The Manager shall be the director of the Department
of Administration. Within the Department of Administration, there
shall be a Division of Purchasing, a Division of Personnel and a Division
of the Budget.
The Township budget shall be prepared by the
Manager.
A. Budget requests. During the month of November in each
year, the Manager shall require all department heads to submit requests
for appropriations for the ensuing budget year and to appear before
him or her at a public hearing, which shall be held during that month
on the various requests.
B. Budget document. Upon the basis of departmental requests,
budget hearings, his or her analysis of the needs and resources of
the Township and such policy guides as may be prescribed by resolution
of the Council, the Manager shall prepare his or her recommended budget
in the form required by general law for municipal budgets. On or before
January 15 in each year, the Manager shall present to the Council
his or her budget document consisting of:
(1) The recommended budget; and
C. Budget message. The budget message shall consist of
such explanatory comments, exhibits and schedules concerning the budget
as the Manager may deem desirable, together with:
(1) An outline of the proposed financial policies for
the ensuing budget year, including explanations of the important features
of the budget and of any major changes in policy.
(2) An analysis of revenue and costs and of work performance
contemplated by the budget so far as appropriate units of measurement
may have been developed and installed.
(3) A statement of pending capital projects and proposed
new capital projects relating the amounts required for capital purposes
to the down payments and other expenditures financed from current
appropriations and to the amount of bonds to be issued during the
budget year.
(4) A capital program of proposed capital projects for
the budget year and the next five years, which may be prepared by
the Planning Board, together with his or her comments thereon and
estimates of costs.
D. Budget operation. The Manager shall control the expenditure
programs for each department through the application of work programs
and periodic allotments of budgeted appropriations. No department
shall incur any expenditure in excess of the amount so allotted. Whenever
it shall appear to the Manager that the amount appropriated for any
department or for any purpose within a department is in excess of
the amount required to be expended to provide the quantity and quality
of services authorized by the budget, the Manager may by administrative
order with the approval of the Council reduce the amount available
for expenditure by any department during the remainder of any year.
If at any time during the budget year the Manager shall ascertain
that the municipal government is faced with the probability of incurring
a cash deficit for the current year, he or she shall reconsider the
work programs and allotments of the several departments. Upon such
reconsideration, he or she may by administrative order with the approval
of the Council revise budget allotments so as to forestall, so far
as possible, the making of commitments and expenditures in excess
of the revenues to be realized during the fiscal year.