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A. The Annual Operating Budget
[Amended 4-15-2008 by L.L. No. 3-2008, effective 5-1-2008] |
On or before the first day of February in each year the head
of each administrative unit shall prepare and submit to the mayor
through the division of budget an itemized estimate, in such form
as the mayor may require, of (a) the sum of money deemed necessary
to meet the expenditures of such administrative unit for the ensuing
fiscal year, separately stating the amount required for all purposes,
and (b) the revenues to be realized during the ensuing fiscal year
from its operations. The comptroller shall include in his estimate
the sum of money required to meet the interest and principal accruing
during the next fiscal year on bonds, notes and certificates of indebtedness,
separately stating the amounts required for school purposes and for
all other purposes. The term "administrative unit," as used in this
article, includes the council, departments, the board of education,
boards and commissions empowered to appoint subordinate officers or
employees, and any other board, commission or agency not embraced
within a department. For purposes of this article, the president of
the council shall be deemed the head of the council as such an administrative
unit.
The mayor, after hearings thereon, at which he shall require
the attendance of the heads of the respective administrative units,
shall revise the estimates, with power to increase, decrease or make
such changes as may serve for the best interests of the city. The
president and the chairman of the finance committee of the council
shall be notified of and attend such hearings and shall be permitted
to make inquiry in respect to all matters affecting the items in such
estimates. The mayor may make reasonable regulations governing the
conduct of such hearings and may delegate the power to conduct such
hearings, or any of them, to the director of the budget. The director
of the budget and his or her subordinates shall assist the mayor in
preparing for and in conducting such hearings and in the work of revision
of such estimates.
[Amended 10-2-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012, effective 10-2-2012]
A.
On or
before the first day of May each year, the mayor shall submit to the
council a budget containing a complete plan of proposed expenditures
and estimated revenues for the next fiscal year. Therein he shall
set forth in detail and summary:
(a)
Estimates of the expenditures necessary in his judgment for
carrying on the city government for the ensuing fiscal year, separately
stating the estimates of expenditures necessary for school purposes
and for all other purposes and stating in total the amount necessary
to accomplish every separate function of each administrative unit
or other purpose.
(b)
Estimates of the receipts of the city during the ensuing fiscal
year under laws existing at the time of the budget is transmitted
and also under the revenue proposals, if any, contained in the budget,
and shall allocate separately the estimates of receipts to be credited
for school purposes and for all other purposes.
(c)
The expenditures and receipts of the city during the last completed
fiscal year.
(d)
Estimates of the expenditures and receipts of the city during
the current fiscal year.
(e)
The balanced statements of the condition of the treasury at
the end of the last completed fiscal year and the estimated condition
of the treasury at the end of the current fiscal year.
(f)
All essential facts regarding the bonded and other indebtedness
of the city.
(g)
Such other financial statements and data as in the mayor's judgment
are necessary or desirable in order to make known in all practicable
detail the financial condition of the city.
(h)
Any recommendations of the mayor to the council with respect
to new sources of revenues.
(i)
For each separate function of each administrative unit or other
purpose:
i.
an outline of the administrative organization for the performance
of the function;
ii.
a summary of the expenditures, estimated fringe benefits and
other unallocated indirect costs, and net cost or gain to the city
of such function during the last two completed fiscal years, as estimated
for the current fiscal year, and as budgeted for the ensuing fiscal
year;
iii.
a summary explanation of any major changes in revenues or expenditures
and any non-recurring revenue or expenditure;
iv.
a summary of the objectives of such function during the ensuing
fiscal year, the services to be provided to the residents or government
of the city, and to the extent reasonably practicable the number of
units and the unit cost of each such service.
(j)
A statement estimating the fiscal impact of any condition that
may be reasonably foreseen as likely to cause a deficit in the ensuing
year or to require a tax increase or reduction of services in order
to avert a deficit in the ensuing year or in the year following the
ensuing year.
B.
Four-Year Financial Plan.
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In support of the mayor's budget and to assist the common council in its review as provided pursuant to this article, commencing with the city's 2013-2014 fiscal year and continuing in each subsequent fiscal year, the director of the budget shall prepare and submit to the mayor and to the common council a four-year financial plan. The financial plan shall contain actions sufficient to ensure with respect to the major operating funds for each fiscal year of the plan that annual aggregate operating expenses for such fiscal year shall not exceed annual aggregate operating revenues for such fiscal year. The details of such plan shall be as further described in section 20-32 of this article.
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No estimate or request for an appropriation, except as herein
before provided, and no request for an increase in any item of such
estimate and no recommendations as to how the city's needs may be
met shall be submitted to the council, or to any member of any committee
thereof, by any department, or division of a department, any commission,
board or agency of the city or by an officer or employee thereof unless
required by the council.
Whenever the city of Buffalo shall issue bonds or bond anticipation
notes for a specific capital improvement or several specific capital
improvements, or make expenditures for a specific capital improvement
from the proceeds of bond or bond anticipation notes issued for a
class or classes of capital improvements or from a fund into which
the proceeds of bonds or bond anticipation notes are paid, that part
of the cost of capital improvements which the city of Buffalo is required
under the provisions of section 107.00 of the local finance law to
pay from "current funds," as that term is defined in paragraph a of
section 107.00 of the local finance law, shall be provided only by
direct budgetary appropriations or the proceeds of capital notes issued
for the payment of the cost of capital improvements.
The common council may by resolution elect to exclude from the
tax limitation prescribed by section ten of article eight of the state
constitution, all or part of the taxes required for such direct budgetary
appropriations or for the redemption of such capital notes, and the
amounts so excluded shall not be diverted to a purpose other than
for which such appropriations or capital notes were made or issued.
For the purpose of this section, the term "capital improvements"
shall mean:
(a)
Any physical public betterment or improvement or any preliminary
studies and surveys relative thereto, or
(b)
Land or rights in land, or
(c)
Any furnishings, machinery, apparatus or equipment for any physical
betterment or improvement when such betterment is first constructed
or acquired, or
(d)
Any combination of items (a), (b), and (c), or
(e)
Boats, firefighting vehicles and apparatus, machinery for highway
construction and maintenance, and motor vehicles having periods of
probable usefulness assigned in subdivisions twenty-six, twenty-seven,
twenty-eight, and twenty-nine of paragraph a of section 11.00 of the
local finance law.
The mayor shall submit to the council with the proposed budget
a budget message which shall:
(a)
describe 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;
(b)
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;
(c)
compare these figures with the corresponding figures of the last
completed fiscal year and the year in progress; and
(d)
outline a fiscal policy for the city and describe its relationship
to the objectives of the mayor's annual management plan and report
and the four-year strategic plan.
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The message shall contain such comments with respect to the
capital plan and budget as the mayor may deem advisable, including
the probable effect thereof for each of the years involved. The city
clerk shall promptly publish the budget message in the city record
and distribute a summary to the news media.
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[Amended 10-2-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012, effective 10-2-2012]
On or before the tenth day of May, the Comptroller shall submit
to the council an assessment of the accuracy of the revenue and expenditure
estimates of the budget and the four-year financial plan the mayor
submits to the council. The comptroller shall opine on the sufficiency
of the financial plan and whether it contains sufficient data to support
the outcomes projected.
At the first meeting of the council after the submission to
it by the mayor of the annual budget, the council shall proceed to
a consideration thereof.
The council may strike out or reduce items therein and may add
thereto items of appropriation, provided that such additions are stated
separately and distinctly from the original items of the budget and
refer each to a single object or purpose.
If no additions are made by the council, the budget, as passed
by it, shall be deemed to have been adopted without any action of
the mayor; if, however, the budget as passed by the council contains
any such additions, it must be presented by the city clerk to the
mayor on or before the fifth day of June, two thousand and three,
and on or before the twenty-second day of May each succeeding year
for his or her consideration of such additions. If the mayor approves
all the additions, he or she shall affix his or her signature to a
statement thereof and return the budget and such statement to the
city clerk. The budget, including the additions as part thereof, shall
then be deemed to have been adopted. The mayor may object to any one
or more or such added items and in such case shall append to the budget
a statement of the added items to which he or she objects with the
reasons for his objections and shall return the budget with his or
her objections to the city clerk who shall present the same to the
council at its next stated or special meeting. The council shall thereupon
enter the objections upon its journal and proceed to reconsider the
additions so objected to. If upon such reconsideration two-thirds
of all the members constituting the council vote to approve such additions,
or any of them, notwithstanding the objections of the mayor, the budget
with the additions so approved, together with any additions not so
objected to by the mayor, shall be deemed to have been adopted. If
the budget with additions is not returned by the mayor to the city
clerk with his or her objections within ten days after its presentation,
it shall be deemed to have been adopted.
If a budget has not been adopted, as herein provided, on or
before the twentieth day of June, two thousand and three, and on or
before the eighth day of June each succeeding year then the budget,
as submitted by the mayor, including all additions to which he or
she has failed to object, shall be the budget for the ensuing fiscal
year.
The city clerk shall publish a summary of the council's budget
actions in the city record and distribute it to the news media.
The budget, as finally adopted, shall not appropriate, for grants-in-aid to approved agencies, more than three percent (3%) of the approved tax levy for the fiscal year in effect at the time of the newly adopted budget. For purposes of this section, "approved agencies" are defined as those groups which have satisfied all requirements of sections 20-1 through 20-6 of this article and of section 6-30 of the code of the city of Buffalo.
Each department, division, city agency or other purpose shall
be credited with the appropriation included in the budget for it.
The appropriation for every function of each department, division,
city agency or other purpose shall be a fixed item and the total expenditures
for each such function shall not exceed the appropriation therefor
as originally made or increased.
The expenditures for the major objects included within each
function shall not exceed the amount allocated therefor except that
the director of the budget may approve in writing the reallocation
of funds to or from any major object of expenditure, including personal
services, within the appropriation for every function of each department,
division, city agency or other purpose and may allocate the amount
of any increased appropriation in like manner; provided, however,
that the total expenditure for all major objects within any function
shall not exceed the appropriation for such function as originally
made or increased.
The expenditures for each function of every department, division,
city agency or other purpose shall be kept within the amounts fixed
in the budget for each such function, except that the council may
by a two-thirds vote, upon the certificate of the mayor and comptroller,
showing the necessity therefor, increase the appropriation for any
function to meet any contingency which could not have been reasonably
foreseen when the budget was adopted, but such increase shall not
be in excess of the amount specified in such certificate. Except as
otherwise provided by section 29.00 of the local finance law, no appropriation
shall be increased for the current fiscal year after the adoption
of the budget for the next succeeding fiscal year.
The council may in any fiscal year, by a two-thirds vote, on
a certificate of the mayor and the comptroller showing the necessity
therefor, direct the transfer of any unexpended balance of the appropriation
for any function from any department, division, city agency or purpose
to another department, division, city agency or purpose, provided
the item or part of the item so transferred was contained in the annual
budget for the current fiscal year and will not be needed by the department,
division, city agency or purpose for which it was appropriated.
Money raised by tax for any particular purpose shall be applied
only to that purpose except as in this section provided and any city
officer who shall assist in its use for any other purpose shall be
subject to removal from office.
No department, division, city agency or officer shall incur
any expense or liability on behalf of the city to be met by general
taxation nor attempt to bind the city in any way unless there be available
an appropriation for such expense or liability.
Each department, division and city agency and each officer thereof
shall be governed by the appropriations allotted thereto in the budget
or increased as in this act provided, and shall not incur any expense
or liability in excess of any such appropriation as originally made
or increased.
Any officer who shall incur or who shall assist in incurring
any expense or liability in violation of either of the two preceding
sections shall be subjected to removal from office.
The city clerk shall make a certificate of the time of the presentation
to the mayor of a resolution or ordinance or a budget with additions,
which the mayor has neglected for ten days to approve or return which
certificate shall be entered upon the journals of the council.
[Amended 10-2-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012, effective 10-2-2012]
The director of the budget shall submit to the mayor and the
council within 45 days of the close of the first, second and third
fiscal quarters of the city's fiscal year a report:
(a)
summarizing the actual revenues and expenditures for such quarter
as compared to such estimates in the budget;
(b)
projecting, based on any material revenue and expenditure trends
or other factors that the director reasonably believes may influence
the city's finances, probable fiscal year-end results as compared
to the budget;
(c)
projecting
the impact of such trends or factors on the following fiscal year
and such other future fiscal years as the director deems appropriate
to consider; and
(d)
updating quarterly cash flow projections of receipts and disbursements
which compare actual receipts and disbursements with the estimates
contained in the cash flow projections, together with variances and
their explanation.
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Prior to submitting the report to the mayor and the council,
the director shall submit a draft report to the comptroller for review
and comment. If in the comptroller's opinion the final report raises
any substantial issue, the comptroller shall promptly submit to the
mayor and the council a statement describing such issue. All quarterly
reports shall be accompanied by recommendations from the mayor to
the council setting forth any remedial action necessary to resolve
any unfavorable budget variances including the overestimation of revenues
and the underestimation of appropriations.
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[Amended 5-31-2022[1]]
(a)
Committed Fund Balance. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2007-08, the
City of Buffalo shall set aside an amount of general fund fund balance,
equal to no less than thirty (30) days of prior year expenditures
pursuant to a fund balance policy. Said policy shall be approved by
the Mayor and Comptroller subject to a majority vote of the Common
Council and approved as to form by the Corporation Counsel. These
funds shall be used for extraordinary operating or capital needs that
could not be anticipated and cannot be funded with current budget
resources. It shall be the Comptroller's responsibility to submit
to the Mayor and the Common Council the annual calculation that determines
the amount to be placed in these funds.
(b)
Restricted Fund Balance. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2007-08, the
City of Buffalo shall set aside a reserve of general fund balance
in an amount of up to 15 days of prior year general fund expenditures,
or as otherwise authorized by law. The reserve shall be for purposes
allowed for in General Municipal Law, Article II Section § 6-c.
It shall be the Comptroller's responsibility to submit to the Mayor
and the Common Council the annual calculation that determines the
amount to be placed in these funds.
(c)
The fund balance policy is intended to provide guidelines during
the preparation and execution of the annual budget to ensure that
sufficient reserves are maintained for unanticipated expenditures
or revenue shortfalls and a way to maintain investment grade credit
ratings. It also is intended to preserve flexibility throughout the
fiscal year to adjust in funding for programs approved in connection
with the annual budget.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law provided that it shall take
effect as of fiscal year 2022-2023.
Revenue sources from prior fiscal years that would typically
be used for replenishment of the fund balance includes nonrecurring
revenue, budget surpluses in all categories listed below, and excess
budgeted resources in other fund balances. The City's year-end
surpluses will also be an appropriate source for replenishing fund
balance.
1.
Fund balance - The excess of assets/deferred outflows of resources
over liabilities/deferred inflows of resources in the General Fund.
2.
Non-spendable fund balance - Amounts represent net current financial
resources that cannot be spent because they are either not in spendable
form or legally or contractually required to be maintained intact
(i.e. real estate acquired for sale, long-term interfund receivables,
and prepaid items).
3.
Restricted fund balance - Amounts constrained to specific purposes
(such as grantors, bondholders, and higher levels of government) through
constitutional provisions or by enabling legislation.
4.
Committed fund balance - Amounts that are subject to a purpose constraint
imposed by a formal action of the City's highest level of decision-making
authority. Those committed amounts cannot be used for any other purpose
unless the government removes or changes the specified use by taking
the formal action such as, legislation, resolution, or ordinance amendment.
The Comptroller shall have the authority to calculate the committed
fund balance.
5.
Available fund balance - the portion of the fund balance that is
not nonspendable, restricted, or committed. This balance shall only
include assigned and unassigned fund balances.
6.
Assigned fund balance - Amounts a government intends to use for a
specific purpose; intent can be expressed by the governing body or
by an official or body to which the governing body delegates the authority.
7.
Unassigned fund balance - Amounts that are available for any purpose;
these amounts are reported only in the General Fund.
8.
Prior year expenditures - represents the total General Fund expenditures
according to the most recently audited financial statements.
1)
Emergency Stabilization Fund Balance - the "Emergency Stabilization
Fund" (also known as the "Rainy Day Fund") shall be equal to no less
than 30 days of prior year expenditures. The Emergency Stabilization
Fund is accounted for within committed fund balance. Such calculation
will be performed by the Comptroller. The updated balance of the Emergency
Stabilization Fund is recorded in the most recently completed fiscal
year's audited financial statements.
The Emergency Stabilization Fund Balance shall only be used
for extraordinary operating or capital needs that could not be anticipated
and cannot be funded with current budget resources. Examples of appropriate
uses include, but are not limited to, expenditures related to weather
emergencies, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, unanticipated mid-year
reductions in state and or federal aid, or emergency repairs or demolitions
of City facilities or infrastructure due to fire, flood, or other
catastrophes. Inappropriate uses include, but are not limited to,
utilizing funds to balance the City budget, for recurring operating
expenses, or for routine maintenance and repair. To expend funds from
the Emergency Stabilization Fund, the amount and the purpose of the
expenditures shall be the responsibility of the Comptroller and shall
be submitted in a timely manner to the Common Council and the Mayor.
2)
Commitment and Replenishment - The City is to maintain an available
fund balance (the combination of Assigned and Unassigned) equal to
no less than 30 days of prior year expenditures.
a.
Replenishment - Immediately following a reduction in the available
fund balance below the 30-day minimum, any subsequent annual budget
approval must include a plan prepared and presented by the Office
of the Mayor to restore this balance to the target level within a
specific period. This process will be repeated with each annual budget
cycle until the available fund balance is replenished to the minimum
level of 30 days prior year expenditures.
b.
Available Fund Balance Ceiling - If available fund balance at
the completion of any fiscal year exceeds 45 days (assigned and unassigned)
of prior year expenditures, the Mayor may recommend excess be transferred
into capital outlay to reduce the amount of available fund balance
towards the target level of 30-day prior year expenditures. Said one
time transfer shall be subject to a majority vote of the Common Council.
3)
Restricted Fund Balance - The Comptroller will determine the amount
to be restricted for capital outlay as well as for emergency medical
services in accordance with applicable regulations and legislations.
4)
Committed Fund Balance - In addition to the Emergency Stabilization
Fund, committed fund balance can be established by resolution with
the request of the Comptroller's Office for purposes accepted
by the Common Council and the Mayor.
1.
The Comptroller will set the assigned fund balance to cover the amount
of outstanding purchase orders or encumbrances that have been authorized
by the Common Council through the budget process, as well as funds
budgeted but not needed for self-insurance, the amount for probable
claims as determined by Corporation Counsel, and any fund balance
appropriated in the following year's budget. The approved budget
shall not include appropriations that would allow the fund balance
to fall below the established 30-day minimum amount.
2.
Unassigned Fund Balance - Unassigned fund balance shall be any of
the remaining amount.
A.
Whenever the committed fund balance falls below the recommended 30-day
operating cost to run the city, the Mayor may initiate the following
steps for replenishing the committed fund balance.
i.
Unless in a declared state of emergency, there shall be no use
of uncommitted funds for payments of expenditures already budgeted
for within the city's restricted funds balance;
ii.
The Office of the Mayor shall submit a plan to the Common Council
which shall include any suggested actions to be taken to replenish
the fund balance to the targeted level within a specified period.
This plan shall propose a replenishment amount between 0.7 to 2.5%
of the prior fiscal year's actual annual revenue and presented
60 days prior to the filing of the annual Budget impacted by the reduction
in the previous fund balance. This process will be repeated with each
annual budget cycle until fund balance is replenished to the required
level. The established 30-day fund balance may be replenished within
2 years of use.
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B. The Annual Operating Budget For The Board of Dunn Tire
Park
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The procedure for the preparation, adoption and execution of the annual operating budget for the Board of Dunn Tire Park shall be as provided in sections 20-1 through 20-16, as applicable, except that:
(a)
the board shall submit its estimate to the mayor on or before February
1;
(b)
the mayor shall submit a budget to the council on or before May 1;
(c)
if the budget as passed by the council contains any additions, it
must be presented by the city clerk to the mayor on or before May
22; and
(d)
if a budget has not been adopted as so provided on or before June
8, then the budget as submitted by the mayor, including all additions
to which the mayor has failed to object shall be the budget for the
ensuing year.
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C. The Capital Program, and Budget
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[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also provided an effective date
of 7-1-2003.
As used in this article the term "capital improvement" shall
mean:
(a)
Any physical public betterment or improvement or preliminary studies
and surveys relative thereto; or
(b)
Land or rights in lands; or
(c)
Any furnishings, machinery, apparatus or equipment for any physical
betterment or improvement; or
(d)
Any betterment, object or purpose for which a period of probable
usefulness has been established by the local finance law of the state
of New York and for which the city may legally contract indebtedness;
or
(e)
Any combination of items (a), (b), (c) and (d).
On or before the first day of August in each year, the head of each administrative unit (as defined in section 20-1) and each member of the council wishing to propose a capital improvement for authorization in the capital budget for the next calendar year or for inclusion in the capital program for the next four calendar years thereafter shall submit such proposal, together with an estimate of its cost to the mayor through the coordinator of strategic planning in such form as the mayor may require.
On or before the first day of August, the comptroller shall
submit to the mayor a report showing the amount and nature of all
obligations authorized on account of each capital project and the
liabilities incurred for each such project outstanding at the end
of the last fiscal year (June 30), commenting in detail about the
city's financial condition and advising as to the maximum amount of
capital debt that the city may prudently incur in the next calendar
year and each of the four following calendar years without impairing
the city's credit rating and financial stability.
Before the fifteenth day of September, the strategic planning
commission shall conduct hearings on the proposed capital budget and
capital program, at which the mayor shall invite the attendance of
the comptroller, the president and the chairman of the finance committee
of the council, and the heads of the administrative units.
On or before the seventh day of October, the citizens planning
council shall submit to the mayor a recommended capital budget for
the ensuing calendar year and a recommended capital improvement program
for the next four calendar years thereafter. The recommended capital
budget and capital improvement program shall identify each proposed
capital improvement with reasonable particularity and, as to each,
show its estimated capital cost and annual costs of debt service and
operation and maintenance. Together with its recommendations, the
commission shall submit a report which shall:
(a)
Estimate the amount of capital debt that the city may prudently incur
in the next calendar year and each of the four calendar years thereafter
without impairing the city's credit rating and financial stability;
(b)
Indicate the relative priority, individually or in classes, of the
proposed capital improvements included in the recommended capital
budget and capital improvement program;
(c)
Identify the probable fiscal, economic, environmental and social
effects of each proposed capital improvement;
(d)
Explain the relationship of the recommended capital budget and capital
improvement program to the mayor's four-year strategic plan, and the
city's master plan;
(e)
Explain any new projects or other variances between the recommended
capital budget and capital improvement program and the current capital
budget and capital improvement program.
(f)
Summarize the strategy for the development of the city's capital
facilities for the ensuing four fiscal years;
(g)
Present in tables the capital commitments estimated to be made during
each of the ensuing four fiscal years, by program category and agency.
Where relevant, the anticipated sources of financing for particular
categories and projects shall be specified; and
(h)
Present a map or maps, which illustrate major components of the strategy
as relevant.
On or before the first day of November, the mayor shall submit to the council a capital budget consisting of a statement of the capital expenditures, if any, which it is proposed shall be made by the city during the next calendar year, a separate and distinct program for capital improvements to be made in each of the next five years thereafter, and a report. The mayor's capital budget, capital improvement program and report shall include the same categories of information as required by section 20-23.
The mayor's capital budget for capital improvements to be made
during the next calendar year shall also separately and distinctly
specify:
(a)
Each proposed capital improvement, the estimated cost thereof and
the said order of priority.
(b)
Which of said proposed capital improvements are deemed to be self-sustaining.
(c)
The amount, if any, of the costs of any of the proposed capital improvements,
which will be recovered from grants by the federal or the state government
or any agency thereof, and the estimated amount of such recovery.
(d)
Which of said proposed capital improvements are excludable from the
constitutional limitation of local indebtedness.
(e)
Which of said proposed capital improvements are required by law to
be initially financed in part by cash payment, the extent of such
required cash payment and the amount of the initial cash payment proposed
by the mayor to be made for each capital improvement.
(f)
Which of said proposed capital improvements are to be constructed
on lands presently owned by the city and which on lands to be acquired.
(g)
The amount of money necessary to pay any capital notes or other evidences
of indebtedness issued during the current fiscal year for cash payment
requirements.
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The city clerk shall publish the mayor's capital budget and
capital improvement program in the city record and distribute a summary
to the news media.
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If the mayor's capital budget or capital improvement program
proposes to incur capital debt in excess of the maximum amount advised
by the comptroller, or if any proposed capital improvement appears
likely to cost more than the amount estimated or not to be ready for
implementation in the year proposed, the comptroller shall within
ten days submit to the council a report advising as to the probable
effect of such debt on the city's financial condition.
At the first meeting of the council after submission to it by
the mayor of the proposed capital budget, the council shall proceed
to a consideration thereof.
The consideration by the council of the capital expenditure budget, its actions, duties and prerogatives with respect thereto as well as the actions, duties and prerogatives of the mayor with respect to the council's action on the capital improvement budget, shall be the same as that provided in and in accordance with section 20-8, except that if a capital budget has not been adopted as herein provided, on or before the 15th day of December, then the capital budget as submitted by the mayor, including all additions to which he or she has failed to object shall be the capital budget for the next calendar year.
The capital improvement budget for the ensuing fiscal year shall
be deemed a program of necessary or desirable capital improvements
in the city of Buffalo, but the expenditures for each of such objects
or purposes may not be made unless and until the council by appropriate
action for the payment thereof provides funds or authorizes the issuance
of serial bonds or other capital obligations.
No indebtedness shall be contracted or authorized for capital
improvements in excess of or for purposes different from those provided
in the capital improvement budget for the ensuing fiscal year, except
that the council may, by a two-thirds vote and upon the certificate
of the mayor and comptroller showing the necessity therefor, increase
the amount of any capital improvement or include a new item of capital
improvement which could not have been reasonably foreseen when the
capital improvement budget was adopted.
On or before December 15, the council shall approve the mayor's
capital improvement program, with such amendments as the council shall
consider appropriate. The mayor and the strategic planning commission
shall give due consideration to such amendments in the preparation
of the mayor's four-year strategic plan and the proposed capital budget
and capital improvement program for the following year. The city clerk
shall promptly publish the council's actions on the capital budget
and the capital improvement program in the city record and distribute
a summary to the news media.
Notwithstanding authorization in the capital budget, no debt
shall be incurred for any capital improvement except as further authorized
pursuant to the local finance law of the state of New York.
On April 30 and October 31, the mayor shall submit to the council,
the comptroller, and the citizens planning council a report describing
the progress of the capital improvement projects, including schedules
and explanations of any delays or anticipated cost overruns.
[Added 10-2-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012, effective 10-2-2012]
A.
Pursuant to the procedures contained in this section, each year the
director of the budget shall develop, and from time to time modify,
a four-year financial plan for all major operating funds of the city
wherein the first year of the financial plan will be the proposed
budget as submitted on or before the first day of May each year. Each
such financial plan and financial plan modification shall comply with
the requirements of subdivision 2 of this section and shall conform
to the following standards:
(1)
For each fiscal year, the city's budgets for all major operating
funds covering all expenditures shall be prepared and balanced so
that the results thereof would not show a deficit when reported in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and would
permit comparison of the budget with the report of actual financial
results prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles. For this purpose, unassigned fund balance existing at
the end of the prior fiscal year can be used as a resource and shall
not be considered a deficit under generally accepted accounting principles
when calculating the deficit. Fund balance in excess of the unassigned
amount from the most recently completed audited financial may not
be used as a resource in the four-year plan;
(2)
The financial plan shall include: (a) information related to
projected employment levels, collective bargaining agreements and
other actions related to employee costs, and such other actions to
ensure that there are provisions made for such obligations in the
plan; (b) information related to recurring expenditures and contracted
obligations for utilities, services and supplies; (c) information
related all revenue estimates and an explanation of any significant
deviations from prior year actual results (for this purpose, a significant
deviation is defined as an amount exceeding one percent (1%) of total
revenues of the general fund as reported in the most recently completed
audited financials); (d) adequate reserves to maintain essential services
in the event revenues have been overestimated or expenditures underestimated
for any period; and (e) adequate cash resources to meet its obligations;
(3)
The plan should include one year of cash flow projections of
receipts and disbursements;
(4)
Provision shall be made for the payment in full of the scheduled
debt service on all bonds and notes of the city due in the applicable
fiscal years of the four-year plan;
(5)
All projections of revenues and expenditures contained in the
financial plan shall be based on reasonable and appropriate assumptions
and methods of estimation. All cash flow projections shall be based
upon reasonable and appropriate assumptions as to sources and uses
of cash (including but not limited to the timing thereof), and shall
provide for operations of the city to be conducted within the cash
resources so projected;
(6)
The amount of cash on hand at the beginning of any fiscal year
shall be estimated in accordance with paragraph six of this subdivision,
but in no event shall it be less than two times the average monthly
cash disbursements of the last completed fiscal year;
(7)
In the event that the operations during the preceding fiscal
year have created a negative unassigned fund balance, the first fiscal
year included in any financial plan shall make provision for the repayment
of any deficit incurred by the city during the preceding fiscal year;
If such deficit is in excess of two percent (2%) of the prior year
real tax levy, a replenishment plan covering the four years of the
plan may be implemented if agreed upon by the mayor, comptroller and
president of the common council;
B.
The powers, duties, and obligations set forth in this section shall
be subject to the powers, duties, and obligations placed upon the
City by any state or local officer or agency, including but not limited
to the Buffalo fiscal stability authority act, while such act remains
in effect.
