For the remainder of calendar year 1990, and in any year thereafter when the prior year General Fund expenditures exceed by five percent (5%) or more the actual revenues received into the General Fund during that year, the following rules and procedures shall be in effect:
(a) All appropriation or expenditure requests that are required by law or by rule to be submitted to Council for its approval shall be submitted as follows:
(1) Submission of expenditure requests. All expenditure requests shall be submitted to Council together with a written statement from the City Auditor certifying the following information:
A. The total annual cost of the item requested; and
B. Whether the item requested has previously been included in the current approved budget or whether it is a new item; and
C. In the case of an item previously included in the current budget, whether the cost of the item requested exceeds the budgeted amount, and if so, by how much.
(2) Proposal for offset-request for a new expenditure. In the case of an expenditure request submitted for an item not included in the current approved budget, the expenditure request shall include a detailed written proposal as to how to offset the full cost of the requested expenditure through budgetary savings, new sources of revenue or otherwise. The proposal for offset shall be certified by the Auditor as to the accuracy of all figures set forth therein.
(3) Proposal for offset-request exceeds allocation. In the case of an expenditure request submitted for an item, the cost of which exceeds the amount allocated for that item in the current approved budget, the expenditure request shall include a detailed written proposal as to how to offset the cost by which the request exceeds the allocation for that item, through budgetary savings, new sources of revenue or otherwise. The proposal for offset shall be certified by the Auditor as to the accuracy of all figures set forth therein.
(b) Budgetary Adjustments. Upon its approval of any appropriation or expenditure request submitted pursuant to this section, the Clerk of Council shall promptly notify the Auditor of such approval. The Auditor shall then adjust the budget or take whatever other action necessary to ensure adherence to and compliance with the proposal for offset that was submitted with the approved request.
(c) Rejection of Requests.
(1) Any appropriation or expenditure request submitted to Council that fails to provide all information and certifications required by this section, or which provides insufficient detail, is subject to rejection by Council.
(2) In such case, Council shall provide the person submitting the expenditure request with a written statement as to its deficiencies. The request may then be resubmitted with deficiencies corrected.
(d) Report to Council.
(1) The Auditor shall provide to Council, in writing, no later than its second regularly scheduled meeting of each month, a list of all keys in the current budget whose prior month's budgeted amount or whose year-to-date budgeted amount, has been exceeded by expenditures and, as to each such key, the monthly and/or year-to-date budgeted amount for the key and the amount of expenditures made from that key for the corresponding time period.
(2) The Auditor shall notify Council in writing no later than its second regularly scheduled meeting of a month, whenever general fund revenues received in the prior month are less than those same revenues received for that month during the preceding year (hereinafter, "shortfall"). The Auditor shall at that time notify Council in writing of the exact amount of the shortfall in these revenues, and shall state in writing whether current year annual revenues to be received into the General Fund will be less than the amount previously certified for that year.
(e) Accrual Method of Accounting to Apply. For purposes of this section, all costs and expenditures shall be computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles based upon an accrual method of accounting.
(Res. 2-1990. Passed 1-18-90.)