Athens City Charter

Section 1. Be it further enacted, That the City Manager shall be budget officer. The fiscal year of the city shall begin the first of July or on such other date as the Council may designate by ordinance.

The City Manager shall, on or before the first Monday in June of each year, submit to the City Council an estimate of the expenditures and revenue of the city for the ensuing fiscal year. This estimate shall be compiled from detailed information obtained from the several departments, on uniform blanks to be furnished by the City Manager.

The classification of the estimate of expenditures shall be as nearly uniform as possible for the main functional divisions of all departments and shall give in parallel columns the following information:

1. (a) An accurate statement of any operating deficit for the preceding fiscal year.
2. (b) A detailed estimate of the expense of conducting each department as submitted by the department.
3. (c) Expenditures, when possible, for corresponding items for the last two fiscal years, stated separately.
4. (d) Expenditures for corresponding items for the current fiscal year including adjustments due to transfers between appropriations, plus an estimate of expenditures necessary to complete the current fiscal year.
5. (e) Amount of supplies and materials on hand at the time of the preparation of the estimate.
6. (f) Increase or decrease of appropriations proposed by each department, compared with the corresponding appropriations for the current year.
7. (g) Such other information as is required by the City Council or that the City Manager may deem advisable to submit.

The recommendations of the City Manager as to the amounts to be appropriated with reasons therefor, in such detail as the City Council may direct, shall be submitted. Such estimates shall be on file in the office of the City Manager for inspection by the public.

Upon receipt of such estimates, the City Council shall prepare a tentative appropriations ordinance covering revenue and appropriations which shall also be published in a newspaper of the city not less than one week before it is taken up for final consideration by the City Council, and, before acting upon such tentative budget ordinance, the City Council shall consider same at the next meeting and all voters and taxpayers may appear at said meeting and be heard in person or by attorney. The budget ordinance for each fiscal year shall be finally adopted before the first day of the fiscal year. [As amended by Priv. Acts 2004, ch. 92, § 6]

Section 2. Be it further enacted, that at the end of each year, all unencumbered balances or appropriations in the treasury shall revert to the ending fund balance in each corresponding fund and be subject to further appropriations unless specifically carried forward to the following year. [As replaced by Priv. Acts 2004, ch. 92, § 7]

Section 3. Be it further enacted, That in the event the budget for the preceding year should have been exceeded, contrary to the provisions of the charter, an appropriation for the resulting deficit shall be made in the appropriations ordinance for the year following that in which the deficit was created, and any such deficit so occurring shall be paid out of any and all revenues during that current fiscal year.

Section 4. Be it further enacted, That the City Manager shall be responsible for limiting expenditures and obligations to the amounts of appropriations for all departments and shall establish and maintain a system of allotments and require the installation and maintenance of such system of accounts and records and prescribe such purchasing procedure as may be necessary to that end. He shall present a monthly budget statement to the City Council, comparing amounts of receipts and of expense allotted to the elapsed portion of the fiscal year with the receipts actually realized and the expense actually incurred, and in general disclosing the condition of the budget. If it appears that the revenue will not be sufficient to cover the appropriations authorized for the year, or if for other reasons it appears to be necessary to reduce or adjust the appropriations, he shall make recommendations to the City Council for such reductions or adjustments as may be required to maintain a balanced budget. The City Manager and the City Council shall do all other things not in conflict with this charter which may be necessary to maintain a balanced budget for the city government.