[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Downingtown 10-13-1993
by Ord. No. 93-10. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Director of Administration and Finance shall, at the time of submitting
the proposed budget to Council, submit, as an annex to the budget, financial
projections for a period of at least three additional years, such projections
beyond the year budgeted to be advisory only for the purpose of long-range
planning. The projections shall include:
A.
Comparative figures for actual and estimated revenues
and expenditures for the current fiscal year and actual revenues and actual
expenditures for the preceding fiscal year.
B.
The proposed operating budget for the next fiscal year,
in such form as Council shall prescribe.
C.
The forecast of revenue and expenditures for a period
of at least three additional years, individually stated, to be advisory only
for the purpose of long-range planning. The information to be provided shall
be stated in line item format only.
D.
A capital program as further set forth below, including
the proposed method of financing each capital project or purchase, but in
no case less than the next five fiscal years; a schedule for the amortization
of all existing capital projects; and proposed funding for any proposed new
capital projects.
The Director of Administration and Finance shall cause the appropriations
voted by Borough Council to be entered in the accounting records of the Borough
and shall approve no contract or expenditure that would exceed the unencumbered
balance of appropriations in any account. Council may at any time amend the
operation budget, but changes in appropriations, either increases or decrease,
shall be made only pursuant to an ordinance authorizing such changes. Supplemental
appropriations may be made by Council in the event that revenues are found
and certified by the Director to exceed estimates in the budget. If revenues
are found and certified by the Director to fall short of estimates in the
budget, the Director shall recommend reductions in appropriations to offset
the deficiency in revenues, and the Council shall make necessary adjustments
in the appropriations to maintain a balanced budget. All unexpected appropriations
shall lapse at the end of the fiscal year.
The budget proposed by the Director and the budget subsequently adopted
by Council shall be balanced so that appropriations shall not exceed the estimated
revenues and available surplus. In making revenue estimates, the Director
shall show the amounts anticipated from existing taxes and service charges
at existing rates, and the increase and decrease to result from any proposed
changes in the rates.
A.
At the time the Director submits the proposed operating
budget to Council, he or she shall also submit to Council a proposed capital
program incorporating a listing of the capital projects and the amounts required
to be appropriated for each, covering a period of not less than five years,
the first year of which shall be in detail and constitute the capital budget
for the next fiscal year. The capital program shall be a projection of construction
or acquisition of capital assets and the means of their financing. The capital
program shall set forth all proposed capital improvements, identified by project;
the year at which acquisition and construction is to be scheduled; the means
by which the capital program is to be financed; the effect of any proposed
capital expenditures on future operating expenses; and the effect of any proposed
new indebtedness on the amortization of existing debt and debt limits.
B.
The Borough will coordinate development of the capital
improvement budget with development of the operating budget. Future operating
costs associated with new capital improvement will be projected and included
in operating budget forecasts.
C.
The Borough will maintain all its assets at a level adequate
to protect the Borough's capital investment and to minimize future maintenance
and replacement costs.
D.
The Borough Director will project the Borough's vehicle
equipment replacement and maintenance needs for not less than five years and
will update this projection each year. From this projection, a maintenance
and replacement schedule will be developed and followed.
E.
The Borough Director will identify the estimated costs
and potential funding sources for each capital project proposal before it
is submitted to Council for approval.
F.
The Borough Director will determine the least costly
financing method for all new projects.
G.
The capital program and the capital budget shall be adopted
by Borough Council only after the advertisement and public hearing in the
same manner as provided for the adoption of the operating budget. The capital
budget may be financed from appropriation of current revenues or moneys borrowed
as authorized by applicable law. The Director shall control expenditures in
the capital budget in the same manner as provided for in the operating budget.
Borough Council may amend the capital budget at any time, but, before doing
so, it must amend the capital program.
H.
All appropriations for the capital budget shall lapse
at the end of the fiscal year, but sufficient amounts to complete proposed
projects and projects in progress can be appropriated in the budget for the
following year.
Council shall provide for an independent annual audit of Borough receipts,
expenditures, accounts and reports, including the accounts of the Treasurer,
by a Pennsylvania certified public accountant or a certified public accounting
firm, experienced in municipal finance, having no personal interest, direct
or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the Borough or any of its elected or
appointed personnel or employees. Council may provide for more frequent audits
at its discretion. The results of the annual audit and a financial statement
of the fiscal affairs of the Borough, with the results of the independent
auditor's survey of internal control and any recommendation thereon, shall
be included in an annual report of the Director. A summary of the annual audit
of the independent auditor, including any recommendation made with respect
to the survey of the internal control, shall be available for public inspection
at the Borough Office. The annual audit shall be conducted in accordance with
generally accepted auditing standards. The financial report shall be prepared
in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
