(a) Notice and hearing. Council shall publish in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the municipality the general summary of the budget with a notice stating:
(1) The times and places where copies of the budget message and budget document are available for inspection by the public.
(2) The time, place, and date, not less than 15 days or more than 30 days after such publication, for a public hearing on the budget. The public hearing shall not be on the date of a regular Council meeting.
(3) The proposed budget shall be available for public inspection at City Hall and copies shall be available for the public at a reasonable fee to be set by the Council.
(b) Amendment before adoption. After the public hearing, the City Council may adopt the budget with or without amendment. In amending the budget, it may add or increase programs or amounts and may delete or decrease any programs or amounts, except expenditures required by law or for debt service or for an estimated cash deficit, provided that no amendment to the budget shall increase the authorized expenditures to an amount greater than total estimated income and thereby allowing for line item changes by the City Council.
If the amended budget increases, decreases, or readjusts funding requirements by more than 5%, or adds or deletes a program, the budget shall be returned to the Mayor immediately for comment and resubmission to the Council within three normal City workdays. Council shall provide for another public hearing to be held within five days after the Mayor has resubmitted the budget.
(c) Adoption. Council must adopt an annual budget by no later than December 15 of the fiscal year currently ending. If Council fails to adopt a budget by December 15th, then the Mayor's original proposed balanced budget shall become the official budget of the City for the ensuing fiscal year.