A. 
Commencement of the Budget Process. Except as otherwise provided herein, not later than January 1st of each year, the Mayor, or the Mayor's designee, shall provide all Departments, Boards and Commissions with forms for budgetary requests for the ensuing fiscal year.
B. 
Mayor Transmits Proposed Fiscal Budget to the Common Council. On or before April 1st the Mayor shall transmit a proposed fiscal budget to the Common Council.
C. 
Contents of the Proposed Budget: Operating and Capital Budgets. The proposed budget shall consist of an operating budget and a capital budget.
1. 
Capital Budget. The capital budget shall consist of all funds necessary for any debt service payment needed during the fiscal year, including all payments for debt service incurred for the construction, renovation or improvement of any Board of Education buildings or property.
2. 
Operating Budget. The operating budget shall consist of all proposed expenditures for the fiscal year which are not part of the capital budget.
3. 
Separate Budgets Not Included. The Annual Budget prepared by the Office of the Mayor shall not include the budgets of those Boards, Commissions and Agencies for which separate budgets are required by the General Statutes or Special Acts. All separate budgets shall be subject to the referendum provisions contained in this Charter.
4. 
Application of Veto and Referenda to Entire Budget. All provisions for veto and referenda of the budget shall apply only to the entire budget and neither the operating budget nor the capital budget shall be subject to veto or referenda separately.
D. 
Public Hearing by the Common Council. The Common Council shall, prior to April 30th, hold public hearings on the proposed budget.
1. 
Publication: Date of Hearing. The Common Council shall cause such proposed budget to be published in accordance with the Public Notice provisions of this Charter and shall accompany such publication with a Hearing Notice, which hearing shall be at least two (2) Days after said publication. Upon such date, the Common Council shall meet to hear any parties interested in relation thereto, which meeting shall be held on or before April 30th.
2. 
Hearing Participants. At such hearings, all Electors and persons paying taxes or charges to said City shall have the right to be heard concerning any proposed budget item.
E. 
Modification of the Proposed Budget by the Common Council. The Council shall have the power to add, delete, increase or decrease any item in said proposed budget.
F. 
Final Action on the Proposed Budget by the Common Council.
1. 
Notice Following Public Hearing on the Budget. Following the Public Hearing and prior to Adoption of the Proposed Budget as set forth herein, the required notice and agenda for each meeting or proceeding shall be posted on the City's website and shall include information about how the meeting will be conducted and how the public can access it.
2. 
Submission of Budget Amendments and Supplemental Materials. Moreover, any supplemental materials relevant to matters on the post-Public Hearing agenda, including but not limited to amendments to the Proposed Budget (which shall be in writing) shall be submitted to the Common Council and posted to the City's website for public inspection a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting. Said posting shall remain posted to the City's website for public inspection during and after the meeting.
3. 
Disclosure and Transparency Requirements for Final Action on the Budget. In the event the meeting of the Common Council is less than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the date for adoption of the Proposed Budget, all proposed amendments shall be in writing and shall be posted on the website prior to action by the Council. The Rules of the Council promulgated in accordance with Chapter III, Sec. 3.A of this Charter shall include procedures governing such amendments.
G. 
Adoption of the Proposed Budget by the Common Council. Not later than the 15th day of May of each year, the Common Council shall adopt a budget and make appropriations therefor.
1. 
Establishment of the Tax Levy. At the same time the Common Council shall approve the budget, it shall also fix the Tax Rate in Mills which shall be levied on the taxable property in the City as provided by Law. Said Tax shall be payable in two (2) equal installments as shall be determined by the Common Council. Upon failure of any taxpayer to pay any installment of taxes within one (1) month after the date on which said installment is payable, the full amount of the total bill shall be due and payable and subject to such interest charges as are provided by Statute. Any property tax due the City of Middletown in an amount not in excess of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be due and payable in a single payment.
H. 
Mayoral Action
1. 
Veto authority of Mayor. The Mayor shall have the power to veto, in writing, any addition, deletion, increase or decrease in said budget as voted by the Common Council provided that the Mayor then shall transmit said veto to the Common Council within five (5) Days following the adoption of said budget by the Common Council.
2. 
Legislative Action on Mayoral Veto.
a. 
Override of Mayoral Veto. If the Common Council, by vote of two-thirds (2/3rds) of its entire membership at a Special Meeting held for that purpose, shall readopt the item or items vetoed within ten (10) Days of receipt of said veto, the Budget shall be effective as adopted.
b. 
Failure to Override Mayoral Veto. In the event the Common Council shall not readopt the item or items disapproved, then the budget shall be effective as modified by the veto.
I. 
Referendum. Within fifteen (15) Days following the passage of a budget, the electorate of the City shall have the power to challenge the budget by means of a referendum as provided in this Charter. The Common Council shall within ten (10) Days following any referendum to adopt a budget in accordance with such determination. In the event of any additional Mayoral veto, or referenda, said Common Council shall proceed in like manner until a tax shall be levied and accepted to cover such budgets.
J. 
Such appropriations, when finally decided upon, shall be entered into the formal records of the City, as kept in the normal operations of the City and shall be subject to the inspection of any taxpayer during City Hall business hours. Any portion of an annual budget appropriation remaining unexpended and unencumbered at the close of the fiscal year shall lapse and said portion of any appropriation shall revert to the respective Fund of said City.
The Common Council shall, by Majority Vote of the Common Council at a meeting to be held not later than one (1) month after each Mayoral Election, appoint a certified public accountant or firm who shall audit the books and accounts of the City, in accordance with the provisions of the General Statutes, and who shall perform such other duties as may be deemed necessary by the Common Council.
A. 
Issuance of Collection Warrant. In any case where, under the provisions of this Charter or of any bylaw or Ordinance of the City, a sum of money, other than taxes, shall have been ordered by the Common Council to be paid) by any person, or where any assessment shall have been made, or where any expense shall been incurred by the City because of the failure of the property holder to comply with any Order of the Common Council or with an Ordinance, the Common Council may appoint a collector to collect such sums of money and assessments of expenses and shall cause the collector to account duly for the amount of same, the Mayor or President of the Common Council, (only when acting as Mayor in a temporary capacity) shall issue a warrant authorizing such collector to collect same.
B. 
authority of Collectors. Every such collector shall proceed in the same manner and have the same powers and be under the same regulations as by Law prescribed for collectors of public taxes.
C. 
Terms and Conditions. All such sums of money, other than taxes, but including assessments or expenses, shall be subject to interest from the date when the same shall be payable at the same interest rate or rates and in the same manner as shall be provided by the General Statutes in case of delinquent taxes and shall remain a lien upon the property specially benefited by the public work or improvement with reference to which such assessment was made or upon the property against which such expense be chargeable.
D. 
Precedence of Liens. Such lien and all liens created under the provisions of this Charter shall take precedence and priority over any lien or encumbrance on the property whereon the same shall be imposed, except taxes and other City liens prior in date, and any such lien may be foreclosed in the same manner as if such lien were a mortgage given to said City to secure the amount of such assessment or such expense, provided such lien shall not continue for a period longer than sixty (60) Days after the time when such assessment or such expenses shall become payable, unless before the expiration of said sixty (60) Days a certificate, signed by the Mayor or the City/Town Clerk, describing the property on which the lien shall exist and the amount claimed by said City as a lien thereon, shall be lodged with the City/Town Clerk.
E. 
Satisfaction of Lien: Recording of Certificate. Whenever any such lien shall have been satisfied, a certificate of such fact signed by the Mayor, the President of the Common Council, (only when acting as Mayor in a temporary capacity), or the City/Town Clerk, shall be lodged with said City/Town Clerk. The City/Town Clerk shall record all such certificates in a book kept for that purpose and the reasonable expense of filing and discharging such lien shall be added to such assessment or expense.
F. 
Fines and Penalties for Certain Willful Actions. Any person willfully interrupting, hindering, abusing and resisting or obstructing any such collector in the discharge of the collector's duty shall be fined in an amount not exceeding one hundred ($100.00) dollars or imprisoned not exceeding sixty (60) Days or both in any criminal action brought before the Superior Court.
A. 
Water, Sewer and Sanitation Liens. All water rents, sewer and sanitation charges and all service charges due for any service under the provisions of this Charter shall be and remain a lien upon the house, tenement or lot, wherein or in connection with which service shall have been rendered to the owner or occupant thereof and said lien shall have priority over all other liens and encumbrances on said house, tenement or lot, whereon the same is imposed, except taxes, tax liens and other City liens prior in date, and may be enforced or foreclosed by and in the name of the City of Middletown, before any Court having competent jurisdiction thereof, in the same manner as mortgages on lands and buildings are foreclosed.
B. 
Sale of Liened Real Property. The Common Council of the City of Middletown shall have the right and power to authorize the sale of any interest in any house, tenement or lot, which the City shall acquire by reason of such foreclosure, and the proceeds of any such sale shall be paid into the City treasury. Such liens shall be perfected and be in effect in accordance with provisions of the General Statutes relating to the taxes on real estate.