The fiscal year of the city shall be the calendar
year. However, after 1980, if not prohibited by law, the Council may,
by ordinance, adopt a different fiscal year, specifying an orderly
procedure for financial and budgetary controls in making such transition.
The Council shall adopt in the Administrative
Code a uniform classification of accounts and codes to be used and
followed in all financial plans, budgets and financial reports.
The Manager shall, at the time of submitting
the proposed annual budgets to the Council, submit as an annex to
the budget tentative financial projections for a period of at least
four additional years, such projections beyond the year budgeted to
be advisory only for the purpose of long-range planning. The projections
shall deal with operations, capital programs and a schedule for the
amortization of all existing debt through a time period covering the
latest final maturity of any issue and the amortization schedule for
any proposed new debt to finance capital improvements, showing both
separately and inclusively for each item of debt the payments for
principal and interest.
At least 45 days before the end of the fiscal
year, the Manager shall prepare and submit to the Council a proposed
operating budget for the ensuing fiscal year. The following procedures
shall govern the presentation, adoption and execution of the operating
budget:
A. Budget form. The operating budget shall be submitted
in the form required by the Council, which shall include, in addition
to the major classifications of appropriations by which expenditures
are to be allocated and controlled, a detailed analysis of the various
items of revenue and expense. All appropriations shall be made in
lump sum amounts and according to the following classes of expenditure
for each office, department, major operating unit, board or commission:
(3) Materials, supplies and equipment.
(6) Such additional classes as the Board may prescribe.
B. Budget content. The operating budget shall show, individually
for each fund and in total, netting out interfund transfers, the anticipated
revenues and expenditures of the city government. In addition to anticipated
revenues and expenditures, the budget document shall include for each
item the estimated revenues and expenditures of the fiscal year currently
ending and the actual receipts and expenditures of the last completed
year. The budget shall also show the estimated balance of each fund
at the close of the fiscal year currently ending and any surplus or
deficit to be included in financing the proposed budget.
C. Budget message. The Manager shall include with the
proposed budget a statement explaining the budget both in fiscal terms
and in terms of work to be done, outlining the proposed fiscal policies
for the ensuing fiscal year, any changes in policies and programs
and reasons for changes which affect the level of revenues and expenditures.
D. Balanced budget. The budget proposed by the Manager
and the budget subsequently adopted by the Council shall be balanced
so that appropriations shall not exceed the estimated revenues and
available surplus. In making revenue estimates, the Manager shall
show the amounts anticipated from existing taxes and service charges
at existing rates and, separately, the increase or decrease to result
from any proposed changes in rates.
E. Council review. On or before 30 days prior to the
end of the fiscal year, the Council shall complete its review of the
proposed budget, make such adjustments as it deems necessary and adopt
a preliminary budget.
F. Advertising and public hearing. No later than 10 days following the adoption of the preliminary budget by the Council, the Manager shall cause to be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the city a summary of the budget and notice of the date, time and place at which the Council shall hold a public meeting on the proposed budget, which shall take place at any regular or special meeting of the Council at least seven days after advertisement and at least 20 days prior to the end of the fiscal year. The preliminary budget shall be available for public inspection at City Hall, and copies, including the financial projections required by §
2-603, shall be available for the public to have without charge or at a reasonable fee to be set by the Council.
G. Budget adoption. Following advertising and public hearing, at which interested citizens shall have the right to express their views on the budget, the Council, by a majority vote of its total membership, shall adopt a final budget with such amendments as the Council considers advisable. The budget shall be adopted by ordinance, which shall be effective as of the start of the fiscal year. The provisions of Article
III of this Charter shall not apply to ordinances adopting and amending proposed budgets. Should the Council, for any reason, fail to adopt a budget before the start of the fiscal year, the appropriations of the preceding year, prorated on a month-to-month basis, shall be considered to be adopted temporarily pending adoption of a final budget.
H. Levy of taxes. At the time of adopting the annual
budget, the Council shall simultaneously, by ordinance, levy sufficient
taxes from authorized sources which, with other revenues and available
receipts and balance, will provide for a balanced budget.
I. Revised budget. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, when the fiscal year of the city is the calendar year, in any year following a municipal election year, the Council may, within 45 days after the start of the fiscal year, revise the budget and tax levies adopted by the previous Council. The procedures for adopting a revised budget shall be in accordance with Subsection
F,
G and
H above, with the time period adjusted to 45 days after the start of the fiscal year. Ordinances adopting a revised budget shall be effective as of the start of the fiscal year and shall rescind and replace the budget ordinance of the previous Council. It is the intent of this Charter that a new Council, in the year following a municipal election, shall have the power to revise budget and tax levies adopted by the previous Council.
J. Budget execution. The Director of Finance shall cause
the appropriations voted by the Council to be entered in the accounting
records of the city and shall approve no contract or expenditure which
would exceed the unencumbered balance of appropriations in any account.
The Council may at any time amend the operating budget, but changes
in appropriations, either increases or decreases, shall be made only
pursuant to an ordinance authorizing such changes. Supplemental appropriations
may be made by the Council in the event that revenues are found and
certified by the Manager to exceed estimates in the budget. If revenues
are found and certified by the Manager to fall short of estimates
in the budget, the Manager shall recommend reductions in appropriations
to offset the deficiency in revenues, and the Council shall make necessary
adjustments in appropriations to maintain a balanced budget. All appropriations
shall lapse at the end of the fiscal year.
K. Emergency appropriations. In the event of a genuine
emergency unanticipated at the time the operating budget was adopted,
the Council may make appropriations to meet the emergency. To the
extent that there are no available unappropriated revenues to meet
the emergency, the Council may authorize the issuance of a temporary
note, which shall constitute unfunded debt to be funded and repair
in accordance with the Local Government Unit Debt Act (Act 182 of
1972). Operating expenses shall neither be appropriated nor paid
out of loan funds except to meet genuine emergencies.
A. At or before the time of submitting the proposed operating
budget to the Council, the Manager shall also submit to the 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 five years or more, the first year of which shall be in
detail and constitute the capital budget for the next fiscal year.
The capital program shall set forth all proposed capital improvements,
identified by project, the year at 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 schedule of existing debt and debt limits.
B. The capital program and the capital budget shall be
adopted by the Council only after advertisement and public hearing
as provided for the adoption of the operating budget. The capital
budget may be financed from appropriations of current revenues or
moneys borrowed as authorized by law or by this Charter. The Director
of Finance shall control expenditures in the capital budget in the
same manner as provided for the operating budget. The Council may
amend the capital budget at any time but before doing so must amend
the capital program.
C. All appropriations for the capital budget shall lapse
at the end of the fiscal year, but sufficient amounts to complete
projects in progress may be appropriated in the budget for the year
following.
The Council shall, in the Administrative Code,
provide procedures for the receipt, deposit and accounting for all
moneys due and received by the city. Such procedures shall be assigned
to the Director of Finance or employees under the supervision of the
Director of Finance. The Manager, with the approval of the Council,
shall designate the depositories for city receipts.
The Manager may make contracts for all lawful
purposes, subject to general law or this Charter. No contract shall
be made or obligation incurred unless the Director of Finance shall
certify that there is a sufficient unencumbered balance in an appropriation
and that sufficient moneys therefrom are or will be available to cover
the claim or meet the obligation when it becomes due and payable.
Any officer authorizing any contract to be made in violation of this
provision shall be subject to removal from office and liable to the
city or its surety for any loss incurred as a result of such action.
The Council shall provide in the Administrative Code the procedures
for letting contracts, which shall not be inconsistent with general
law or this Charter and shall include as a minimum the following provisions:
A. Written contracts. All contracts of the city involving
sums in excess of an amount specified by the Council by ordinance
shall be in writing. The Manager shall execute all contracts on behalf
of the city. Authorization for contracts for purchase, sale, lease
or use of real estate or for the construction of public capital improvements
shall be given by ordinance, and such contracts shall be signed by
the President of the Council as well as the Manager. Any officer authorized
to execute a written contract shall submit the form of the contract
to the City Solicitor for approval before executing the contract.
B. Competitive bidding. The Council shall, by ordinance,
establish a procedure for competitive bidding to include definitions
of amounts, publication and notice requirements, deposit and bond
requirements, conditions, terms, rules, regulations, waiver and exceptions,
as it shall from time to time deem advisable and in accordance with
general law and this Charter. Both single-contract and separate-contract
procedures may be used at the discretion of the Council when not constrained
by uniform state law. Competitive bidding shall not be required for:
(1) Labor or services rendered by any city officer or
employee;
(2) Contracts for labor, material, supplies or services
aggregating less than the amount specified by the Council, by ordinance,
for the item in the year supplied;
(3) Contracts relating to the acquisition or use of real
property;
(4) Contracts for professional or unique services or supplies;
(5) Contracts for insurance and surety company bonds,
except that the use of competitive bidding for such items shall be
encouraged where practicable;
(6) Contracts for emergency repairs; and
(7) Contracts with other governmental entities, authorities,
agencies or political subdivisions.
C. Lowest bidder. Except as otherwise provided in this
Charter, no contract for materials, supplies, labor, franchise or
other valuable consideration, to be furnished to or by the city, shall
be authorized on behalf of the city except with the lowest responsible
bidder after competitive bidding.
D. Piecemeal evasion prohibited. No person shall evade
the provisions of this section of the Charter by purchasing or contracting
for materials, supplies or services piecemeal, which transaction would,
in the exercise of reasonable discretion and prudence, be considered
as one transaction amounting to more than the amount specified by
the Council.
E. Limit on terms. The terms of contracts for the purchase
of materials and supplies shall not exceed two years.
The Director of Finance shall authorize disbursement
of city moneys only after determining that all goods and services
contracted for have actually been received or performed. The Council
shall provide in the Administrative Code for the procedures for the
signing and countersigning of all checks, drafts or other orders of
payment by two persons, one of whom shall be the Director of Finance
or other employee under the direction of the Director of Finance as
shall be prescribed in the Administrative Code.
The Director of Finance shall:
A. Provide for the recording of all financial transactions
and related activities of the city in terms of dollars and other appropriate
units of measurement, in accordance with the form and procedures prescribed
by Council in the Administrative Code and as shall be directed by
the Manager, in order that the required reports and analysis may be
produced for the proper management and control of such activities.
B. Prepare periodic financial reports, at least monthly,
and at such other times as the Manager may direct, and at the end
of each fiscal year prepare an annual financial report. The monthly
reports to the Manager shall be submitted to the Council at its regular
meetings and made available to the public.
C. Provide for the preservation of official financial
records, which shall be kept at City Hall and shall be available for
public inspection during regular office hours.
The Council shall provide for an annual independent
audit of city receipts, expenditures, accounts and reports 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 city or any of its elected
or appointed personnel. The 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 city, with the results of the
independent auditor's survey of internal control and any recommendations
thereon, shall be included in the annual report of the Manager. A
summary of the annual audit of the independent auditor, including
any recommendations made with respect to the survey of internal control,
shall be published at least once in one or more newspapers of general
circulation in the city within 60 days after the close of the fiscal
year. 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 and shall
include a balance sheet for each fund and on a consolidated-fund basis,
reflecting all current assets, current liabilities and fund balances.
The Council shall provide in the Administrative
Code for the bonding of all officers and employees who are responsible
for the handling and/or authorization of receipts, disbursements,
materials and supplies. All such bonding shall be approved by the
City Solicitor for form and sufficiency. The premium for such bonding
shall be paid for by the city.
[Amended 1-26-1981 by Ord. No. 619-81]
The Home Rule Charter shall not give any power
or authority to the City Council contrary to or in limitation or enlargement
of powers granted by Acts of the General Assembly to third-class cities
generally with respect to the fixing of the rates of property taxes.
The borrowing of money by the city shall continue
to be limited in amounts and governed by procedures in the Local Government
Unit Debt Act (Act 185 of 1972), as amended, or other laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.