§ 3.19. Budget policy and procedure.

(a)

Establishment. There is hereby established a budget policy and procedure which shall be implemented by the City Manager in the orderly preparation of an annual budget.

(b)

Budget Officer. The City Manager shall serve as the Budget Officer for purposes of implementing the budget policy and procedure as set out herein, and shall have the following powers and duties with regard thereto:

(1)

Permit and encourage and establish the use of efficient planning, budgeting, auditing, reporting, accounting, and other fiscal management procedures in all municipal departments, commissions, and boards.

(2)

Compile an annual budget in accordance with subsection (c) herein.

(3)

Examine all books and records of all City departments, commissions, and boards which relate to monies received by the City, City departments, commissions, and boards, and paid out by the City, City departments, commissions, and boards, debts and accounts receivable, amounts owed by or to the City, City departments, commissions and boards.

(4)

Obtain such additional information from the City, City departments, commissions, and boards as may be useful for purposes of compiling a City budget, such information to be furnished by the City, City departments, commissions, and boards in the form required by the City Manager. Any department, commission or board which refuses to make such information as is requested of it available to the City Manager shall not be permitted to make expenditures under any subsequent budget for the City until such City department, commission, or board shall comply in full with the request of the City Manager.

(5)

Establish and maintain such procedures as shall insure that no expenditures are made by the City, City departments, commissions, or board except as authorized by the budget.

(c)

Compilation and Contents of Budget. The budget shall contain estimates of revenues available to the City for the fiscal year for which the budget is drafted, together with recommended expenditures for the City and all of the City departments, commissions, and boards. Revenue estimates and expenditure recommendations shall be presented in a manner which is in conformity with good fiscal management practices, which practices would include those recommended by the National Council on Governmental Accounting. The budget shall contain actual or estimated revenues and expenditures for the two years immediately preceding the fiscal year for which the budget is prepared. So far as is possible, the fiscal data for such two preceding fiscal years shall be itemized in a manner which is in conformity with the manner in which the budget is presented. Each budget shall show the specific fund or account from which each anticipated expenditure shall be made.

Only that portion of any expenditure, under a multi-year contract attributable to the budgeted fiscal year, shall be appropriated by the budget for that fiscal year. Subject to the foregoing, the City may enter into contracts requiring expenditures in more than one year, without prior appropriation by budget of the entire multi-year expenditure under that contract.

(d)

Passage of Annual Budget and Appropriations Ordinance. Passage of the annual budget and appropriations ordinance by the corporate authorities shall be in lieu of passage of appropriations ordinance. The annual budget and appropriations ordinance need not be published except in a manner provided for in subsection (h) herein. The annual budget and appropriations ordinance shall be adopted by the corporate authorities before the beginning of the fiscal year to which it applies. Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary in the Elmhurst Municipal Code, the budget and appropriations ordinance shall not be subject to a second reading before passage nor does it require approval of a committee report prior to passage.

(e)

Capital Improvement, Repair or Replacement. Monies may be accumulated in a separate fund or account for the purpose or purposes of specific capital improvements, repairs, and/or replacements of specific types of municipal equipment or other tangible property, both real and personal. Expenditures from the Capital Improvement, Repair or Replacement Fund or account shall be budgeted in the fiscal year in which the capital improvement, repair or replacement will occur. Upon the completion or abandonment of any object for which the Capital Improvement, Repair or Replacement Fund or account was inaugurated, then such monies no longer necessary for capital improvement, repair or replacement shall be utilized for general corporate purposes of the municipality and transferred in the accounts of the City for that purpose on the first day of the fiscal year following such abandonment, completion, or discovery of surplus monies.

(f)

Revision of Annual Budget. By a vote of two-thirds of the members of the corporate authorities then holding office, the annual budget for the municipality may be revised by deleting, adding to, changing or creating subclasses within object classes and object classes themselves. No revision of the budget shall be made increasing the budget in the event funds are not available to effectuate the purpose of the revision.

(g)

Funds for Contingency Purposes. The annual budget may contain money set aside for contingency purposes not to exceed one percentum of the total budget, less the amount set aside for contingency purposes, which monies may be expended for contingencies upon a majority vote of the corporate authorities then holding office.

(h)

Public Inspection, Notice and Hearing on Budget. The corporate authorities shall make the tentative annual budget conveniently available to public inspection for at least ten (10) days prior to the passage of the annual budget, by publication in form as the corporate authorities may prescribe. Not less than one week after the publication of the tentative annual budget, and prior to final action on the budget, the corporate authorities shall hold at least one public hearing on the tentative annual budget, after which hearing or hearings the tentative annual budget may be further revised and passed without any further inspection, notice or hearing. Notice of this hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper having a general circulation in the City at least ten (10) days prior to the time of the hearing.

(12/2/85; 11/4/91)