The fiscal year of Ulster County shall
begin with the first day of January and end with the last day of December
of each year.
It shall be the duty of the County Executive
to prepare and file the County expense and capital budgets and capital
program for each fiscal year in accordance with the provisions of
the Charter and applicable state law. Pursuant to this duty, the County
Executive shall have the power, personally or through his or her representatives,
to require all necessary information from all departments, agencies,
offices or units of County government for the purpose of ascertaining
and/or assessing their budgetary requirements.
[Amended 6-16-2020 by L.L. No. 3-2020]
The head of each department, agency, office or unit
of County government shall submit to the County Executive, in writing,
and through such channels and processes as specified by him or her,
an overall estimate for that department, agency, office or unit and
estimates by program within that department, agency, office or unit
of expected expenses and expected revenues for the next ensuing fiscal
year. A copy of said estimates from each department, agency, office
or unit shall be simultaneously submitted to the Clerk of the Legislature.
These estimates shall be called "departmental estimates" and shall
be organized with proposed grand totals of expenses and revenues for
personnel services and other than personnel services for the department,
agency, office or unit and proposed subtotal appropriations for personnel
services and other than personnel services for each program within
each department, agency, office or unit. A statement of actual expenses
and actual revenues for the immediately preceding completed fiscal
year, budgeted expenditures and revenues for the current fiscal year,
and expenditures and revenues to date for the current fiscal year
shall be included in departmental submission, prepared in the same
specified format for comparison purposes. Each departmental estimate
of expenses and revenue by program shall be supported by such other
detail and other supporting information concerning the economy, efficiency
and effectiveness of departmental performance as the County Executive
shall require. Departmental estimates shall be public records and
shall at all reasonable times be open to public inspection.
The County Executive shall submit with
the County budget a budget message summarizing and explaining the
main features of the County budget, including information identifying
and analyzing new or changed programs, with such supporting schedules
and explanatory materials as he or she may deem desirable or the Legislature
may by resolution require. The County Executive's proposed budget
shall include a clear summary demonstration that there is a balanced
relationship between the total estimated expenditures and the total
estimated revenues for the next ensuing fiscal year and shall compare
these figures with the actual receipts and expenditures for the last
completed fiscal year and the year-to-date actual and year-to-date
projected total expenditures and revenues for the current fiscal year.
The County Executive's budget message shall also outline the existing
and any proposed financial policies of the County relating to the
capital program, including a description of each capital improvement
proposed to be undertaken in the preceding fiscal year and not yet
completed. The budget message shall specify the manner in which the
County Executive is overseeing management of departmental operations
to assure economic, efficient, effective delivery of public services,
and contain such additional information as the County Executive may
deem appropriate, and shall be posted on the County's website.
The Legislature or a committee designated
by it will review the County Executive's proposed County budget and
budget message and may require attendance of the heads of departments,
agencies, offices or units or their representatives and/or their production
of records and information in explanation of their departmental estimates
as the Legislature shall deem appropriate. The Legislature or a committee
designated by it shall prepare a written analysis and review of the
County Executive's proposed budget and make it publicly available,
including posting it on the County government website, no later than
the second Friday of November of each year.
Beginning no later than the third Friday
of November of each year, the Legislature shall hold, in at least
three geographically dispersed locations in the County, public hearings
on the County Executive's proposed County budget, the budget message
submitted by the County Executive, the report resulting from the review
and analysis of that budget and message by the Legislature or its
designated committee. The Clerk of the Legislature shall cause to
be posted on the County website, published in the official newspaper
of the County and such other newspapers as may be designated by the
Legislature, notices of the places, locations and times when these
hearings shall be held, and their purposes; a concise summary of the
proposed County budget, budget information, together with copies of
the proposed budget. The budget message and the report submitted by
the Legislature or its committee may be inspected or obtained by any
interested person. At least 10 days shall elapse between the publication
of a notice and the date specified for any budget hearing. At a budget
hearing any person may be heard. Insofar as necessary and practicable
within the deadline for the timely final adoption of the County budget,
a budget hearing may be adjourned to a date certain or from day to
day.