The fiscal year of the City shall be the calendar year. However, after 1981, if not prohibited by law, the Council may, by ordinance, adopt a different fiscal year, specifying an orderly procedure for financial and budgetary controls in making such transition.
The Council shall adopt in the Administrative Code a uniform classification of accounts and codes to be used and followed in all financial plans, budgets, and financial reports.
At least ninety (90) days before the end of the fiscal year, the director of each department may prepare in detail and submit to the chief financial officer their proposed operating budget for the ensuing fiscal year.
At least forty-five (45) days before the end of the fiscal year the chief financial officer shall prepare and submit to the Council a proposed operating budget for the ensuing fiscal year.
The procedure for budget submission, form of the budget, and all other matters affecting the budget submission shall be set forth in the Administrative Code unless specifically provided for in this Charter.
The proposed budget, and the budget subsequently adopted by the Council, shall be balanced so that appropriations shall not exceed the estimated revenues and available surplus.
On or before thirty (30) days prior to the end of the fiscal year, the Council shall complete its review of the proposed budget, make such adjustments as it deems necessary, and adopt a preliminary budget.
No later than ten (10) days following the adoption of the preliminary budget by the Council, the City Clerk shall cause to be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the City, a notice of the date, time, and place at which the Council shall hold a public meeting on the proposed budget which shall take place at any regular or special meeting of the Council prior to the final adoption of the budget. The preliminary budget shall be available for public inspection at City Hall and copies shall be available for the public at a reasonable fee to be set by the Council.
Following advertising and public hearing, at which interested citizens shall have the right to express their views on the budget, the Council, by a majority vote of its total membership, shall adopt a final budget with such amendments as the Council considers advisable. The budget shall be adopted by ordinance which shall be effective as of the start of the fiscal year. The provisions of Article IV of this Charter shall not apply to ordinances adopting and amending proposed budgets. Should the Council for any reason fail to adopt a budget before the start of the fiscal year, the appropriations of the preceding year, prorated on a month-to-month basis, shall be considered to be adopted temporarily pending adoption of a final budget.
At the time of adopting the annual budget, the Council shall simultaneously by ordinance levy sufficient taxes from authorized sources which, with other revenues and available receipts and balance, will provide for a balanced budget.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, when the fiscal year of the City is the calendar year, in any year following a municipal election year the Council may, within forty-five (45) days after the start of the fiscal year, revise the budget and tax levies adopted by the previous Council. The procedures for adopting a revised budget shall be in accordance with Sections 706, 707, and 708 above, with the time periods adjusted to forty-five (45) days after the start of the fiscal year. Ordinances adopting a revised budget shall be effective as of the start of the fiscal year and shall rescind and replace the budget ordinance of the previous Council. It is the intent of this Charter that a new Council, in the year following a municipal election, shall have the power to revise the budget and tax levies adopted by the previous Council.
The chief financial officer shall cause the appropriations voted by the Council to be entered in the accounting records of the City and shall approve no contract or expenditure which would exceed the unencumbered balance of appropriations in any account. The Council may at any time amend the operating budget, but changes in appropriations, either increases or decreases, shall be made only pursuant to an ordinance authorizing such changes. Supplemental appropriations may be made by the Council in the event that revenues are found and certified by the Mayor to exceed estimates in the budget. If revenues are found and certified by the Mayor to fall short of estimates in the budget, the Mayor shall recommend reductions in appropriations to offset the deficiency in revenues, and the Council shall make necessary adjustments in appropriations to maintain a balanced budget. All appropriations shall lapse at the end of the fiscal year.
The capital program and the capital budget shall be adopted by the Council only after advertisement and public hearing as provided for the adoption of the operating budget. The capital budget may be financed from appropriations of current revenues or monies borrowed as authorized by law or by this Charter. The chief financial officer shall control expenditures in the capital budget in the same manner as provided for the operating budget. The Council may amend the capital budget at any time, but before doing so must amend the capital program.
All appropriations for the capital budget shall lapse at the end of the fiscal year, but sufficient amounts to complete projects in progress may be appropriated in the budget for the year following.
The Council shall, in the Administrative Code, provide for the receipt, deposit, and accounting for all monies due and received by the City. Such procedures shall be assigned to employees of the Treasurer or the chief financial officer as Council deems most appropriate consistent with other provisions of this Charter. The Mayor, with the approval of Council, shall designate the depositories for City receipts.
The Council may make contracts for all lawful purposes, subject to general law or this Charter. No contract shall be made or obligation incurred unless the chief financial officer or his designee shall certify that there is a sufficient unencumbered balance in an appropriation and that sufficient monies therefrom are or will be available to cover the claim or meet the obligation when it becomes due and payable. The Council shall provide in the Administrative Code the procedures for letting contracts which shall not be inconsistent with general law or this Charter.
The chief financial officer shall authorize disbursement of City monies only after determining that all goods and services which have been contracted for have actually been received or performed. The Council shall provide in the Administrative Code for the signing and countersigning of all checks, drafts, or other orders of payment by three of five persons, designated by Council, two of whom shall be the Director of the Department of Accounts and Finance and the Controller.
The chief financial officer shall:
A.
Provide for the recording of all financial transactions and related activities of the City in terms of dollars and other appropriate units of measurement, in accordance with the form and procedures prescribed by the Council in the Administrative Code, and as shall be directed by the Council, in order that the required reports and analysis may be produced for the proper management and control of such activities.
B.
Prepare periodic financial reports, at least monthly, and at such other times as the Mayor may direct, and at the end of each fiscal year prepare an annual financial report. The monthly reports shall be submitted to the Council at its regular meetings and made available to the public.
C.
Provide for the preservation of official financial records, which shall be kept at City Hall and shall be available for public inspection during regular office hours, in conjunction with state historical records preservation standards.
The Council shall provide for an annual independent audit of City receipts, expenditures, accounts, and reports by a certified public accountant or a certified public accounting firm, experienced in municipal finance, having no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the City or any of its elected or appointed personnel. The Council may provide for more frequent audits at its discretion.
The Council shall provide in the Administrative Code for the bonding of all officers and employees who are responsible for the handling and/or authorization of receipts, disbursements, materials, and supplies. All such bonding shall be approved by the City Solicitor for form and sufficiency. The premium for such bonding shall be paid for by the City.