The fiscal year of the city shall begin on the first day of
July and shall end on the last day of June, unless another period
is required by general law.
Within the time fixed by law, before the start of the fiscal
year of the city, the mayor shall submit to the city council a proposed
operating budget for the ensuing fiscal year with an accompanying
budget message and supporting documents. The mayor shall simultaneously
provide for the publication in a local newspaper of a notice and a
general summary of the proposed budget, posting such notice and summary
on the city website, as well as the complete proposed budget. The
summary shall specifically indicate any major variations from the
current operating budget and the reason for such changes. The notice
shall further indicate the times and places at which complete copies
of the proposed operating budget for the city are available for examination
by the public.
The budget message of the mayor shall explain the budget for
all city agencies both in fiscal terms and in terms of work programs.
It shall outline proposed financial policies of the city for the ensuing
fiscal year, describe important features of the budget, indicate any
major variations from the current fiscal year in financial policies,
expenditures and revenues together with the reasons for such changes,
summarize the city's debt position and include other material
as the mayor deems desirable.
The proposed operating budget shall provide a complete financial
plan for all city funds and city activities for the ensuing fiscal
year. Except as may otherwise be required by general law, or this
charter, it shall be in the form which the mayor deems desirable.
In the presentation of the budget, the mayor shall utilize modern
concepts of fiscal presentation so as to furnish an optimum level
of information and the best financial control. The budget shall show
in detail all estimated income from the proposed property tax levy
and from all other sources and all proposed expenditures, including
debt service, for the following year. The budget shall be arranged
to show the actual and estimated income and expenditures for the previous,
current and ensuing fiscal years and shall indicate in separate sections:
(a) Proposed expenditures for current operations during the ensuing fiscal
year, detailed by city agency in terms of work programs, staffing,
and the method of financing such expenditures;
(b) Proposed capital expenditures during the ensuing fiscal year, detailed
by city agency, and the proposed method of financing each such capital
expenditure;
(c) The relationship of each proposed capital expenditure to the capital improvement program required to be submitted under section
6-8; and
(d) Estimated surplus revenue and budgetary fund balances at the end
of the current fiscal year, including estimated balances in any special
accounts established for specific purposes.
The mayor shall submit a capital improvement program to the
city council not less than 150 days before the start of each fiscal
year, which shall include the following:
(a) A clear and concise general summary of its contents;
(b) 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;
(c) Cost estimates, methods of financing and recommended time schedules
for each improvement; and
(d) The estimated annual cost of operating and maintaining each facility
and piece of major equipment involved.
This information is to be annually revised by the mayor with
regard to the capital improvements still pending or in the process
of being acquired, improved or constructed.
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The city council shall select a certified public accountant
or firm of certified public accountants to annually conduct an outside
audit of the books and accounts of the city. Such accountant or firm
shall have no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal
affairs of the city or any of its officers. The city council will
be assisted in its effort by an audit committee to be composed of
the city council's property and finance committee chair, who
will serve as chair, the city's finance director, the city accountant,
a resident chosen by the city council president with experience in
public finance or public accounting and auditing, and the budget/management
analyst for the city council. The audit committee will assist the
council in preparing the request for qualifications (RFQ), perform
due diligence in the dissemination of the RFQ, evaluate responses,
conduct any necessary firm interviews and make a recommendation to
the city council. The audit committee shall meet following the conclusion
of each annual audit to evaluate the performance and effectiveness
of the audit firm. The city council shall assure the conduct of the
outside audit and shall annually request a sum of money sufficient
to satisfy the estimated cost of conducting the audit as presented
to the mayor, in writing, at the time of the city clerk's submission
of its proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year to the mayor.
The city council shall submit the award of the audit and proposed
contract to the mayor to be signed. The award of a contract to audit
shall be made by the city council on or before September 15 of each
year. The report of the audit shall be filed in final form with the
city council not later than March 31 in the year following its award.
Not less than every 5 years, the city council shall conduct the procurement
process as described in this section to retain these auditing services.