The fiscal year of the City of Glenn Heights shall begin on
October 1st of each calendar year and will end on September 30th of
the following calendar year. The fiscal year will also be established
as the accounting and budget year. All funds collected by the City
during any fiscal year including both current and delinquent revenue
shall belong to such fiscal year and, except funds derived to pay
interest and create a sinking fund on the bonded indebtedness of the
City, may be applied to the payment of the expenses incurred during
such fiscal year. Any revenues uncollected at the end of any fiscal
year, and any unencumbered funds actually on hand, shall become resources
of the next fiscal year.
The City Manager, prior to August 1st of each year, shall prepare
and submit the budget, covering the next fiscal year, to the Council,
which shall contain the following information. In preparing the budget,
each employee, officer, board and department shall assist the City
Manager by furnishing all necessary information.
(a) The
City Manager’s budget message shall outline the proposed financial
policies for the next year with explanations of any change from previous
years in expenditures and any major changes of policy and complete
statement regarding the financial conditions of the City.
(b) An
estimate of all revenue from taxes and other sources, including the
present tax structure rates and property evaluation for the ensuing
year.
(c) A
carefully itemized list of proposed expenses by office department,
agency, employee and project for the budget year as compared to actual
expenses of the last fiscal year, and the present year-to-date.
(d) A
description of all outstanding bond indebtedness, showing amount,
purchaser, date of issue, rate of interest, and maturity date, as
well as any other indebtedness which the City had incurred and which
has not been paid.
(e) A
statement proposing any capital expenditures deemed necessary for
undertaking during the next budget year and recommended provisions
for financing.
The budget and all supporting schedules shall [be] filed with
the City Secretary when submitted to the Council and shall be open
to public inspection by anyone interested.
At the Council meeting at which time the budget is submitted,
the Council shall name the date and place of a public hearing and
shall cause to be published in the official newspaper of the City
the time and place, which will be not less than seven (7) days nor
more than fifteen (15) days after the date of the notice. At this
hearing, interested citizens may express their opinions concerning
items of expenditure, giving their reasons for wishing to increase
or decrease any items of expense.
After public hearing the Council shall analyze the budget, making
any additions or deletions which they feel appropriate, and shall,
prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year, adopt the budget by
a favorable majority vote of all members of the Council.
On final adoption, the budget shall be in effect for the budget
year. Final adoption of the budget by the Council shall constitute
the official appropriation as proposed expenditures for the current
year and shall constitute the basis of the official levy of the property
tax as the amount of tax to be assessed and collected for the corresponding
tax year. Estimated expenditures will in no case exceed proposed revenue
plus cash on hand. Unused appropriations may be transferred to any
line item budgeted for the same general purpose.
The City Manager may recommend for action by the Council, an
unallocated reserve fund to be used for unexpected items of expense
which were not contained as original items of expenditures.
No obligation shall be incurred against the City except for
appropriations duly made in the budget. Furthermore, no payment shall
be made nor obligations incurred against the City until the City Manager
or his/her designee first verifies that there is or will be sufficient
funds or monies available to cover the claim or meet the obligation
when it becomes due and payable. There shall be no transfer of funds
or monies from one fund to another fund to cover a claim or meet an
obligation when it becomes due and payable without prior Council approval.
(Amended by Ordinance O-09-12 at
an election held on May 12, 2012, prop. 5)
The City Manager shall submit to the Council each month a report
of the financial condition of the City by budget item, budget estimate
compared to expenditures for the preceding month and for the fiscal
year-to-date. The financial records of the City will be maintained
on an modified accrual basis to support this type of financial management.
The City Manager shall make available to the City Council monthly
a cash disbursements journal of the City of all funds and accounts.
When conditions arise which could not reasonably have been foreseen
in the normal process of planning the budget, the Council may amend
or change the budget for any municipal or public purpose; however,
the total expenditures from all City funds for the fiscal year may
not be increased except by a vote of five (5) members of the City
Council following a posted public hearing at which members of the
public may provide input on such proposed amendment. In the event
that a proposed budget amendment is in order to meet a grave public
necessity, the City Council may, by a vote of five (5) of its members,
waive the requirement for the public hearing. Amendments shall be
by ordinance, and shall become an attachment to the original budget.
(Amended by Ordinance O-09-12 at
an election held on May 12, 2012, prop. 6)
A copy of the budget, as finally adopted, shall be filed with
the City Secretary. The final budget shall be printed, or otherwise
reproduced and sufficient copies shall be made available for the use
of all offices agencies and for the use of interested persons and
civic organizations.
Errors or defects in the form or preparation of the budget or
the failure to perform any procedural requirements shall not nullify
the tax levy or the tax rate.
At the close of each fiscal year, and at such other times as
it may be deemed necessary, the Council shall direct that an independent
audit be made of all accounts of the City by a Certified Public Accountant.
The Certified Public Accountant shall have no personal interest, directly
or indirectly, in the financial affairs of the City or any of its
officers. Upon completion of the audit, the results thereof shall
be placed on file in the City Secretary’s office for public
record.
All sales of City property, purchases made, and contracts executed
by the City shall be made in accordance with the requirements of the
Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, including all laws related
to the purchasing and contracting authority of municipalities, bids
for public works contracts, high technology procurements, and professional
services procurements.
(Amended at election of May 4, 2002)