The fiscal year of the City shall begin on April 1 in each year
and shall end with the next succeeding 31st day of March.
The City Manager shall prepare a recommended City budget for
each fiscal year. Each department head is required to appear before
the Manager to submit requests for appropriations for the ensuing
budget year. Prior to submitting the recommended budget to the Council,
the Manager shall give each department head the opportunity to review
and comment on the recommended budget.
Upon the basis of the departmental requests, the budget hearings,
an analysis of the needs and resources of the City, and such policy
guides as may be prescribed by resolution of the Council, the Manager
shall prepare a recommended budget in such a form as may be approved
by the Council, subject to any requirements of state law. On or before
January 15 in each year, the Manager shall present to the Council
a budget document consisting of:
The budget shall consist of a balanced program of revenues and
expenditures for the fiscal year. It shall be in conformity with state
law and such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the New
York State Department of Audit and Control. It shall further conform
to any additional requirements as to form and content which the Council
may by resolution impose. It shall set forth all anticipated revenues
and their source and it shall separately state the amount to be raised
by taxation of real property.
The budget message shall consist of such explanatory comments,
exhibits and schedules concerning the budget as the Manager may deem
desirable, together with:
(A)
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.
(B)
An analysis of revenue and costs, relating to work performance contemplated
by the budget so far as appropriate units of measurement may have
been developed and installed.
(C)
A statement of pending capital projects and proposed new capital
projects, relating the amounts required for capital purposes to the
downpayments and other expenditures financed from current appropriations
and to the amount of bonds to be issued during the budget year.
(A)
Upon receipt of such budget, the Council shall present it during
at least one public hearing thereon, beginning between the hours of
7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Notice of such hearing shall be published
in the official newspaper at least five days prior to such hearing.
Upon such publication, complete copies of the budget shall be available
to the public, upon request, free of charge.
(B)
Following said hearing the Council may, by resolution, modify any
item or items of said budget.
(C)
The Council shall, following said hearing, and on or before March
20 in each year, adopt a budget ordinance. Said ordinance shall constitute
an appropriation of all amounts stated therein, a levy of the amount
to be raised by taxation as stated therein, and a warrant to the Clerk-Treasurer
to spread and extend such levy upon the current assessment rolls and
to collect the same. If the Council fails to adopt a budget by this
date, the budget proposed by the Manager shall go into effect but
Council shall have until March 31 to make amendments to the Manager's
budget.
The Council may establish capital reserve funds pursuant to
the provisions of Article 2 of the General Municipal Law, and subject
to the restrictions and controls therein provided.
No expenditure shall be made or obligation authorized by the
Council, or by any officer or board, unless an appropriation therefor
has previously been made and there is at the time a sufficient unencumbered
balance for such appropriation.
At any time during the fiscal year the Council may by resolution
transfer part or all of the unencumbered appropriation balance from
one department or major organizational unit to the appropriational
unit to the appropriations for other departments or major organizational
units. The Manager may transfer part or all of any unencumbered appropriation
balances among accounts within a department or organizational unit
and shall report such transfers to the Council in writing in a timely
manner.
To meet a public emergency affecting health, property or the
public peace, the Council may make emergency appropriations. Such
appropriations may be made by emergency ordinance in accordance with
the provisions of § 3-13(C). To the extent that there are
no available unappropriated revenues or a sufficient fund balance
to meet such appropriations, the Council may by such emergency ordinance
authorize the issuance of emergency notes, which may be renewed from
time to time. The emergency notes and renewals of any fiscal year
shall be paid not later than the last day of the fiscal year next
succeeding that in which the emergency appropriation was made.
Except as otherwise provided by the Charter, the amount to be
raised annually by taxation of property shall be levied, assessed,
apportioned and collected in accordance with the provisions of the
Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York.
The City Clerk shall, upon adoption of the City budget as provided
by the Charter and delivery to him or her of the assessment roll,
immediately extend and apportion the state, county and City taxes
upon the roll delivered to him or her in each year, and no other extension
and apportionment of said taxes need be made.
The amount of taxes on property apportioned and assessed annually
shall be due and payable as follows: 1/2 the total tax on the first
day of May and the balance of the tax without payment of interest
on the first day of August in each year. The amount of taxes on property
apportioned and assessed annually which shall aggregate an amount
of $50 or less shall be due and payable on the first day of May in
the total amount. Such taxes shall become delinquent 30 days after
the due dates. Interest on the amount of taxes due and delinquent
shall be charged and collected by the Clerk-Treasurer at the rate
of 5% the first month the tax payment is delinquent and then 1% per
month or any part thereof for each subsequent month thereafter until
December 31, and at the rate of 15% on January 1 of the subsequent
year and 1% per month or any part thereof for each subsequent month
of the year following the year that the taxes are due until December
31 of that year. Thereafter interest shall be charged at the rate
of 1 1/2% per month until paid in full, and the amount thereof
shall be a lien upon the real property assessed to the same extent
as the tax.
The amount of all annual taxes and assessments duly levied by
the Council on taxable real property shall be and become a lien thereon
as of the first day of April of the fiscal year for which such taxes
and assessments are levied and shall remain such a lien until paid.
In addition to other remedies provided by law, whenever any
such tax, penalty or interest or any part of them shall remain unpaid
on the 15th day of November in the year in which the lien attaches,
the City Clerk shall proceed to advertise and sell the lands and premises
upon which the same was imposed for the payment of such tax, penalty
or interest, or the part remaining unpaid. The expense of such sale
as hereinafter prescribed shall also be a charge upon such lands.
The Council may provide by local law for the manner in which
the sale of lands or of the liens thereon for nonpayment of taxes
shall be conducted; for the manner in which any interested person
may redeem the property from such sale at any time within three years
from the date of such sale; and for the manner in which the results
of any such sale or redemption shall be recorded and given effect.
The City may employ any of the Alternative Procedures for Enforcement
of Collection of Delinquent Taxes as set forth in Titles 1, 2, 3 and
4 of Article 11 of the Real Property Tax Law.
Any delinquent water and/or sewer charges which remain unpaid
on March 1 of each year shall be a lien on the real property where
the water is used or the sewer connection provided to the same extent
as City taxes, and they will be included in the general City tax roll
for the following May 1 and enforced in the same manner as other City
taxes.
(A)
The Council may levy and collect taxes in the form of special assessments
upon property in a limited and determined area for special benefits
conferred upon property by any municipal work, service or improvement.
The Council may provide for the payment of all or any part of the
cost of the work, service or improvement out of the proceeds of such
special assessments.
(B)
Prior to levying any special assessment for special improvement in
restricted areas of the City, the Council shall adopt a resolution
specifying the improvement or improvements to be made, the municipal
purpose therefor, the geographical limits of the area to be benefitted
thereby, the proportion of the cost to be assessed against the area,
the number of installments in which the special assessment may be
paid, and the method proposed for spreading the levy over the parcels
of real property in the area benefitted.
(C)
An abstract of such resolution shall be published at least once in
the official newspaper within seven days of its adoption.
