The fiscal year is January 1 through December 31, beginning with fiscal year 1977. The fiscal year of the school district is July 1 through June 30. Pursuant to Charter section 13.01, the assembly by ordinance may change the fiscal year of the municipality and the fiscal year of the school district to the extent permitted by law.
A. 
Office of management and budget. The director of the office of management and budget shall present to the mayor a draft annual budget for the ensuing fiscal year. The draft budget shall be based upon detailed estimates furnished by the agencies of the municipal government according to a classification as nearly uniform as possible. The budget shall present information on recommended appropriations, anticipated expenditures, estimated taxes and other revenues required to support the budget. The draft budget shall present information on recommended appropriations, anticipated expenditures, estimated taxes and other revenues required to support the budget.
B. 
Proposed annual budget to include continuation-funding levels. The proposed annual budget submitted to the assembly shall also include, on the reconciliation worksheets, a continuation funding level for each agency, and a total continuation level for the budget comparing the ensuing year's budget to the current year's revised budget.
C. 
Chief fiscal officer. The chief fiscal officer shall provide fiscal input to the preliminary stages of the budget preparation, and again when the office of management and budget consolidates agency requests. The chief fiscal officer shall certify to the mayor prior to the mayor's administrative review that revenue and debt-service projections contained in the draft budget presented to the mayor for the mayor's administrative review are reasonable. The chief fiscal officer need not concur with amendments to the proposed budget adopted by the assembly. Upon assembly adoption of the budget as amended, including veto overrides, the chief fiscal officer is responsible for budget execution and administration and pre-audits and post-audits. If the chief fiscal officer determines revenues will be less than appropriations for a fiscal year, the chief fiscal officer shall advise the mayor to so report to the assembly, in accordance with Charter section 13.05 and section 6.40.015.
D. 
Appropriations to certain institutions and non-profit organizations. Certain municipal funds and grants which have been appropriated by the assembly to institutions and nonprofit organizations for the benefit and welfare of the public shall be controlled by conditions and regulations as may be imposed by the assembly and shall be subject to independent financial audit under the same procedures as established for municipal funds.
E. 
Program evaluation. The office of management and budget shall perform program evaluation.
(GAAB 9.20.060; AO No. 21-76; AO No. 79-27; AO No. 82-49; AO No. 85-8; AO No. 2002-138, § 1, 9-24-2002; AO No. 2022-59(S), § 2, 7-12-2022)
A. 
Except only where prohibited or restricted by State Statutes, the public shall be given full, free, and unrestricted access to all municipal documents and records, including drafts, prepared by or for the municipal in connection with annual operating and capital budgets.
B. 
Public access to budget preparation materials shall not be restricted or denied by any municipal official, employee, or entity on the basis of any claim of executive or deliberative process privilege.
C. 
The terms "documents" and "records" use in this section shall have the same meaning as given those terms in AMC Section 3.90.020.
D. 
The term "budget" used in this section means and includes periodic revisions to operating and capital budgets as well as proposed legislation making, repealing, or revising appropriations.
(AO No. 2002-101, § 1, 7-16-2002)
A. 
This section governs budgeting of expenditures incurred by municipal employees and other persons for travel paid for with public funds. In this section and in section 6.40.035 of this Code, the term "travel" includes only those items described in section 6.40.035D.3.
B. 
Within the proposed annual operating budget books for general government and the municipal utilities (both regulated and non-regulated), the mayor shall set out separately for each municipal agency the total of all expenditures recommended for travel. Proposed travel expenditures may not be combined with any other budget category.
C. 
The approved annual operating budget books for general government and the municipal utilities (both regulated and non-regulated), as approved by the assembly, shall also separately display approved travel expenditures for each municipal agency. Approved travel expenditures may not be combined with any other budget category in approved budgets.
D. 
The assembly may appropriate additional sums to a department's municipal travel account as necessary.
E. 
Subject to additional limitations as the mayor may impose, the municipal manager may approve intra-departmental transfers of additional funds to municipal travel accounts. Within the assembly department, the assembly chair may approve transfers of additional funds from within the department into municipal travel accounts for that agency and its division.
(AO No. 2002-112, § 1, 8-6-2002)
[1]
Editor's note — This section was originally designated as § 6.10.033 but was renumbered due to a preexisting section with that number.
The assembly shall determine which capital projects will have a significant impact on the general operating budget. Voter approval of a capital project at a general or special election on a ballot proposition that sets forth information on estimated construction, operation and maintenance costs of the project will permit appropriations for the operation and maintenance of the project to be added to the spending limitation on the general government operating budget as specified in section 6.10.037.
(AO No. 83-50(S), 1-1-1984)
A. 
It shall be among the prescribed duties of the mayor to present a proposed annual operating budget for general government and municipal utilities which conforms to all other requirements of law and which, at a minimum, contains the following:
1. 
Discrete service levels prepared by agency heads which reflect current services and programs the mayor proposes to continue into the new budget year; service levels reflecting new programs and services the mayor proposes to be funded during the new budget year; and service levels reflecting measurable reductions in existing programs and services the mayor proposes to be made through reduced appropriations (budget cuts) in the next budget year.
2. 
A vacancy factor for personnel costs budgeted for each municipal agency.
3. 
For each agency, a page showing the reconciliation from the revised current year to both the proposed and approved budget. The reconciliation page shall list funded new services and unfunded current services proposed.
4. 
Travel expenditures as required by AMC Section 6.10.033.
5. 
Continuation levels as required by AMC Section 6.10.30.
6. 
Contingency funds as required by AMC Section 6.10.110.
7. 
A personnel summary for each agency listing the numbers of full-time, part-time, seasonal, temporary, and permanent positions to be funded under the proposed budget as well as an enumeration of positions existing on August 31 of the year preceding that of the budget proposed.
8. 
A spreadsheet that represents department operating budgets at a glance covering the prior year approved budget amounts, and any and all alterations to the budget to determine a continuation level.
9. 
Performance measures and corresponding data for each program, as identified by each department, to be used in the quarterly reports under section 6.40.016 to communicate and demonstrate the results and effectiveness of the program in achieving its stated purpose and to accurately capture the costs to deliver the intended results.
10. 
A detailed enumeration of revenues necessary to support all of the expenditures proposed.
11. 
Overtime budgeted for each department together with overtime budgeted in the prior year. Overtime actually expended in the prior year to August 31 shall also be listed for the departments.
B. 
As the mayor determines useful to the process of review and approval of annual budgets, he or she may submit additional information to the assembly along with the submittals required under this section.
(AO No. 2002-157(S), § 2, 10-29-2002; AO No. 2013-47, § 1, 3-26-2013)
[1]
Editor's note — This section was originally designated as § 6.10.034 but was renumbered due to a preexisting section with that number.
Maximum expenditures in the general government operating budget in a given fiscal year shall be an amount no more than the maximum attainable tax revenue, calculated in accordance with Charter section 14.03 and Chapter 12.25, plus all other projected sources of revenue for the fiscal year, plus the unrestricted fund balance in excess of the Bond Rating Designations and minimum Working Capital Reserve required by the municipality's then-current fund balance policy.
(AO No. 83-50(S), 1-1-1984; AO No. 2019-112, § 1, 10-8-2019)
[1]
Editor's note — AO No. 2016-139, effective 11-15-2016, provided that "The requirements and limitations of Anchorage Municipal Code § 6.10.037 are hereby suspended and waived for two years, until the 2019 budget is developed and proposed."
A. 
At least 120 days before the end of the fiscal year the mayor shall submit to the assembly the following:
1. 
A preliminary general government capital budget/capital program and utilities capital budget/capital program, including a detailed project list as well as total estimated cost and funding source per project.
2. 
Proposed utility business plans and update to utility strategic plans.
3. 
Preliminary general government revenue plan, tax limitation, and administration service priorities.
4. 
Major departmental consolidations, reorganizations or establishments necessitating changes to chapter 3.10 or 3.20, pertaining to executive organization, and required by proposed budgets for the next fiscal year.
B. 
The general government capital budget/capital program will be adopted at least 21 days prior to the end of the fiscal year of the municipality.
C. 
The proposed operating and capital budget shall be submitted to the assembly as provided in Charter section 13.03.
(AO No. 89-114(S); AO No. 2002-166, § 1, 11-8-2002; AO No. 2023-85, § 1, 8-22-2023)
Once approved by the assembly, the amount of specific appropriations, project descriptions and budget years for individual projects within the general government capital budget/capital program and utilities' capital budgets/capital programs are considered permanent legislative actions of the assembly and may be altered in subsequent years only by majority vote of the assembly.
(AO No. 2001-184, § 1, 12-18-2001)
A. 
A proposed school board budget for the next fiscal year and a proposed six-year program for capital improvements and fiscal policies shall be submitted and adopted pursuant to Charter section 6.05 and this section.
B. 
The school district "annual budget" or "budget" referred to in Charter Section 6.05, this section and AMC Section 6.10.080 shall be the unabridged Anchorage School District detailed operating budget and financial plan for its next fiscal year, however denominated, which has been approved and proposed by the Anchorage School District Board of Education.
C. 
The school district annual budget shall be submitted to the Anchorage Assembly on but not later than nor prior to the first Monday in March of each year.
1. 
The school district shall submit its annual budget to the assembly by delivering 30 copies thereof to the municipal clerk.
2. 
Together with submission of the budget, the school district shall also deliver to the clerk a proposed ordinance to approve the budget and appropriate the necessary funds. The substance of such ordinance shall conform to the caption thereof which shall read as follows:
AN ORDINANCE DETERMINING AND APPROVING THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET OF THE ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR ITS FISCAL YEAR [insert year] AND DETERMINING AND APPROPRIATING THE PORTION OF THE ASSEMBLY APPROVED BUDGET AMOUNT TO BE MADE AVAILABLE FROM LOCAL SOURCES
3. 
Immediately upon receipt of the annual budget, the municipal clerk shall retain two copies thereof for the clerk's official files, distribute one copy to each assembly member, two copies to the assembly policy and budget office, four copies to the mayor or his or her designee and one copy to each member of the school budget advisory commission.
D. 
Subject to the provisions of this subsection, but notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary,
1. 
Immediately upon its delivery to the municipal clerk, the ordinance submitted as required by subsection C.2 of this section shall be deemed to be automatically introduced and set for public hearing on the second Tuesday after the first Monday in March of the year in which it is submitted without any further action by the assembly or any assembly member.
a. 
In the event the second Tuesday after the first Monday in march is not scheduled as a regular meeting of the assembly, the ordinance submitted in accordance with subsection C.2 of this section shall be set for public hearing on the next succeeding Tuesday on which there is scheduled a regular assembly meeting.
2. 
The clerk shall cause notice of the ordinance and the date specified by this section for its public hearing before the assembly to be published sufficiently in advance of the public hearing date to comply with the notice requirements of Charter Section 10.01(b).
3. 
The assembly may but is not required to hold more than one public hearing on the ordinance introduced pursuant to this section.
(AO No. 96-22(S), § 1, 2-6-1996; AO No. 97-19, § 1, 2-11-1997)
A. 
The assembly shall hold such public hearings on the proposed operating and capital budget as provided in Charter section 13.04.
B. 
To determine when the assembly may take final action on the proposed operating and capital budget after its second public hearing, the minimum seven days required by the Charter shall begin on the first calendar day after the second budget hearing and may include the day the assembly takes final action on the budget.
(AO No. 2002-91, § 1, 6-25-2002)
A. 
The assembly shall approve the budget of the municipality as amended and shall appropriate by ordinance the necessary funds in accordance with Charter section 13.05. Notwithstanding the above, the assembly may increase appropriations during the course of the fiscal year involved.
B. 
Except for agencies not designated as departments under chapter 3.20, whose appropriations may be proposed to and made by the assembly as part of the office of the mayor or any other executive department, as a minimum, separate appropriations will be made for each municipal department. At the assembly's discretion, separate appropriations may be made for elements of expense or categories within departments.
(AO No. 78-56; AO No. 79-27)
A. 
The assembly may increase or decrease the budget of the school district as provided in Charter section 6.05(b). The assembly shall approve the budget of the school district as amended and appropriate the necessary funds as provided in Charter section 6.05(c) and this section.
B. 
Within 30 days after receipt by the assembly of the school district annual budget, the assembly shall, by ordinance:
1. 
Determine and approve the total amount of the budget;
2. 
Determine what portion of the total amount of the budget approved by the assembly is to be made available from local sources;
3. 
Appropriate the portion of the budget determined under subsection B.2 of this section to be made available from local sources; and
4. 
Notify the school district of the actions specified in subsections B.1 through B.3 of this section.
C. 
The 30 days specified in subsection B of this section for assembly action on the annual budget shall be determined by counting the first day after receipt by the assembly of the budget as the first day of said thirty day period regardless of whether the budget is submitted to the assembly as specified by section 6.10.050.
D. 
If the assembly fails to take the actions specified in subsection B of this section within the time specified therein, the total amount of the budget as submitted to the assembly shall be automatically approved and the amount of funds to be made available therefor from local sources as requested by the submitted budget shall be automatically approved and appropriated, all without further action by the assembly.
(AO No. 96-22(S), § 2, 2-6-1996)
A. 
Resolution. The assembly may, by resolution, reduce or increase appropriations during the course of the fiscal year.
B. 
Public hearing.
1. 
Public hearing.
a. 
A resolution reducing or increasing appropriations by an amount in excess of $500,000.00 shall be subject to a public hearing and shall comply with the requirements of section 2.30.060.
b. 
Any resolutions reducing or increasing appropriations may be subject to a public hearing at the discretion of the assembly.
2. 
Consent agenda.
a. 
Categorical grants, including donations. Regardless of amount, a resolution appropriating a categorical grant does not require a public hearing. For purposes of this section, "categorical grant" means any funds received by the municipality from the state or federal government or donations of funds from the private sector, the receipt of which is conditioned upon expenditure of such funds for a specified project or service, including any payments pursuant to agreements transferring services or functions to the municipality.
b. 
Contributions within approved operating budget. Regardless of amount, a resolution appropriating contributions included in an approved operating budget does not require a public hearing.
(AO No. 78-56; AO No. 86-12; AO No. 88-60; AO No. 2020-29, § 1, 4-28-2020; AO No. 2023-47, § 1, 4-18-2023)
Provision shall be made in the annual budget for a reasonable contingency fund for use in any agency of the municipality. Such contingent funds shall be under the exclusive control of the assembly. In case of an emergency constituting an unusual or unforeseen need, a request may be made to the assembly for transfer of contingency funds to meet the proposed emergency expenditure. Such request may be made by the head of any agency, in writing, stating the facts which constitute the emergency, and shall be made to the mayor through the office of management and budget. The chief fiscal officer shall prepare and affix his or her recommendations to the request for submission to the mayor. The mayor shall submit the request to the assembly for authorization to transfer contingency funds to meet the emergency. The chief fiscal officer shall prepare a monthly report to the assembly which will indicate the total contingency fund appropriation for the fiscal year and each transfer made from that fund since the beginning of the fiscal year and which shall also indicate the current remaining balance of the contingency fund.
(GAAB 9.20.060; AO No. 79-27; AO No. 82-49; AO No. 85-8)