There shall be a Department of Finance, the director of which shall be appointed by the Town Administrator. The Director of Finance can be ex-officio Town Treasurer. The Director of Finance shall provide a bond with such surety and in such amount as the Council may require and the premiums on such bond shall be paid by the Town.
The Director of Finance shall have knowledge of municipal accounting and taxation and shall have experience in budgeting and financial control.
The Director of Finance shall have custody of all public monies, funds, notes and bonds and other securities belonging to the Town. The Director of Finance shall make payments out of Town funds upon orders signed by the Town officers as herein provided. The Director of Finance shall render a full and accurate statement to the Town Administrator and the Council of receipts and payments at such times as the Town Administrator or Council may require, such statements to be made in such form as the Town Administrator may prescribe. The Director of Finance shall perform such other acts and duties as the Council may prescribe.
The fiscal year of the Town shall begin on the first day of October and end on the following September 30th, but the fiscal year may be changed by the Council by ordinance provided that no change shall be effective until six (6) months after final passage of such ordinance.
A. 
Preparation of Budget:
The Department Heads of the Town shall prepare annual departmental budget requests for the ensuing fiscal year as directed by the Town Administrator and submit said requests to the Town Administrator for review. It shall be the duty of the Town Administrator to submit an annual budget not later than thirty (30) days prior to the end of the current fiscal year to the Council for its review, consideration and revision if desired. The Council shall call a public hearing or hearings on the budget. The Council may adopt the budget with or without amendment. In amending the budget, it may add or increase programs or amounts and may delete or decrease any programs or amounts, except expenditures required by law or for debt service or for estimated cash deficit, provided that no amendment to the budget shall increase the authorized expenditures to an amount greater than the total of estimated income plus funds available from prior years.
B. 
Adoption:
The budget as adopted must set forth the appropriations for services, functions and activities of the various Town departments and agencies, and shall meet all fund requirements provided by law and required by bond covenants.
C. 
Failure to Adopt:
If the Council fails to adopt the budget by the 15th day of September, the amounts appropriated for the current fiscal year shall be deemed adopted for the ensuing fiscal year on a month to month basis with all items in it prorated accordingly until such time as the Council adopts a budget for the ensuing fiscal year. The levy of property tax will be set to equal the total current fiscal year tax receipts, unless the ensuing fiscal year budget is approved by September 15th of the current fiscal year.
Copies of the budget as adopted shall be public records and shall be made available to the public upon request.
During the fiscal year the Council shall have the power to transfer funds allocated by the budget to one activity, function or department, to another activity, function or department, and to re-estimate revenues and expenditures.
At any time in the fiscal year the Council may make emergency appropriations to meet a pressing need for public expenditures in order to protect the public health, safety or welfare.
The Council shall have the power, except as prohibited by law, to borrow money by whatever method it may deem to be in the public interest.
The Town shall have the power to borrow money on the credit of the Town and to issue general obligation bonds and other evidence of indebtednesses for permanent public improvements or for any other public purpose not prohibited by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, and to issue refunding bonds to refund outstanding bonds and other evidences of indebtedness of the Town previously issued. All such bonds shall be issued in conformity with the laws of the State of Texas.
The Town shall have the power to borrow money for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, improving, extending or repairing of public utilities, recreational facilities or any other self liquidating municipal function not prohibited by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, and to issue revenue bonds to evidence the obligation created thereby. Such bonds shall be a charge upon and payable from the properties, or interest therein pledged, or the income therefrom, or both. The holders of the revenue bonds shall never have the right to demand payment thereof out of monies raised or to be raised by taxation. All such bonds shall be issued in conformity with the laws of the State of Texas.
All bonds and evidences of indebtedness of the Town having been issued and sold and having been delivered to the purchaser thereof or delivered to the claimant thereof shall thereafter be incontestable and all bonds issued to refund outstanding bonds or other evidence of indebtednesses previously issued shall and after said issuance be incontestable.
Every appropriation, except an appropriation for a capital expenditure, shall lapse at the close of the fiscal year to the extent that it has not been expended or encumbered. An appropriation for a capital expenditure shall continue in force until the purpose for which it was made has been accomplished or abandoned; the purpose of any such appropriation shall be deemed abandoned if three years pass without any disbursement from or encumbrance of the appropriation.
Payments and Obligations Prohibited: No payment shall be made or obligation incurred against any allotment or appropriation except in accordance with appropriations duly made and unless the Town Administrator or the Town Administrator’s designee first certifies that there is a sufficient unencumbered balance in such allotment or appropriations and that sufficient funds therefrom are or will be available to cover the claim or meet the obligation when it becomes due and payable.
The Town Administrator shall submit to the Council each month the financial condition of the Town by budget item, budget estimate versus accruals for the preceding month and for the fiscal year to date. The financial records of the Town will be maintained on an accrual basis to support this type of financial management.
At the close of each fiscal year, and at such times as it may be deemed necessary, the Council shall cause an independent audit to be made of all accounts of the Town by a certified public accountant. The certified public accountant so selected shall have no personal interest, directly or indirectly, in the financial affairs of the Town or any of its officers. Upon completion of the audit, the results thereof in a summary form shall be placed on file in the Town Secretary’s office as a public record for the public’s information.
All purchases made and contracts executed by the Town shall be made in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas.