(a) The fiscal year of the city shall begin on the first day of October and end on the last day of September. On or before the fifteenth day of August of each year, the manager shall submit to the council a proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year and an accompanying message.
(b) The manager’s budget message shall explain the budget both in fiscal terms and in terms of the work programs. It shall outline 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 in financial policies, expenditures, and revenues together with the reasons for such changes, and include such other material as the manager deems desirable.
(c) The budget shall provide a complete financial plan of all city funds and activities for the ensuing fiscal year and, except as required by law or this charter, shall be in such form as the manager deems desirable or the council may require. In organizing the budget the manager shall utilize the most feasible combination of expenditure classification by fund, organization unit, program, purpose or activity, and object. It shall begin with a clear general summary of its contents; shall show in detail all estimated income, indicating the proposed property tax levy, and all proposed expenditures, including debt service, for the ensuing fiscal year; and shall be so arranged as to show comparative figures for actual and estimated income and expenditures of the current fiscal year and actual income and expenditures of the preceding fiscal year. It shall indicate in separate sections:
(1) Proposed expenditures for current operations during the ensuing fiscal year, detailed by departments, in terms of their respective work programs, and the method of financing such expenditures;
(2) Proposed capital improvement expenditures during the ensuing fiscal year, detailed by purpose and the proposed method of financing each such capital expenditure;
(3) Anticipated net surplus or deficit for the ensuing fiscal year of each utility owned or enterprise fund operated by the city and the proposed method of its disposition; budgets for each utility or enterprise fund giving detailed income and expenditure information shall be included; and
(4) Detailed schedules indicating the City’s debt position and debt service requirements.
The total of proposed expenditures shall not exceed the total of estimated income.