Not later than the passage of the annual operating budget ordinance, the Council shall ordain such revenue measures as will, in the opinion of the Mayor, yield sufficient revenue to balance the budget. For this purpose new sources of revenue or increased rates from existing sources of revenue not proposed by the Mayor shall be deemed to yield in the ensuing fiscal year such amounts as the Mayor shall determine. The annual operating budget ordinance shall not become effective and the City Controller shall not approve any order for any expenditure thereunder until the Council has balanced the budget.
ANNOTATION
Sources: Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article XVII, Sections 3 and 4.
Purposes: To assure a balanced budget Council must when it passes the annual operating budget pass such revenue measures as will, in the opinion of the Mayor, balance the budget. The revenue measures which Council may enact are not limited to the real estate tax or to any other particular tax but lie solely within the judgment of the Council. To prevent over-optimistic estimates by the body which must impose taxes as to the amount of revenue that will be yielded, the Mayor's estimate of revenue yield is made binding upon the Council. Until the budget is balanced, no money may be spent under the annual operating budget.