The fiscal year of the city shall begin on July 1 and shall
end on the last day of June, unless another period is required by
general law.
The mayor shall call a joint meeting of the city council and
school committee before the commencement of the budget process to
review the financial condition of the city, revenue and expenditure
forecasts and other relevant information prepared by the mayor in
order to develop a coordinated budget.
Not less than 45 days before the beginning of the fiscal year,
the mayor shall submit to the city council a proposed operating budget
for all city agencies, which shall include the school department,
for the ensuing fiscal year with an accompanying budget message and
supporting documents. The budget message submitted by the mayor shall
explain the operating budget in fiscal terms and in terms of work
programs for all city agencies. It shall outline the proposed fiscal
policies of the city for the ensuing fiscal year, describe important
features of the proposed operating budget and indicate any major variations
from the current operating budget, fiscal policies, revenues and expenditures,
together with reasons for these changes. The proposed operating budget
shall provide a complete fiscal plan of all city funds and activities
and shall be in the form the mayor deems desirable. The school budget,
as adopted by the school committee, shall be submitted to the mayor
within a reasonable time before the submission of the proposed operating
budget to the city council. The mayor shall notify the school committee
of the date by which the budget of the school committee shall be submitted
to the mayor. The mayor and the school committee chair shall coordinate
the dates and times of the school committee's budget process
under the General Laws.
(a)Â
Public Hearing. The city council shall publish in at least 1 local
news publication of general circulation in the city a notice of the
proposed operating budget as submitted by the mayor. The notice shall
state: (i) the times and places where copies of the entire proposed
operating budget are available for inspection by the public; and (ii)
the date, time and place, not less than 14 days after its publication,
when a public hearing on the proposed operating budget will be held
by the city council.
(b)Â
Adoption of the Budget. The city council shall adopt the operating
budget, with or without amendments, not more than 45 days following
the date the budget is filed with the city clerk. In amending the
operating budget, the city council may delete or decrease any amounts
except expenditures required by law. The city council, except on the
recommendation of the mayor, shall not increase any item in or the
total of the proposed operating budget unless otherwise authorized
by law. If the city council fails to take action on an item in the
operating budget within 45 days after receipt of the budget, that
amount shall, without any action by the city council, become a part
of the appropriations for the year and shall be available for the
purposes specified.
The mayor shall submit a capital improvement program to the
city council every 3 years and not less than 120 days before the start
of the fiscal year in which the program report is due. The capital
improvement program shall include: (i) a clear and concise general
summary of its contents; (ii) a list of all capital improvements proposed
to be undertaken during the next ensuing 5 years, with supporting
information as to the need for each capital improvement; (iii) cost
estimates, methods of financing and recommended time schedules for
each improvement; and (iv) the estimated annual cost of operating
and maintaining each facility and piece of major equipment involved.
The mayor shall annually revise this information with regard
to the capital improvements still pending or in the process of being
acquired, improved or constructed.
The city council shall annually provide for an outside audit
of the books and accounts of the city to be made by a certified public
accountant or a firm of certified public accountants that has no personal
interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the city or
any of its officers. The mayor shall annually provide to the city
council a sum of money sufficient to satisfy the estimated cost of
conducting the audit as presented to the mayor, in writing, by the
city council. The award of a contract to audit shall be made by the
city council annually, not later than September 15. The clerk of committees
shall coordinate the work of the individual or firm selected. The
report of the audit shall be filed in final form with the city council
not later than March 1 in the year following the award of the contract.
Except as otherwise provided by law, no official of the city
of Melrose shall knowingly and intentionally expend in any fiscal
year any sums in excess of the appropriations duly made in accordance
with law or involve the city in any contract for the future payment
of money in excess of these appropriations and any such expenditure
or involvement shall be in strict compliance with section 31 of chapter
44 of the General Laws. An official who violates this section shall
be personally liable to the city for any amounts so expended to the
extent that the city does not recover these amounts from the person
to whom the sums were paid.
