service. No later
than December 31 the Common Council shall adopt the final City budget.
If a budget has not been adopted, as herein provided, on or
before the 31st day of December, then the tentative City budget as
submitted by the Mayor shall be the City budget for the ensuing fiscal
year.
Four copies of the City budget as adopted shall be certified
by the City Clerk. One such copy shall be filed in the office of the
Mayor and one each in the offices of the Director of Administration
and Finance, the City Clerk, and one shall be placed in Cortland Free
Library. The City budget as so certified may be printed or otherwise
reproduced, and additional copies may be made available to the public.
The assessment roll shall be prepared and taxes levied pursuant
to the Administrative Code.[1]
If during any fiscal year there are available for appropriation
revenues received from sources not anticipated in the budget for that
year, or revenues received from anticipated sources but in excess
of the budget estimates therefor, the Common Council may make supplemental
appropriations for the year, not in excess, however, of such additional
revenues. To meet a public emergency affecting life, health or property,
the Common Council may make emergency appropriations. To the extent
that there are no available unappropriated revenues to meet such appropriations,
the Common Council may authorize the issuance of obligations pursuant
to applicable law.
If at any time during the fiscal year it appears that the revenues
available will be insufficient to meet the amount appropriated, the
Mayor shall report to the Common Council without delay the estimated
amount of the deficit, remedial action taken by them and their recommendations
as to further action. The Common Council 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 Common Council may also,
if it so desires, authorize borrowing temporarily pursuant to applicable
law in any amount not greater than such deficit for such purposes.
Within limitations established by the Common Council, the Mayor
may, at any time during the fiscal year, transfer part or all of any
unencumbered appropriation balance between classifications or expenditures
within the same department of City government. The Common Council,
on recommendation of the Mayor, may transfer part or all of any unencumbered
appropriation balance from one department or authorized agency to
another. But no transfer shall be made from appropriations for debt
service, and no appropriation may be reduced below any amount required
by law to be so appropriated.
Budget controls under the direction of the Director of Administration
and Finance shall be established pursuant to the Administrative Code.[1]
The budget may include a contingent fund for unanticipated or
unallocable expenditures. The Common Council may at any time appropriate
all or any part of the moneys in the general contingent fund for general
City purposes.
The procedures for purchasing shall be included in the Administrative
Code.[1]
No department, board, court, bureau, division, office, commission,
officer or employee is permitted during any fiscal year to expend
or contract to be expended any money or to enter into any contract
which by its terms involves the expenditures of money in excess of
the amounts appropriated in the annual budget estimates adopted by
the Council or otherwise lawfully available. Nothing herein contained
shall prevent the making of a contract for periods exceeding one year
in a case where the Council, by ordinance, authorizes the making of
such contract.
The Common Council may provide for and hire independent auditors
to perform an audit of all City accounts at the close of each fiscal
year.
Public works improvements to specific areas of the City may
be financed through local improvements assessments pursuant to the
Administrative Code.[1]
