[Added 12-13-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1995[1]; amended 8-28-1995 by L.L. No. 11-1995[2]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law was vetoed by the Mayor, which veto was overridden by the Council 1-24-1995. The effectiveness of this local law is the subject of pending litigation.
[2]
Editor's Note: This local law was approved at a mandatory referendum on 11-7-1995.
[Amended 11-4-2008 by L.L. No. 10-2008]
The Mayor may, upon receipt of the departmental estimates, direct the Commissioner of Finance to proceed to make such review and investigation of the estimates and conduct such hearings of department heads, officers, employees, boards or commissions as he or she deems necessary. He or she may require any agency, or any officer or employee, to furnish data and information and to answer inquiries pertinent to such review or investigation. He or she shall perform such other duties in connection with the preparation of the budget as the Mayor may direct. He or she shall then report his or her recommendations regarding the departmental estimates to the Mayor. All fiscally dependent agencies shall submit their proposed budget to the Mayor and to the City Council's Budget Committee not later than March 1st of each year. He or she shall submit to the City Council's Budget Committee a copy of the departmental estimates by January 15th of each year.
Not later than the 15th day of April of each year, the Mayor shall submit to the City Council, by filing with the City Clerk and with the City Council Budget Committee, a proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year for both current and capital purposes, together with all documents required by the Special Local Finance and Budget Act of 1976 and other state laws.
A. 
The Mayor's proposed current budget shall contain:
(1) 
A statement of all revenues which it is estimated will be received by the City during the ensuing fiscal year, other than the proceeds of the tax levy of the ensuing fiscal year, deducting the amount, if any, required to be deposited to the credit of any sinking fund, the revenue estimate to be classified so as to show the receipts by fund, departments, units and sources of income and a statement of the amount estimated to be collected from the tax levy of the ensuing fiscal year, including delinquent taxes, if any, for the current and preceding years, with percentages collectible.
(2) 
A statement of the receipts anticipated during the ensuing fiscal year from the sale of bonds or other borrowing, exclusive of tax anticipation borrowing.
(3) 
An estimate of the several amounts which the Mayor deems necessary for conducting the operations of the city for each department, office and agency thereof, separately stated and the above classified so as to show separately:
(a) 
The ordinary recurring expense of the operations and maintenance of the government; and
(b) 
Any extraordinary or nonrecurring expenses to be financed from current revenues.
(4) 
A statement of the bonded and other indebtedness of the government and its agencies; showing the debt redemption and interest requirements, the indebtedness authorized and unissued, the condition of the sinking funds and the borrowing capacity of the city.
(5) 
The amount of any judgment recovered against the city and payable during the ensuing fiscal year.
(6) 
A statement of all unexpended balances or estimated unexpended balances of the previous fiscal year remaining to the credit of the city or of any office, board or department thereof.
(7) 
Any other matter which the Mayor may deem advisable or the City Council may require.
B. 
The proposed current budget shall be so arranged as to give in parallel columns not less than the following comparative information:
(1) 
Actual receipts and expenditures for the last completed fiscal year;
(2) 
The budget of the present fiscal year presented in three separate columns: adopted, current and projected;
(3) 
Department requests for the ensuing fiscal year other than for capital projects;
(4) 
The recommendations of the Mayor as above provided;
(5) 
The adopted budgets for the immediately preceding fiscal year;
(6) 
A schedule of each position in each department, by title and salary, or each fiscal year represented;
(7) 
All of the information required by sub-paragraphs (1) - (6) above shall be set forth in not less than the same detail used in the 1990/91 Proposed Budgets in accordance with the uniform system of accounts as promulgated by the State Comptroller in line item form by position salary and grade and by organization element, classification of account and object code.
C. 
The proposed capital budget shall be arranged so as to give in parallel columns not less than the following comparative information for the appropriations and methods of financing capital projects:
(1) 
Appropriations for the last completed fiscal year;
(2) 
Appropriations for the present fiscal year; and
(3) 
Recommendations of the Mayor for the ensuing fiscal year.
D. 
The capital budget shall also contain a statement as to each pending and proposed capital project incorporating in columnar form the following data:
(1) 
Estimated ultimate total cost;
(2) 
Amount appropriated to date:
(3) 
Amount expended to date;
(4) 
Amount of additional or new appropriations included in the proposed budget for each project;
(5) 
Recommendations of the Planning Board in accordance with the provision of Section 5-5 and of the Board of Education in regard to the provision of Section 5-6 hereof as to each new project; and
(6) 
Methods of financing each pending and proposed capital project, as follows:
(a) 
Through bonds or notes in current budgets;
(b) 
Through other sources; and
(c) 
A statement showing amount of obligations yet to be issued for each pending and proposed capital project.
E. 
The report of the Capital Projects Committee shall be printed with the proposed budget.
A. 
The Mayor shall include in the proposed budget, a budget message which shall outline a fiscal policy for the government, describing the important features of the current budget with reference both to proposed expenditures and anticipated income and a general summary showing the current and capital requirements for the fiscal year, with supporting schedules, which shall exhibit the aggregate figures of the current budget in such manner as to show a balanced relation between the total proposed expenditures and the total anticipated income for the fiscal year covered by it, and which shall compare these figures with the corresponding figures of the last completed fiscal year and the year in progress. The message shall contain such comments with respect to the capital plan and budgets as the Mayor may deem advisable, including the probable effect thereof for each of the years involved.
B. 
The Mayor shall also submit at the same time, proposed legislation referring to the budget and making provision for the conduct of the government for the ensuing fiscal year. The proposed legislation need not be itemized further than the departments and by kinds of expenditures as follows: personal services, contractual services, materials and supplies, expenses and capital outlays.
C. 
The Mayor shall also submit at the same time, proposed legislation fixing the tax levy necessary to support and finance the budget and all related budget ordinances and other documents required by the Special Local Finance and Budget Act or other state or city laws.
D. 
The proposed legislative acts may be combined in the budget document.
The proposed budget shall be filed with the City Council by filing with the City Clerk, City Council President and with the City Council Budget Committee with sufficient copies for all council members and staff. The budget filed with the City Council shall be open to inspection by any person during business hours under conditions prescribed by the City Council. Copies shall also be filed with each public library in Yonkers.
As soon as possible after the Mayor's proposed budget has been filed with the City Clerk, the City Clerk shall cause to be published a notice, at the direction of the City Council, of the time and place for a public hearing on the budget. At such hearing, any person may be heard on the proposed budget in accordance with any rules that may be established by the City Council. The City Council may conduct its own review of the proposed budget, and each City department and fiscally dependent agency shall fully cooperate with said review and provide the most current financial data available.
A. 
The current and capital budget shall be adopted concurrently and not later than June 1 of each year.
[Amended 8-27-2007 by L.L. No. 14-2007[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law was adopted by the Charter Revision Commission 8-27-2007 and was approved at referendum 11-6-2007.
B. 
Current Budget.
(1) 
After the conclusion of any public hearing on the budget, the City Council, subject to the limitations imposed in this Charter, may revise, alter, reject, add, increase or decrease any items of the proposed budget, and adopt the budget as amended or may reject the budget in its entirety.
(2) 
Before inserting any additional items or increases in appropriations in the budget, the City Council must provide for the additional funds or revenue therefor.
(3) 
The budget shall consist of the special ordinance together with those portions of the Mayor's proposed budget adopted by the City Council but as modified by exhibits or schedules annexed thereto.
(4) 
As used in this section, "organizational unit" shall mean an organizational unit of budgetary classification as set forth in the budget, to which appropriations are made by the City Council. An organizational unit shall have a single or common function and a supervisory structure which oversees the budget for the unit. The following shall be individual organizational units in the budget: the Office of the Mayor, the Office of the City Council President, the Office of the Majority Leader, the Office of the Minority Leader, the City Council, the Office of the City Clerk and the Division of Elections. Any offices or subdivisions within the Office of the Mayor shall not be considered separate organizational units for budget purposes.
(5) 
The City Council shall not appropriate funds for the salary or compensation of the officers or employees of any organizational unit on a position-by-position basis and the appropriation shall be a single sum for all salaries and compensation for all the officers and employees of an organizational unit.
(6) 
The Mayor shall propose and the City Council shall establish the total number of positions of each organizational unit of the City, not including the Office of the Mayor, the Office of the City Council President, the Office of the Majority Leader, the Office of the Minority Leader, and the staff, if any, of the City Council.
(7) 
The City Council shall not appropriate funds for outside contracts of any organizational unit on an individual contract-by-contract basis and shall appropriate to each organizational unit a single sum of funds for contractual expenditures for that organizational unit.
(8) 
The budget shall be for the entire fiscal year. In conjunction with the adoption of the budget, the City Council shall not appropriate funds for a period of time less than for the entire fiscal year or require the Mayor or any organizational unit to obtain the authorization of the City Council to release appropriated funds during the course of the fiscal year. Nothing herein shall be deemed to affect the power to amend the budget, make budget transfers, or budget for and appropriate new revenues.
(9) 
The total amount appropriated by the City Council in a fiscal year to the Office of the Mayor, shall not be less than the sum of the total amounts appropriated by the City Council in the same fiscal year to the aggregate of the following: the Office of the City Council President, the Office of the Majority Leader, the Office of the Minority Leader, and the City Council.
C. 
Capital Budget. After the conclusion of any public hearing on the budget, the City Council may revise, alter, reject, increase or decrease the items of the proposed capital budget as presented by the Mayor. Before, however, inserting any additional items or increasing any item or appropriations for special studies or investigations of the City Council, it must cause to be published in the official newspapers designated by it, a notice setting forth the nature of the proposed increases in the capital budget and fixing the time, not less than five (5) days after publication, at which they will hold a public hearing thereon. After the public hearing, the City Council may by vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all the members of all the members of said City Council insert any additional item or items and make the increase or increases, but not in excess of the amount in each case indicated by the public notice.
D. 
Budget Amendments.
(1) 
At the request and recommendation of the Mayor, any time following the adoption of the current operating or capital budgets, the City Council may amend said current budget, in whole or in part, by special ordinance.
(2) 
The City Council may propose and amend the current operating budget by special ordinance without the request or recommendation of the Mayor only as to amendments or transfers for or between the budgets of the following organizational units: City Council, the Office of the City Council President, the Office of the Majority Leader, the Office of the Minority Leader, the Office of the City Clerk and the Division of Elections.
(3) 
Without City Council approval or amendment of the budget, the Mayor may decrease the total number of officers and employees established pursuant to Paragraph B(6) of this section.
(4) 
Within the Office of the Mayor, the Mayor may:
(a) 
change the type, number and salary of positions, without the approval of the City Council, so long as no such action causes the Office of the Mayor to expend more funds than were appropriated to the Office of the Mayor; and
(b) 
transfer funds between different classifications of accounts within the Office of the Mayor, without the approval of the City Council.
(5) 
Within the Office of the City Council President, the City Council President is empowered as follows; within the Office of Majority Leader, the Majority Leader is empowered as follows; within the Office of the Minority Leader, the Minority Leader is empowered as follows; and as to the staff of the City Council, if any, and as to the City Council budget, the City Council is empowered as follows:
(a) 
change the type, number and salary of positions, without the approval of the Mayor, so long as no such action causes the expenditure of more funds than were appropriated to the organizational unit in question; and
(b) 
funds may be transferred between different classifications of accounts within the same organizational unit without the prior request or approval of the Mayor.
(6) 
As to any organizational unit other than those enumerated in Paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) of this subsection, the Mayor may, without City Council approval:
(a) 
switch job titles of one or more positions which are in the same organizational unit, so long as such action shall not cause the expenditure of more funds than were appropriated to the organizational unit for personal services or exceed the authorized number of positions for the organizational unit; and
(b) 
transfer funds between the same classification of accounts within the same organizational unit.
(7) 
If the Mayor proposes to increase the number of positions enumerated pursuant to Paragraph B(6) of this section, then a budget amendment approved by the City Council shall be required. Each such budget amendment shall set forth the addition by named position, and shall be contained in a separate and distinct section of said special ordinance from any amendment relating to receipts and/or appropriations. The special ordinance adding positions shall also set forth the current total number of positions as authorized in Paragraph B(6) of this section before and after adoption of said special ordinance.
E. 
Except as otherwise provided in Subsection D, no budget amendment or transfer shall be effective unless by special ordinance proposed by the Mayor, other than transfers within the same classification of account in the same organizational unit which shall comply with the requirements of the various bond ordinances adopted in accordance with the Special Local Finance and Budget Act of 1976 so long as same are applicable.
When the budget shall have been finally adopted by appropriate legislative action of the City Council, taxes for the ensuing fiscal year shall be levied as soon as possible thereafter but in no event later than June 30 of each year. The City Council shall levy, assess and cause to be raised by tax upon real property liable therefor the amount of taxes necessary and in the manner provided for the levy of city taxes.
Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, no officer, department, board, commission or other spending agency shall, during any fiscal year, expend or contract to expend any money or incur any liability or enter into any contract which by its terms involves the expenditure of money, for any purpose in excess of the amount appropriated for that general classification of expenditure in the appropriation for such fiscal year or in supplementary appropriation as hereinafter provided, or in excess of funds made available therefor, pursuant to the local finance law. Any contract, verbal or written made in violation of this section shall be null and void.
The City Council, during a fiscal year, may make additional appropriations or increase existing appropriations to meet emergencies or unforeseen circumstances requiring action to protect the interest of the city and its citizens, the funds therefor to be provided from unappropriated revenues, if any, or made available pursuant to the Special Local Finance and Budget Law.
A. 
The Mayor may apply for grants and expend the proceeds of grants awarded to the City in accordance with the purposes of the grant, the limitations, if any, placed on the grant by the agency which is the source of the grant funds, and the budget for the grant. The Mayor shall submit to the City Council, along with the Mayor's budget, a written statement indicating the source of all grant funds expected to be received by the City during the next fiscal year, if possible, and a budget for each source of grant funds which is proposed to be expended during the next fiscal year.
B. 
The Mayor shall propose and the City Council shall review the budget for each grant. The grant budget shall be in the same format as in the current budget unless the grant has been expressly incorporated in said current budget. The City Council shall not have the power to amend a grant budget as submitted by the Mayor, but shall be limited to either approving or disapproving the grant budget. Approval of a grant budget by the City Council shall automatically be deemed an appropriation of the grant funds, if such an appropriation is necessary. All grant budgets shall be proposed by the Mayor on or before April 15th of each year, if possible, and the City Council shall accept or reject same within such time periods as will assure that the City will not lose any grant funds due to the passage of time or by June 1st, whichever is earlier. Upon notification of the availability or receipt of a grant occurring after April 15th of any year, a grant budget shall be proposed and adopted, pursuant to the procedures authorized in this subsection, within a reasonable time after receipt of notification from the grantor. No monies may be encumbered or expended unless and until the grant budget has been approved by the City Council.
Section 73 through and including Section 77 of the Second Class Cities Law and all local laws and ordinances now in effect are superseded to the extent modified only by the provisions of this chapter, and except as so superseded, the provisions of the said Second Class Cities Law and all the local laws and ordinances of the City of Yonkers shall continue in full force and effect in this application to the City of Yonkers.
A. 
The dates for legislative action by the City Council set forth in Sections C5-7, C5-8 and C5-11 may be extended in the event:
(1) 
there is a Mayoral veto on any ordinance related to the budget;
(2) 
there is a delay in the adoption of the state budget; or
(3) 
there is a disapproval of any budget ordinance by a State fiscal agency, if approval was required in accordance with state law.
B. 
In the event of a mayoral veto, the City Council shall have an extension of time within which to adopt a budget of not more than thirty (30) days from the date of the veto.
C. 
In the event that the State budget is not adopted by April 30th, the City Council shall have an extension of time within which to adopt a budget of not more than thirty (30) days from the date that the state budget is final.
D. 
In the event there is a disapproval by a State fiscal agency, the Mayor shall resubmit a revised budget to the City Council within ten (10) days and the City Council shall have ten (10) days from the date of the Mayor's submittal to act on the revised budget.