§ 9.01. Budget adoption.

The fiscal year of the city shall begin on the first day of October of each year and end on the last day of September of each year. The city manager shall prepare and submit to the city commission a budget estimate of the expenditures and revenues of all city departments, divisions and offices for the ensuing fiscal year. The commission shall carefully consider such budget and make such changes in the same as it deems advisable. Thereafter an ordinance shall be passed by the commission based upon such budget estimate. Said budget estimate as prepared by the city manager shall be open for inspection in the office of the city clerk, and the appropriate ordinance shall not be passed by the city commission until after such budget estimate shall have been posted at the city hall and other city facilities for a period of at least ten (10) days. Upon request of the city manager, the commission may transfer any part of the unencumbered balance of an appropriation to a purpose or object for which the appropriation of the current year has proved insufficient.

The budget estimate as submitted by the city manager shall be presented to the city commission in the form of a preliminary budget on or before the first day of July, and on or before the first day of August the city manager shall submit a proposed budget. The proposed budget shall be submitted along with a budget message. The budget message shall describe the programs and financial policies and requests for the next ensuing year. Further, this budget message shall also summarize the city's total debt position and further set forth any indication of major changes in policy or substantial changes in revenues and expenditures. All the departmental budget requests shall be submitted to the city manager in the form and manner prescribed by the city manager. The city manager shall have the power to increase or decrease any item of appropriation or revenue in the departmental budget request before submission of the proposed budget to the city commission.

During the fiscal year, the city manager, without commission approval, may transfer budgeted funds from one minor object account to another within the same major object of expenditure category. Any such transfer shall be made in writing with the use of a minor object budget transfer form, which must be signed by the city manager and finance director. Major object account and minor object account shall be defined by ordinance.

(Ord. No. 95-137, § 1, 7-24-95)