A.
The fiscal year of the township shall coincide with the calendar
year.
B.
The fiscal year may be changed by ordinance, but no change shall
be made by the Board within a period of three (3) years following
a previous change by the Board. When a change is made in the fiscal
year, the Board shall determine the procedures and fiscal arrangements
for the transition.
B.
The Board shall prescribe the form in which the operating budget
and capital program shall be prepared, and such form shall be followed
in the preliminary and final budgets adopted by the Board.
C.
The operating budget is the operating plan of revenue and expenditures
for a fiscal year. The form of the operating budget shall include,
in addition to the major classification of appropriations by which
expenditures are to be allocated and controlled, a detailed analysis
of the various items of revenues and expenditures. All appropriations
shall at minimum be specified as to each office, department, major
operating unit, board or citizens' group.
D.
The capital program is a projection of construction or acquisition
of capital assets and the means of their financing. The form of the
capital program shall include an identification of each expenditure
by project, the year in which acquisition or construction is to be
scheduled, a suggestion as to the means by which each capital project
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 on the debt limit.
Said capital program may provide for the capital projects to be financed
from current revenues, available surplus or moneys borrowed as authorized
by this Charter or state law. The first year of a capital program
shall be the capital budget, when adopted for a fiscal year.
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Commentary: The Charter requirements with regard to the form of the operating budget as set forth in § C1202C do not include the line-by-line system which is currently employed. It was the GSC's view that the Charter should require only a minimum classification of the budget by department and that the Board will determine from time to time whether it desires a line-by-line budget by type of expenditures as is currently utilized or a line-by-line budget by program within each department.
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BUDGET PROCEDURE
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The budget message submitted by the President shall explain
the budget both in fiscal terms and in terms of programs, policies,
activities and plans. It shall outline the proposed financial policies
of the township for the ensuing year; describe the important features
of the budget; indicate any major changes in financial policies, expenditures
and revenues from the current year, together with the reasons for
such changes; summarize the township's debt position and include
such other material as the Board may request or which the President
deems desirable.
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Commentary: As is provided in § C602, the budget message described in this section and the financial plan described in the following § C1204 may be prepared with the assistance of the township administration staff but must reflect the personal evaluations, recommendations and statement of priorities of the President of the Board. The budget message is particularly the document of the Board President.
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A.
The financial plan as submitted by the President to the Board shall
provide a complete plan of all township funds and activities for the
ensuing fiscal year and, except as required by this Charter, the proposed
budgets contained therein shall be in such form as the President deems
desirable except as otherwise required by the Board. The financial
plan shall contain, among other things, the following:
(1)
Comparative figures for actual and estimated income and expenditures
for the current fiscal year and actual income and actual expenditures
for the preceding fiscal year.
(2)
Proposed operating budget for the next fiscal year, in such form
as the Board shall prescribe.
(3)
Forecast of revenue and expenditures for a period of at least two
(2) additional years, individually stated, to be advisory only for
the purpose of long-range planning. The information to be provided
shall be stated in general categories only.
(4)
Capital program for the remainder of the term of the improvements
then in progress or proposed to be undertaken, but in no case less
than the next five (5) fiscal years, the first year of which shall
be in detail and designated as the proposed capital budget, in such
form as the Board shall prescribe.
(5)
Statement of debt with an amortization schedule through a time period
covering the latest final maturity of any existing issue and showing
in addition to existing debt the amortization schedule for all proposed
debt for each project included in the capital program.
B.
In the operating budget as proposed by the President, the total of
proposed expenditures shall not exceed the total of estimated revenue
and available surplus, and in the capital budget as proposed by the
President, the proposed expenditures shall not exceed the anticipated
available means of financing.
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Commentary: The financial plan includes
the proposed operating and capital budgets and also the various schedules
and figures and projections which are necessary for the Board and
its committees to make a proper evaluation of these proposed budgets.
In general, the items required are the ones which are now customarily
supplied.
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The changes from current procedure which this section contemplates include the submission of a proposed forecast of revenue and expenditures for at least two (2) additional years in general terms [see § C1204A(3)] and the adoption of a capital budget at the same time as the adoption of the operating budget, rather than at a separate time as is the current practice. With regard to the two-year forecast projection of operating budget, it is not expected that any attempt will be made to forecast with any definitive accuracy the likely inflationary or salary increases; it is rather the purpose of this projection to indicate areas in which a shift of priorities or the deletion or addition of programs is suggested in terms of current dollars. Thus, as the GSC views it, it would be satisfactory to set forth such items as salaries and material costs in current dollars for the purpose of projection.
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The GSC contemplates that the requirements that the
Board may impose on the President regarding the form of the proposed
operating budget and capital program to be submitted by him may be
different and less detailed than the form in which the Board will
ultimately adopt the operating and capital budgets. Thus, the Board
might not require the President to set forth the salary levels for
employees while it would undoubtedly set forth such salary levels
in its ultimately adopted operating budget.
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A.
The President shall present the budget message and the financial
plan, including the proposed operating and capital budgets, to the
Board at a Board meeting at least fifty (50) days prior to the end
of the current fiscal year. Any budget recommendations made to the
President by the Manager, department heads or staff during his supervision
of the preparation of the financial plan and budgets and budget message
shall be made available to all Commissioners when made to the President.
Copies of the budget message and a summary of the financial plan shall
be available for distribution to all interested persons attending
such meeting or who request them following the meeting. The financial
plan in its entirety shall be available for public inspection at the
Township Building, and copies shall be made available at the request
of any person upon payment of a reasonable charge therefor.
B.
The Board, acting through committees or as a committee of the whole,
shall review all aspects of the proposed operating and capital budgets
and may add, delete or modify programs and increase or decrease estimated
revenue and amounts allocated as may be required in its judgment.
As a part of such process, representatives of each department of the
township and the Manager shall appear before the appropriate committee
or committees of the Board and shall explain their views as to the
President's proposed budget and shall discuss generally budgetary
considerations regarding their departments. Following such consideration,
the Board shall adopt a preliminary operating budget which must be
balanced so that appropriations are matched by anticipated revenues
and the available surplus, and a preliminary capital budget in which
proposed expenditures shall not exceed the anticipated available means
of financing.
C.
The Board shall cause to be published upon the adoption of such preliminary
operating and capital budgets in one (1) or more newspapers of general
circulation within the township:
(1)
A general summary of the preliminary operating and capital budgets.
(2)
Notice of a public meeting with date, time and place specified at
which said preliminary budgets will be considered by the Board.
(3)
The times when copies of the preliminary budgets shall be available
for inspection by township residents. Copies of said preliminary budgets
in their entirety shall be available for public inspection at the
Township Building, and copies shall be made available to township
residents upon their request at a reasonable cost to be fixed by the
Board.
D.
The Board shall conduct a public hearing which shall follow the publication
of notice thereof by no fewer than fifteen (15) nor more than thirty
(30) days to receive the comments and suggestions of the public regarding
the preliminary budgets. Such a public hearing may take place at any
regular or other official meeting of the Board.
E.
Following the public hearing and before the start of the fiscal year
to which the budgets apply, the Board shall, by ordinance, with or
without amendment of the preliminary budgets, adopt the operating
and capital budgets which shall become effective immediately upon
adoption and which shall constitute for the ensuing fiscal year appropriations
of the amounts specified therein as expenditures from the funds indicated
and shall constitute a levy of the taxes therein specified. The operating
budget as adopted must be balanced so that appropriations are matched
by anticipated revenues and available surplus. In the capital budget
as adopted, the proposed expenditures must not exceed the anticipated
available means of financing.
F.
In the year immediately following any municipal election which is
held within ninety (90) days preceding the beginning of the next fiscal
year, the Board may, within forty-five (45) days after the start of
the fiscal year, adopt revised budgets, provided that, prior to such
adoption of revised budgets, the proposed revised budgets shall be
advertised and a hearing held as hereinabove provided.
G.
To the extent that the procedures for the adoption of the budget set forth in this section may be inconsistent with the provisions of Article V, the provisions of this section shall prevail.
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Commentary: The procedure for the
adoption of the budget is in many respects similar to that traditionally
employed by the Board of Commissioners, except that it is contemplated
that the review by the individual committees of the Board and its
Finance Committee will occur following submission of the proposed
budget by the President, rather than representing the initiation of
the budget process.
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It is the GSC's view that the President's
submission should occur at least ninety (90) days prior to the end
of the fiscal year so as to provide adequate time for review by the
departmental committees and the Finance Committee prior to the promulgation
of the preliminary budget. In deference to the concern of some members
of the Board of Commissioners that there would not be sufficient financial
experience in the current fiscal year to permit meaningful budget
making, the Charter requirement is set at fifty (50) days.
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[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 56701.
A.
If, during the fiscal year, there is evidence of a need for supplemental
appropriations and there are or will be available revenues in excess
of those appropriated in the budgets, the Board may, by ordinance,
make such supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year in an amount
not to exceed such excess.
B.
To meet a public emergency declared by the Board, affecting life,
health, property or the public peace or welfare, the Board may, during
the year, by ordinance, make emergency appropriations. To the extent
that there are not available unencumbered or unappropriated revenues
to meet such emergency appropriations, the Board may, by ordinance,
authorize the issuance of emergency notes, which may be renewed from
time to time, but such notes or renewals thereof shall be repaid not
later than the last day of the fiscal year next succeeding that in
which the emergency appropriation was made.
C.
If, at any time during the fiscal year, it appears probable that
the revenues available will be insufficient to meet the amounts appropriated,
the Board shall take such action as is necessary to prevent any deficit,
and for that purpose it shall, if at all possible, by resolution reduce
or eliminate one (1) or more appropriations.
D.
At any time during the fiscal year the Board may, by administrative
directive, transfer part or all of any unencumbered balance appropriated
within an office, department, major operating unit, board or citizens'
group, and the Board may, at any time during the fiscal year, by ordinance,
transfer part or all of any unencumbered balance appropriated from
one office, department, major operating unit, board or citizens'
group to another.
E.
No appropriation for existing debt service may be reduced or transferred
except to the extent to which refinancing has eliminated or reduced
the debt requirement.
G.
All unexpended or unencumbered appropriations shall lapse at the
end of a fiscal year to the extent that they have not been expended
or encumbered.
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Commentary: The Charter provision makes possible the transfer during the course of a year within a department by administrative directive and, although requiring an ordinance for transfer between departments, it adopts the emergency ordinance procedure which eliminates the requirement of prior advertising otherwise applicable with respect to emergency appropriations or transfers. With regard to supplemental appropriations, preadvertising and an opportunity for the public to speak to the issue is required pursuant to Article V but the formal public hearing required in connection with the adoption of the budget is not required.
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CONTRACTS
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A.
The township may make contracts and incur obligations for lawful
purposes subject to the provisions of this Charter and state law and
subject to the following limitations:
(1)
Limitations on amount.
(a)
As to the amount payable thereunder in the current fiscal year,
at the time of the execution of the contract, there shall be a sufficient
unencumbered balance in an appropriation and sufficient funds therefor
shall be anticipated to be available to cover such payment.
(b)
As to the amount payable thereunder in future fiscal years,
the total amount which may be paid in each future fiscal year on account
of each such contract or obligation (except those hereinafter mentioned)
shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the annual arithmetic average
of the total operating revenues of the township for the three (3)
full fiscal years ended next preceding the date of the making of such
contract or the incurring of such obligation. This limitation shall
not apply to obligations for debt or for the purchase of capital goods
and services properly to be funded by debt, nor shall it apply to
employment contracts with township employees, to contracts with other
governmental entities or with regulated utilities.
(2)
Limitations on duration.
(a)
Employment contracts with township employees shall be limited
to a maximum of four-year terms.
(b)
The terms of contracts for the purchase of supplies shall not
exceed three (3) years.
(c)
Any contract which has a duration of two (2) years or more must
be approved by an absolute two-thirds vote.
B.
Requirements.
(1)
All contracts exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.):
(a)
Shall be in writing.
(b)
Shall be approved by ordinance or resolution, except that all
contracts for the construction of assessable public capital improvements
shall be authorized only by ordinance, regardless of amount.[1]
(c)
Shall be signed by the Manager. A written contract for less
than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.) may be signed by
the Manager's designee if for a term of less than two (2) years,
provided that such action is in accordance with the budget or any
other specific prior authorization required by this Charter.
(2)
Any officer required to execute a written contract shall submit the
form of contract to the Township Solicitor for approval before executing
the contract.
C.
All contracts exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.)[2] shall be awarded after competitive bidding to the lowest
responsible bidder where the township is purchaser and the highest
responsible bidder where the township is seller, except that competitive
bidding need not be required for the following contracts:
(1)
Labor or services rendered by any township officer or employee.
(2)
Contracts for labor, material, supplies or services available from
only one (1) vendor, provided that the Manager shall have certified
to the Board in writing that the material, labor, supplies or services
are available from only one (1) vendor.
(3)
Contracts relating to the acquisition or use by the township of real
property.
(4)
Contracts relating to the lease or sale by the township of real property
owned by it, provided that a system for obtaining independent appraisals
is developed and utilized so as to assure that the township is obtaining
adequate compensation.
(5)
Contracts for professional or unique services or supplies.
(6)
Contracts for insurance where competitive bidding is impractical.
(7)
Contracts for emergency repairs, services or supplies.
(8)
Contracts with other governmental entities, authorities, agencies
or political subdivisions.
(9)
Contracts for regulated utility services.
(10)
Contracts pursuant to joint purchasing arrangements entered
into with other governmental entities, provided that one (1) of the
participating governmental entities utilized similar procedures to
those which would be here required in the absence of such joint purchasing
agreement. The Board shall adopt an ordinance establishing the procedure
for competitive bidding which shall include publication and notice
requirements, including advertisement at least once in a newspaper
of general circulation in the township, deposit and bond requirements,
conditions, terms, rules and regulations.
[2]
Editor's Note: This contract amount was subsequently increased, pursuant to the authority granted in § C1207D, by Ord. Nos. 1537, adopted 3-16-1982, and 1721-90, adopted 9-18-1990. Ordinance No. 2249-12, adopted 10-17-2012, provided that the bid threshold in this § C1207 be revised and replaced "to equal the dollar amount thresholds for which competitive bids and publication are prescribed by the Pennsylvania First Class Township Code, 53 P.S. § 56802, as amended from time to time."
D.
The Board, by ordinance, adopted by an absolute three-quarters vote, may change the two-thousand-five-hundred-dollar amount specified for any or all of the requirements stated in § C1207B(1)(a), (b), (c) or C, and may provide for differing amounts for each such requirement.
E.
No person shall evade the provisions of this section by purchasing
or selling goods or contracting for services to be supplied piecemeal,
or at separate times, which transactions would, in the exercise of
reasonable discretion and prudence, be conducted as one (1) transaction
requiring payment or receipt of an amount greater than the amount
above which competitive bidding is then required.
F.
Willful violation of any of the provisions of this section shall
constitute a summary offense punishable upon conviction by a maximum
fine of five hundred dollars ($500.). Conviction thereunder, when
final, or a plea of nolo contendere or guilty shall subject such person
to surcharge to the extent of the damage shown to be thereby sustained
by the township and shall result in forfeiture of office.
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Commentary: The provisions of § C1207A limiting contracts as to future years with regard to both amount and duration represent an attempt by the GSC to avoid the possibility that a particular Board will bind future Boards by obligating the township in areas where no such obligations are in fact legitimately required.
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The permission granted to the Board in § C1207D to increase the amount of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.) for exemption from competitive bidding, written contract, signatures and Board approval requirements, provides a method for adjustment because of changing inflationary levels. It is not contemplated that the Board will increase the limit of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.) except to reflect increases in the cost of living.
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The exceptions from the competitive bidding requirement as enumerated in § C1207C are, in general, currently applicable under the Township Code, Section 1802.[3] Somewhat special provisions are here included for the exemption from the competitive bidding requirement of items available from only one (1) vendor [see § C1207C(2)], lease or sale of township real property, provided that independent appraisals are obtained to assure adequate compensation is being received [see § C1207C(4)] and contracts pursuant to joint purchasing arrangements provided that one (1) of the participating units followed competitive bidding procedures where they would have been required pursuant to this Charter [see § C1207C(10)].
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[3]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 56802.
The Manager shall authorize disbursement of township moneys
only after determining that the Controller has given all approvals
required of him by this Charter or by ordinance and that all goods
and services have actually been received or performed, except where
commercial custom or practice makes such procedure impractical. The
Board shall provide in the Administrative Code[1] for procedures for the signing and countersigning of all
checks, drafts and other orders of payment by two (2) persons.
A.
The Manager shall be responsible for providing for the recording
of all financial transactions and related activities of the township
in accordance with the form and procedures prescribed by the Board
in the Administrative Code.
B.
The Manager shall inform the Board of any significant financial fact
which would have an impact or influence on the township's affairs.
C.
The Manager shall prepare for the Board financial reports, at least
monthly, and at such other times as the Board may direct, and shall
at the end of each fiscal year prepare for the Board an annual financial
statement.
D.
The Manager shall provide for the preservation of financial records
which shall be kept at the office of the township and shall be available
for public inspection during normal office hours.
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FINANCIAL LIMITATIONS
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A.
Limitation on taxation.
(1)
Real estate. The Board shall not impose a tax on real estate in excess
of the aggregate amount permitted by the state statutes which would
limit the Board with regard thereto in the absence of this Charter,
except that only with the approval of an absolute two-thirds vote
the Board may:
(2)
Other sources of taxation. As to all other sources of taxation, the
Board shall be limited as to sources and rates by any applicable state
statute which would govern the Board in the absence of this Charter.
B.
Limitations on borrowing. The Board shall be governed in the incurring,
refunding and repayment of debt by the substantive and procedural
provisions of the Local Government Unit Debt Act of 1972 (Act 185
of 1972);[1] provided, however, that the limitations as to the amount
of debt shall be increased from time to time to the full extent of
debt which would be permitted to the township by all applicable state
statutes in the absence of this Charter.
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Commentary: In general, the Charter
does not enlarge the taxing ability or the borrowing ability of Cheltenham's
Board of Commissioners. It does eliminate the current requirement
that the Board petition the court for some part of its real estate
taxing authority, substituting for that requirement the necessity
that the change be made by an absolute two-thirds vote of the Board.
In essence, this provision provides a greater guaranty against the
use of the additional taxing authority since it is more difficult
to obtain an absolute two-thirds vote under the Charter than it is
currently to obtain a mere majority vote of the quorum of the Board
in attendance at a meeting in order to authorize the application to
a court and the fairly routine approval which normally results thereafter.
The provision permitting the Board to shift to general purposes taxing
authority made available only for special purposes under the First
Class Township Code, upon approval of an absolute two-thirds vote
of the Board, provides greater protection that the Board will not
fully utilize specific taxing authority for the purpose specified
in situations where it would prefer to utilize a portion of that taxing
authority for items of greater priority.
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As the text makes clear, the borrowing limitations
are precisely those already applicable to the township pursuant to
the Local Government Unit Debt Act of 1972.
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[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 6780-1 et seq.
Any pension system continued or established by the Board shall
at all times be maintained in an actuarially sound condition as determined
annually by an independent qualified actuary in a report to be submitted
to the Board.
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Commentary: The purpose of this provision
is to assure the continual appropriate funding of any township pension
plan. The requirement of actuarial soundness does not, of course,
require the plan to be fully funded at all times since in any situation
in which benefits are significantly increased there inevitably will
be a back-funding requirement. Actuarial soundness requires that this
back-funding be provided in a reasonable period of time as recommended
by an actuary.
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