The annual operating budget of the City shall be prepared in accordance with the following:
1. Proposal Prepared. The Finance Director is responsible for preparation of the annual budget detail, for review by the City Administrator, Mayor, and Council and adoption by the Council in accordance with directives of the Mayor and Council.
2. Boards and Commissions. All boards, commissions, and other administrative agencies of the City that are authorized to prepare and administer budgets must submit their budget proposals to the Finance Director for inclusion in the proposed city budget at such time and in such form as required by the Council.
3. Submission to Council. The Finance Director shall submit the completed budget proposal to the Council no later than February 15 of each year.
4. Council Review. The Council shall review the proposed budget and may make any adjustments in the budget which it deems appropriate before accepting such proposal for publication, hearing, and final adoption.
5. Notice of Hearing. Upon adopting a proposed budget, the Council shall set a date for public hearing thereon to be held before March 15 and cause notice of such hearing and a summary of the proposed budget to be published not less than ten (10) or more than twenty (20) days before the date established for the hearing. Proof of such publication must be filed with the County Auditor.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.16[3])
6. Copies of Budget on File. Not less than twenty (20) days before the date that the budget must be certified to the County Auditor and not less than ten (10) days before the public hearing, the Finance Director shall make available a sufficient number of copies of the detailed budget to meet the requests of taxpayers and organizations and have them available for distribution at the offices of the Mayor and City Clerk and have a copy posted at one of the places designated for the posting of notices.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.16[2])
7. Adoption and Certification. After the hearing, the Council shall adopt, by resolution, a budget for at least the next fiscal year and the Finance Director shall certify the necessary tax levy for the next fiscal year to the County Auditor and the County Board of Supervisors. The tax levy certified may be less than, but not more than, the amount estimated in the proposed budget. Two copies each of the detailed budget as adopted and of the tax certificate must be transmitted to the County Auditor.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.16[5])