The Agency shall be subject to the provisions of Article IX of this Charter except:
(a) No later than May 1 of each even-numbered year, after professional review, public hearing and after receiving the recommendations of the Citizens' Advisory Council, the Agency shall submit its proposed budget with annual appropriation detail in a form approved by the Controller for each of the next two fiscal years to the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors for their review and consideration. The Agency shall propose a budget that is balanced without the need for additional funds over the Base Amount, but may include fare increases and decreases, and reductions or abandonment of service. The Mayor shall submit the budget to the Board of Supervisors, without change. Should the Agency request additional general fund support over the Base Amount, it shall submit an augmentation request for those funds in the standard budget process and subject to normal budgetary review and amendment under the general provisions of Article IX.
(b) At the time the budget is adopted, the Agency shall certify that the budget is adequate in all respects to make substantial progress towards meeting the performance standards established pursuant to Section 8A.103 for the fiscal year covered by the budget.
(c) No later than August 1, the Board of Supervisors may allow the Agency's budget to take effect without any action on its part or it may reject but not modify the Agency's budget by a seven-elevenths' vote. Any fare change, route abandonment, or revenue measure proposed in the budget shall be considered accepted unless rejected by a seven-elevenths' vote on the entire budget. Should the Board reject the budget, it shall make additional interim appropriations to the Agency from the Municipal Transportation Fund sufficient to permit the Agency to maintain all operations through the extended interim period until a budget is adopted. Any request for appropriation of General Fund revenues in excess of the Base Amount shall be approved, modified, or rejected under the general provisions of Article IX.
(d) No later than May 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Agency shall submit any budget amendment that may be required to increase appropriations over those approved in the two year budget or as may be required by law, provided that such budget amendment shall establish a detailed plan with appropriation detail only for those anticipated revenues and expenditures exceeding those approved in the two year budget or as otherwise required by law. The Agency may submit to the Board of Supervisors such additional budget amendments or modifications during the term of the budget, including but not limited to amendments reflecting fare changes, route abandonments and revenue measures, as may be required in the discretion of the Agency. The Board of Supervisors may allow any budget amendment to take effect without any action on its part or it may reject but not modify the budget amendment by a seven-elevenths' vote taken within 30 days after its submission to the Board of Supervisors.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Charter or requirements of the Annual Salary Ordinance, the Controller may authorize the Agency to move funds within its budget and hire personnel without specific Controller approval so long as the Agency's periodic and verifiable projections of spending by the Agency show the Controller that the Agency's spending will be within the approved budget. However, should the projections show that the Agency spending is likely to exceed its budget, the Controller may impose appropriate controls in his or her discretion to keep the Agency within budget.
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007)