Effective 28 Aug 1965

50.540. Offices to prepare estimates of expenditures and revenues — duties of budget officer — hearings. — 1. On or before September first of each year in counties of class one, and on or before December first in counties of class two, and on or before the fifteenth day of January in counties of classes three and four, each department, office, institution, commission, or court of the county receiving its revenues in whole or in part from the county shall prepare and submit to the budget officer estimates of its requirements for expenditures and its estimated revenues for the next budget year compared with the corresponding figures for the last completed fiscal year and estimated figures for the current fiscal year. The expenditure estimates shall be classified to set forth the data by funds, organization units, character and objects of expenditure; the organization units may be subclassified by functions and activities, if so directed by the budget officer. The estimates shall be accompanied by work programs showing the work planned to be done and the estimated cost thereof classified according to funds, organization units, character and objects of expenditure. The estimate of revenue shall be prepared by the accounting officer and shall be classified to show the receipts by funds, organization units and sources. The budget officer may cause estimate forms to be prepared and sent to the departments, offices, institutions, commissions and courts, or may direct the accounting officer to do so, and may direct that the estimates be returned to the accounting officer for tabulation. If any department, office, institution, commission or court fails to return its estimates by September tenth in counties of class one, or by December first in counties of class two, or by January fifteenth in counties of classes three and four, the budget officer shall make the estimates and his estimates shall be considered as the estimates of the department, office, institution, commission or court. All boards and commissions responsible for the expenditure of funds derived from countywide levies, including, but not limited to, library, hospital, health units and similar political subdivisions, shall file with the budget officer a copy of their final budget for the following year prior to the time the budget officer must submit the comprehensive budget to the county commission for inclusion by the budget officer with the consolidated county budget for the budget year.

2. The budget officer shall review the estimates, altering, revising, increasing or decreasing the items as he deems necessary in view of the needs of the various spending agencies and the probable income for the year.

3. The budget officer may direct any officer to appear and explain his estimates or to present additional information.

4. The budget officer shall then prepare the budget document in the form prescribed by section 50.550, and transmit it to the county commission not later than November fifteenth in counties of class one, December fifteenth in counties of class two, February first in counties of classes three and four. The budget officer shall recommend and the county commission shall fix all salaries of employees, other than those established by law, except that no salary for any position shall be fixed at a rate above that fixed by law for the position. The budget officer shall provide in his recommendations, and the county commission shall provide in its appropriation order, that an amount equal to not less than three percent of the total estimated general fund revenues shall be appropriated each year as an emergency fund. At any time during the year the county commission in counties of class one may make transfers from the emergency fund to any other appropriation, and in counties of classes two, three and four the county commission may make these transfers on recommendation of the budget officer; but the transfers in all classes shall be made only for unforeseen emergencies and only on unanimous vote of the county commission.

5. (1) The budget officer or the county commission, in counties of class one, shall hold public hearings before the preparation and adoption of the budget document. Whenever the budget officer recommends any decrease or reduction in the estimate of any department, officer, commission or other agency of the county, he shall give special notice to the officer or agency of the decrease or reduction and the officer or agency is entitled to be heard thereon by the county commission.

(2) The budget officer, in counties of class two, shall hold public hearings before preparation of the budget document or before submission to the county commission.

(3) The budget officer, in counties of classes three and four, shall hold a public hearing, in the presence of the county commission, before preparation of the budget document.

(4) In all classes of counties, all estimates, work programs and other budget information shall be open to public inspection at any time.

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(L. 1945 p. 611 § 10921b, A.L. 1957 p. 348, A.L. 1959 S.B. 64, A.L. 1965 p. 155)

CROSS REFERENCE:

County auditor to furnish budget officer a statement of estimated revenues and an itemized list of expenditures for previous fiscal year, 55.161