The City shall operate on an annual budget, and the fiscal year
of the City shall begin on the first day of July and shall end on
the last day of June of each year.
[Amended 4-24-2018 by Res. No. 18-CR-02]
A. Notice and hearing.
(1) The City shall by public notice provide the general summary of the
proposed budget, the proposed tax rate and the following:
(a)
The times and places where copies of the message and budget
are available for inspection by the public at least two weeks prior
to the date of the hearing; and
(b)
The time and place for a public hearing on the proposed budget
and proposed tax rate.
(2) The entire proposed budget shall be available on the City website
at least two weeks prior to the date of the hearing.
B. Constant yield tax rate. In setting the real property tax rate, the
Mayor and Council shall conform to the requirements of § 6-308,
Constant yield tax rate, of the Tax-Property Article of the Annotated
Code of Maryland, as amended from time to time.
C. Amendment before adoption. After the public hearing, the Council
may adopt the proposed budget, with or without amendment, without
the need of further advertising or public hearings. In amending the
proposed budget, it may add or increase programs or amounts and may
deplete or decrease any programs or amounts, except expenditures required
by law or for required debt service or for an estimated deficit, provided
that no amendment to the proposed budget shall increase the authorized
expenditures to an amount greater than the total estimated revenues
plus a designation (if any) of the unassigned fund balance.
D. Adoption. The Council shall adopt the budget in the form of an ordinance
on or before May 31 of the fiscal year currently ending. An affirmative
vote of a majority of the total elected membership of the Council
(five votes) shall be necessary for adoption. If it fails to adopt
a budget by this date, the budget proposed by the City Manager shall
go into effect.
E. Notification to county of tax rates. Upon adoption, the Finance Director
is authorized to notify Prince George's County of the City's tax rate.
In the event that the City fails to adopt a budget by May 31, the
Finance Director is authorized to notify Prince George's County that
the tax rate for the ensuing fiscal year shall be the same rate as
proposed by the City Manager.
[Amended 4-24-2018 by Res. No. 18-CR-02]
To implement the adopted budget, the Council shall adopt, on
or before May 31 of the fiscal year currently ending, after the public
hearing, with or without amendment, and without the need of further
advertising or public hearings, an ordinance in the following form:
A. An appropriation section making appropriations by department or major
organizational unit and authorizing a single appropriation for each
program or activity.
B. A tax levy section authorizing the property tax levy or levies and
setting the tax rate or rates.
C. Any other section required to authorize new revenues or to amend
the rates or other features of existing taxes or other revenue sources.
[Amended 4-24-2018 by Res. No. 18-CR-02]
Except as provided in this section, the City may not expend
funds not appropriated at the time of the annual levy for that purpose.
A. Supplemental appropriations. If the City Manager certifies in writing
that there are available for appropriation revenues in excess of those
estimated in the budget for the current or prior fiscal year, the
Council, by budget ordinance procedures, may make supplemental appropriations
up to the amount of such excess for the fiscal year so certified.
B. Emergency appropriations. To meet a public emergency affecting life, 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 §
C8-2B.
C. Insufficient appropriations. If at any time during the fiscal year
it appears probable to the City Manager that the revenues, fund balances
or retained earnings available will be insufficient to finance the
expenditures for which appropriations have been authorized, the City
Manager shall report to the Mayor and Council without delay, indicating
the estimated amount of the deficit, any remedial action taken by
the City Manager and recommendations as to any other steps to be taken.
The Mayor and Council shall then take such further action as it deems
necessary to prevent or reduce any deficit and for that purpose it
may by budget ordinance procedures reduce one or more appropriations.
D. Transfer of appropriations.
(1) The Council may expend funds for a purpose different from the purpose
for which they were appropriated. At any time the Council may by ordinance
transfer part or all of the unencumbered appropriation from one department,
fund or major organizational unit to the appropriation for other departments,
funds, or major organizational units for the current or prior fiscal
year.
(2) The City Manager may transfer part or all of any unencumbered appropriation
balance to another appropriated program or expenditure within a department
or organizational unit.
E. Limitation; effective date. No appropriation for debt service may
be reduced or transferred, and no appropriation may be reduced below
any amount required by law to be appropriated or by more than the
amount of the unencumbered balance thereof. The supplemental and emergency
appropriations and reduction or transfer of appropriations authorized
by this section may be made effective immediately upon adoption.
F. Vote required. A 2/3 vote of all the individuals elected to the legislative
body (six) shall be required for the authorization of supplemental
and emergency appropriations, reduction of appropriations, or transfer
of appropriations from one department, fund or major organizational
unit to another.
Every appropriation, except an appropriation for a capital projects
fund expenditure, shall lapse at the close of the fiscal year to the
extent that it has not been expended or lawfully encumbered. An appropriation
for a capital projects fund expenditure shall continue in force until
expended, revised or repealed.
The Mayor and Council shall provide for an independent annual
audit of all City accounts, as required by § 16-305 of the
Local Government Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended from
time to time, and may provide for more frequent audits as it deems
necessary. Such audits shall be made by a certified public accountant
or firm of such accountants who have no personal interest, direct
or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the City government or any of
its officers. The accountant or firm chosen as the auditor may not
serve for more than four consecutive fiscal years and may not be re-engaged/rehired
unless at least two fiscal years will have elapsed from the termination
of that person or firm's prior engagement with the City. The Mayor
and Council shall designate such accountant or firm pursuant to the
City's procurement procedures. If the state makes such an audit, the
Council may accept it as satisfying the requirements of this section.