Loading...
The annual operating budget of the City shall be prepared in accordance with the following:
1. Proposal Prepared. The finance officer is responsible for preparation of the annual budget detail, for review by the Mayor and Council and adoption by the Council in accordance with directives of the Mayor and Council.
2. Boards and Commissions. All Boards, Commissions, and other administrative agencies of the City that are authorized to prepare and administer budgets must submit their budget proposals to the finance officer for inclusion in the proposed City budget at such time and in such form as required by the Council.
3. Submission to Council. The finance officer shall submit the completed budget proposal to the Council each year at such time as directed by the Council.
4. Annual Statement.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 24.2A(2))
A. On or before 4:00 p.m. on March 5 of each year, the City shall file, with the Department of Management, a report containing all necessary information for the Department of Management to compile and calculate amounts required to be included in the statement mailed under Paragraph B.
B. Not later than March 15, the County Auditor, using information compiled and calculated by the Department of Management shall send to each property owner or taxpayer within the County, by regular mail, an individual statement containing all of the required information as provided under Section 24.2(2)(B)(1-10) of the Code of Iowa.
C. The Department of Management shall prescribe the form for the report required under Paragraph A, the statements to be mailed under Paragraph B, and the public hearing notice required under Paragraph D.
D. The Council shall set a time and place for a public hearing on the City’s proposed property tax amount for the budget year and the City’s information included in the statements under Paragraph B. The proposed property tax hearing shall be set on a date on or after March 20 of the budget year immediately preceding the budget year for which the tax is being proposed. At the hearing, the Council shall receive oral or written testimony from any resident or property owner of the City. This public hearing shall be separate from any other meeting of the Council, including any other meeting or public hearing relating to the City’s budget, and other business of the City that is not related to the proposed property tax amounts and the information in the statements shall not be conducted at the public hearing. After all testimony has been received and considered, the governing body may decrease, but not increase, the proposed property tax amount to be included in the City’s budget.
(1) Notice of the public hearing shall be published not less than 10 nor more than 20 days prior to the hearing, in a newspaper published at least once weekly and having general circulation in the City. However, if the City has a population of 200 or less, publication may be made by posting in three public places in the City.
(2) Notice of the hearing shall also be posted and clearly identified on the City’s internet site for public viewing beginning on the date of the newspaper publication and shall be maintained on the City’s internet site with all such prior year notices.
(3) Additionally, if the City maintains a social media account on one or more social media applications, the public hearing notice or an electronic link to the public hearing notice shall be posted on each such account on a date no later than the date of publication of the notice.
(4) Failure of a newspaper to publish a required notice under this paragraph shall not be considered a failure of a political subdivision to provide required notice under this paragraph if all of the following conditions are met:
a. Notice of the public hearing was provided to each property owner and each taxpayer within the political subdivision in statements required under Subsection 2, Paragraph B.
b. The political subdivision can demonstrate to the County Auditor that the political subdivision provided sufficient time for the newspaper to publish the notice.
(Subsection 4 – Ord. 1152 – Oct. 24 Supp.)
5. Council Review. The Council shall review the proposed budget and may make any adjustments it deems appropriate in the budget before accepting such proposal for publication, hearing, and final adoption.
6. Notice of Hearing. Following, and not until the requirements of Subsection 4 of this section are completed, the Council shall set a time and place for public hearing on the budget to be held before April 30 and shall publish notice of the hearing not less than 10 nor more than 20 days before the hearing. A summary of the proposed budget and a description of the procedure for protesting the City budget under Section 384.19 of the Code of Iowa, in the form prescribed by the Director of the Department of Management, shall be included in the notice. Proof of publication of the notice under this subsection must be filed with the County Auditor.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.16[3])
7. Copies of Budget on File. Not less than 20 days before the date that the budget must be certified to the County Auditor and not less than 10 days before the public hearing, the Clerk shall make available a sufficient number of copies of the detailed budget to meet the requests of taxpayers and organizations, and have them available for distribution at the offices of the Mayor and Clerk and at the City library.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.16[2])
8. Adoption and Certification. After the hearing, the Council shall adopt, by resolution, a budget for at least the next fiscal year and the Clerk shall certify the necessary tax levy for the next fiscal year to the County Auditor and the County Board of Supervisors. The tax levy certified may be less than, but not more than, the amount estimated in the proposed budget submitted at the final hearing, unless an additional tax levy is approved at a City election. Two copies each of the detailed budget as adopted and of the tax certificate must be transmitted to the County Auditor.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.16[5])
A City budget finally adopted for the following fiscal year becomes effective July 1 and constitutes the City appropriation for each program and purpose specified therein until amended as provided by this section.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.18)
1. Program Increase. Any increase in the amount appropriated to a program must be prepared, adopted and subject to protest in the same manner as the original budget.
(IAC, 545-2.2[384, 388])
2. Program Transfer. Any transfer of appropriation from one program to another must be prepared, adopted and subject to protest in the same manner as the original budget.
(IAC, 545-2.3[384, 388])
3. Activity Transfer. Any transfer of appropriation from one activity to another activity within a program must be approved by resolution of the Council.
(IAC, 545-2.4[384, 388])
4. Administrative Transfers. The City Manager shall have the authority to adjust, by transfer or otherwise, the appropriations allocated within a specific activity without prior Council approval; provided, however, when such adjustments in any one activity aggregate $1,000.00 or 10 percent of the amount appropriated, whichever is greater, no further adjustments shall be made without approval by resolution of the Council. All such transfers shall be reported in writing at the next regular meeting of the Council following the transfer and recorded in the minutes for the information of the Council and the general public.
(IAC, 545-2.4[384, 388])
The accounting records of the City shall consist of not less than the following:
1. Books of Original Entry. There shall be established and maintained books of original entry to provide a chronological record of cash received and disbursed.
2. General Ledger. There shall be established and maintained a general ledger controlling all cash transactions, budgetary accounts and for recording unappropriated surpluses.
3. Checks. Checks shall be prenumbered and signed by the Director of Administrative Services and the Mayor following Council approval, except as provided by Subsection 5 of this section.
4. Budget Accounts. There shall be established such individual accounts to record receipts by source and expenditures by program and activity as will provide adequate information and control for budgeting purposes as planned and approved by the Council. Each individual account shall be maintained within its proper fund and so kept that receipts can be immediately and directly compared with revenue estimates and expenditures can be related to the authorizing appropriation. No expenditure shall be posted except to the appropriation for the function and purpose for which the expense was incurred.
5. Immediate Payment Authorized. The Council may by resolution authorize the Director of Administrative Services to issue checks for immediate payment of amounts due, which if not paid promptly would result in loss of discount, penalty for late payment or additional interest cost. Any such payments made shall be reported to the Council for review and approval with and in the same manner as other claims at the next meeting following such payment. The resolution authorizing immediate payment shall specify the type of payment so authorized and may include, but is not limited to, payment of utility bills, contractual obligations, payroll and bond principal and interest.
6. Utilities. The finance officer shall perform and be responsible for accounting functions of the municipally owned utilities.
The finance officer shall prepare and file the following financial reports:
1. Monthly Reports. There shall be submitted to the Council each month a report showing the activity and status of each fund, program, sub-program, and activity for the preceding month.
2. Annual Report. Not later than December 1 of each year there shall be published an annual report containing a summary for the preceding fiscal year of all collections and receipts, all accounts due the City, and all expenditures, the current public debt of the City, and the legal debt limit of the City for the current fiscal year. The Annual Financial Report shall be prepared on forms and pursuant to instructions prescribed by the Auditor of State. Beginning with the Annual Financial Report published by December 1, 2025, each report shall include a list of bonds, notes, or other obligations issued by the City during the most recently completed fiscal year, and the applicable lists for other fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2024, for which obligations remain unpaid, payable from any source, including the amount of the issuance, the project or purpose of the issuance, whether the issuance was approved at election, eligible to be subject to a petition for an election, or was exempt from approval at election as the result of statutory exclusions based on population of the City or amount of the issuance, and identification of issuances from the fiscal year or prior fiscal years related to the same project or purpose.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.22)