Chapter 3.08 CITY BUDGET

Unless the finance director shall certify that there is sufficient unencumbered balance of appropriation and available funds, no appropriation shall be encumbered and no expenditure shall be made. The city manager may, at any time, direct the transfer of unencumbered balances within an appropriation level set forth in the appropriating document. The council may, by ordinance or resolution, transfer any unencumbered balance of appropriations, or portions thereof, from one departmental appropriation level to another. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.020 Preparation and submission.

By the first regular council meeting in November of each year, the city manager shall submit to the council a budget for the ensuing fiscal year and an accompanying transmittal memorandum, setting forth the recommendations for and an analysis of the anticipated revenue and expenditures of the city for the next fiscal year. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.030 Budget message.

The city manager shall cause to be published a budget message explaining the budget in fiscal terms and in terms of work programs. It shall contain an outline of the proposed financial policies of the city for the ensuing fiscal year, describe the important features of the budget, indicate any major changes from the current year and from current financial policies, expenditures, and revenues, together with the reasons for such changes, summarize the city’s debt position and include other material as deemed desirable. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.040 Contents.

A. The budget shall provide a complete financial plan of all city funds and activities for the next fiscal year. In organizing the budget, the city manager shall utilize the most feasible combination of expenditure classification by fund, organizational unit, program, purpose or activity and object. The budget shall begin with a clear general summary of its contents, which summary shall show principal sources of anticipated revenue, stating separately the amount to be raised by property taxes, and by department and kinds of expenditures in such a manner as to present to the taxpayers a clear and simple estimate of budget detail.

B. The budget itself shall show in detail all estimated income, including the proposed property tax levy, and all proposed expenditures including debt service, for the ensuing fiscal year.

C. The budget shall be prepared on a modified accrual basis and subsequent reporting and auditing shall reflect this basis of accounting. Under this method, expenditures are recorded when goods and services are received, and revenues are recorded when payment is billed or received; except for material or available revenues which should be accrued to reflect properly the taxes levied and the revenues earned.

D. The budget shall indicate in separate sections:

1. Proposed expenditures for current operations during the ensuing fiscal year detailed by offices, departments, functions or agencies in terms of their respective work programs, and the method of financing such expenditures;

2. Proposed capital expenditures during the ensuing fiscal year, detailed by offices, departments and agencies, when practicable, and the proposed method of financing each such capital expenditure; and

3. Anticipated net surplus or deficit for the ensuing fiscal year of each utility, special revenue fund, or enterprise owned or operated by the city and the proposed method of its disposition; subsidiary budgets for each such utility or function, giving detailed income and expenditure information, shall be presented in the budget.

E. The total of proposed expenditures shall not exceed the total of estimated revenues of the city. Unencumbered funds remaining at the end of the current fiscal year may be reallocated for the purposes set forth in the budget proposal. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.050 Public record—Public hearing.

The budget and budget message and all supporting schedules shall be a public record in the office of the clerk and open to public inspection. The city manager shall cause to be prepared for distribution to interested persons sufficient copies of these documents. The council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed budget at least one week after the notice of the time of the hearing has been published, but not less than one week before its final adoption. Any interested person shall have an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing, for or against the estimates of any budget item. The council may continue the hearing to subsequent meetings. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.060 Amendment before adoption.

After the public hearing, the council may adopt the budget with or without amendments. In amending the budget, it may add or increase programs or amounts, except expenditures required 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 estimated income. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.070 Adoption.

The council shall adopt the budget for the subsequent fiscal year not later than the second regular meeting in December, by passage of an appropriate resolution. If the council does not adopt a budget prior to the third day preceding the commencement of the next fiscal year, the budget proposed at the public hearing as provided in Section 3.08.050 shall become an appropriation and the budget for the fiscal year without further council action. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.075 Funding for school district.

The council shall consider and approve the city’s contribution to the Valdez school district each fiscal year. Such authorization will be appropriated for use during the city’s ensuing fiscal year. Upon adoption of, or appropriation of, the annual city budget, the city manager shall, within thirty calendar days, notify the superintendent of schools in writing of the total amount the school district is authorized to claim as a city contribution during their next fiscal year. The total amount authorized for this next school district fiscal year will be equal to the amount appropriated in the city budget, intended for this purpose, in the city’s fiscal year beginning January 1st of the year in which the next school district budget will go into effect. Due to the difference in fiscal years between the city and the school district, the total amount appropriated by the city may be different than the amount the city will actually expend during the city’s fiscal year. Any city funds appropriated but not expended as specified herein shall be transferred to a budget stabilization account and may not be used for additional school district funding during that same city fiscal year. The city manager shall adopt procedures for managing the stabilization account to enable continued school district funding in compliance with this section. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.080 Amendment after adoption.

The council may amend the adopted budget from time to time as circumstances may require. Such amendments shall be by appropriation resolution amending and supplementing the resolution which adopted the budget for that current fiscal year. Supplemental appropriations shall not obligate funds or increase authorized expenditures for the current fiscal year to an amount greater than existing unencumbered funds or estimated cash income in excess of original amounts of estimated income for the year. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.090 Anticipated property tax revenues.

Revenue to be provided by property taxes for the budget year shall be that amount necessary to balance actual cash receipts from all sources with authorized expenditures for that year. The council shall set the millage rate by resolution in the manner required by Section 3.12.060. Such resolution shall be made upon delivery of the assessment roll completed and certified by the assessor as provided in Section 3.12.160. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.100 Classification of anticipated revenues.

Broad classification and detailed reporting of anticipated and actual revenues shall be in conformance with accepted governmental accounting practices. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.110 Anticipated revenues—Comparison with other years.

The budget document shall display in parallel columns opposite the several items of anticipated revenues: the amount of each item actually received in the two most recent complete fiscal years; the amount budgeted for the current fiscal year; the estimated total for the current year; and the amount estimated for the ensuing budget year. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.120 Cash surplus.

Surplus available for appropriation shall be limited to cash surplus, defined for the purpose of this chapter as the amount by which cash exceeds current liability at the beginning of the fiscal year; anticipated revenue shall include only such portions of cash surplus, thus defined, as is deemed to conform with the public interest. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.130 Working capital.

A working capital reserve of not less than four million five hundred thousand dollars is established in the general fund. Available balances from this reserve remaining at the year end shall be lapsed into the subsequent year for this fund. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.140 Miscellaneous revenues—Generally.

Miscellaneous revenues shall include anticipated revenues from the collection of taxes other than general property taxes; amount of state shared taxes and aid to be received; amount received from services and sales, fines and forfeitures, and other special or nonrecurring sources. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.150 Miscellaneous revenues—Anticipated from surplus from municipal utility or other public service enterprise.

The anticipated revenues and proposed expenditures of each utility and other public service enterprise owned or operated by the city shall be stated in a separate section of the budget (each bearing the name of the utility). As to such utility, anticipated surplus, if legally available for general purposes, and to the extent the surplus is to be used to support budget operations of the general government, shall be stated in an item of miscellaneous revenues of the budget. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.160 Miscellaneous revenues—Measures of estimates.

No miscellaneous revenues from any source, except as to surplus from publicly owned enterprises, shall be included in anticipated revenue in the budget in an amount in excess of the average of the amount actually realized from the same source in the preceding fiscal year, and the actual receipts realized in the first nine months of the year plus the receipts anticipated for the remaining three months of the year, estimated as accurately as may be, unless the city manager shall determine that the facts clearly warrant the expectation that an amount in excess of such average shall actually be realized in cash during the budget year, and shall certify such determination in writing to the council. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.170 Miscellaneous revenues—New sources.

No revenue from a new source not previously stated in the budget shall be included unless the city manager shall determine that the facts clearly warrant the expectation that such revenue will be actually realized in cash during the fiscal year in the amount stated and shall certify such determination in writing to the council. If the new revenue is to be derived from the state, the anticipated amount shall not exceed the amount which an appropriate officer of the state shall declare in writing to be the amount which may be reasonably expected in the budget year. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.180 Revenues from property tax.

Anticipated revenues from property tax shall include separately the estimated revenue from delinquent property taxes and the estimated revenue from the levy due in the budget year. Each item of revenue shall be the anticipated cash receipts from these sources, estimated as prescribed in subsequent sections of this chapter. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.190 Revenues from delinquent property taxes—Measurement of estimates.

The estimate of the amount of delinquent property taxes expected to be collected during the budget year shall be a proportion of the delinquent property taxes expected to be outstanding on the first day of the budget year in which is not in excess of the average of (A) the percentage of delinquent taxes outstanding at the beginning of the next preceding fiscal year which was actually realized in cash during that year; and (B) the percentage of the delinquent taxes outstanding at the beginning of the current fiscal year which was actually realized in cash to the time of making the budget plus that estimated to be received in the remainder of the year as accurately as may be determined. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.200 Revenue from current property tax—Measurement of estimates.

The item included in the budget as anticipated revenue from the property tax levied and payable in the budget year shall be a proportion of the levy not in excess of the average of (A) the percentage of the levy of the next preceding fiscal year which was actually realized in cash during that year and of (B) the percentage of the levy of the current fiscal year which was actually realized in cash at the time of making the budget plus that estimated to be received in the remainder of the year as accurately as may be determined. There shall be set forth with the estimate of revenue to be received from the tax levy applicable to the budget year the total amount of taxes required to be levied to produce this estimate and the amount of the reserve required for taxes uncollected within the year of levy. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.210 Proposed expenditures.

Proposed expenditures shall be itemized. Separate provisions shall be included in the budget for at least the following:

A. Interest, amortization and redemption charges on the public debt for which full faith and credit of the city is pledged;

B. Other statutory expenditures;

C. The payment of all judgments;

D. The amount equal to the aggregate principal amount borrowed from other funds or through tax anticipation notes or other borrowing means which is estimated will be outstanding on the first day of the fiscal year;

E. An amount equal to the aggregate of all discounts, cancellations, remissions, abatements and refund of taxes that have been made during the fiscal year;

F. An amount equal to the aggregate of all emergency notes which may be outstanding at the end of the fiscal year;

G. Any deficit arising from operation of a utility or other public enterprise; an amount equal to the deficit of such operation during the next fiscal year, separately stated for each utility or public enterprise which appears in a separate section under the budget, will be included;

H. Administration, operation and maintenance of each office, department, function or agency of the city;

I. Expenditures for capital projects. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.220 Cash deficit of current year.

Proposed expenditures shall not exceed expected cash revenues of the city for any budget year as provided by Charter Section 6.2. Proposed expenditures shall be exhibited in the budget in summary form sufficient to determine that this requirement is satisfied. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.230 Proposed expenditures—Compared with other years.

The budget document shall display in parallel columns opposite the several items of proposed expenditures: the amount of each such item actually expended during the two most recent complete fiscal years; the amount budgeted for the current fiscal year; the estimated total for the current year; and the amount proposed to be expended for the ensuing budget year. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.240 Prohibited contracts and expenditures.

A. No office, department or agency shall, during the fiscal year, expend or contract to expend any money or incur any liability, or enter into any contract which by its terms involves the expenditure of money, for any purpose, in excess of the amount appropriated for that general classification of expenditures as outlined in the appropriation resolution. Any contract, verbal or written, made in violation of this section shall be null and void. Nothing in this section contained, however, shall prevent the making of contracts or the spending of money for capital improvements to be financed in whole or in part by the issuance of bonds, or the making of contracts or leases for service or supplies for a period exceeding the budget year during which such contract is made, when the contract is permitted by ordinance. Any officer or employee of the city who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, such officer or employee shall cease to hold his office or employment, and in addition he may be sentenced for up to thirty days in jail or fined up to three hundred dollars or both.

B. Any officer or employee who shall cause or direct the finance director to over-encumber an appropriation, or to encumber an appropriation when there are no budgeted funds for the encumbrance, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall cease to hold his office or employment, and shall be subject to the sentence and fine set forth in subsection A of this section.

C. The city attorney shall proceed on the performance bonds of any official or employee of the city who has made or caused to be made illegal payments, as set forth in this section. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))

3.08.250 Lapse of appropriation at end of year.

Except as provided in this section and in Sections 3.40.010 and 3.40.020 of this code, appropriations shall lapse at the end of the fiscal year to the extent that they have not been fully expended or fully encumbered. An appropriation for a capital expenditure, approved grant, or authorized program shall continue in force until the purpose for which it is made has been accomplished or abandoned; the purpose of such appropriation shall be deemed abandoned if three years pass without any disbursement or encumbrance of the appropriation. (Ord. 09-09 § 1 (part))