County of Putnam
Local Law #6 of 2012
(Passed at May 1, 2012 Regular Full Meeting)
A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND ARTICLE 7, SECTION 7.04 OF THE PUTNAM COUNTY
CHARTER ENTITLED “ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET”.
Section 1.
Article 7, Section 7.04 of the Putnam County Charter is hereby amended to read as follows:
§ 7.04. Annual operating budget.
A. Preparation of the tentative budget.
1. On or before the 15th day of July each year, the County Legislature shall notify the
County Executive in writing of any changes to the policy and practice guidelines
previously adopted by the County Legislature for determining expenditures, limits and
priorities.
2. Notification of dates and data. On or before the fifteenth (15th) day of July, the County
Executive shall notify annually, in writing, the head of each administrative unit of County
government or authorized agency receiving County funds of the date fixed which the
estimates and appropriation requests for the ensuing fiscal year must be submitted. This
notification shall identify the form of, and information to be contained in the estimates
and appropriation requests and include the policy and practice guidelines as may be
provided by the County Legislature for determining expenditures, limits and priorities.
3. Submission of estimates and appropriation requests. On or before the fifteenth (15th) day
of August each year, or such earlier date as the County Executive may prescribe, the head
of each administrative unit of County government or authorized agency shall furnish to
the Commissioner of Finance an estimate of revenues and expenditures of his or her
respective unit or authorized agency for the ensuing fiscal year, exclusive of capital
projects. The estimates of each unit or authorized agency shall show the sources of
revenues and the character and object of expenditures, which may be subclassified by
functions and activities and shall be subdivided according to the internal organization of
such. Estimates shall be submitted in such form and shall contain such additional
information as the County Executive and the Commissioner of Finance shall require, and
the estimate of expenditures shall constitute or be accompanied by a request for an
appropriation. Such estimates shall be based on and shall be accompanied by a tentative
work program by each unit or authorized agency.
4. Review of requests. The Commissioner of Finance, upon receipt of the estimates and
appropriation requests, shall proceed to make such review and investigation thereon, and
conduct such meetings and hearings of heads of administrative units and authorized
agencies, as he or she may deem necessary. He or she may require the head of each
administrative unit of County government, or any officer or employee thereof, and any
authorized agency requesting County funds for the ensuing fiscal year, to furnish data and
information and to answer inquiries pertinent to such review or investigation. Members
of the County Legislature, the Clerk of the County Legislature and the County Auditor
shall be entitled to attend and participate in all such meetings and hearings.
5. Tentative budget.
(a) Upon completion of the review and investigation of the estimates and appropriation
requests from the various administrative units and authorized agencies, the
Commissioner of Finance shall prepare, under the direction of the County Executive,
the tentative budget for the ensuing fiscal year for both current operating and capital
budget purposes.
(b) The tentative budget shall be filed with the Clerk of the County Legislature on or
before the first (1st) day of October. The tentative budget shall include such
information and detail as may be requested by the County Legislature pursuant to
§ 7.04(A)(2).
(c) The tentative budget shall include, without modification by the County Executive,
such line item appropriation requests of the County Legislature, the Clerk of the
County Legislature and the County Auditor, as are submitted by the Chair of the
County Legislature and a member of the County Legislature representing the member
of another minor political party, if another party is represented, or a member elected
without party endorsement, if any. This budget request shall be submitted to the
Commissioner of Finance in writing before the first (1st) day of September.
6. Estimated revenues. The estimated revenues in the tentative budget shall be classified by
accounts and units of County government, shall show sources of income and shall contain
the following:
(a) A statement of all revenues which it is estimated will be received by the County
during the ensuing fiscal year, except from taxes to be levied;
(b) A statement of all unexpended balances, if any, at the end of the last completed fiscal
year which are available to meet the expenditure requirements of the ensuing fiscal
year for which the tentative budget is being prepared;
(c) An estimate of anticipated receipts from delinquent taxes, which shall not exceed the
amount received in the previous fiscal year.
7. Additional data concerning debt. In addition to items of operation and maintenance, the
tentative budget shall include or be supplemented by a statement showing the bonded
indebtedness of the County government and its agencies, the debt redemption and interest
requirements, the indebtedness authorized and unissued, the condition of the capital
reserve funds and the borrowing capacity of the County, and any other matter which the
County Executive may deem advisable and the County Legislature may require.
8. Budget message. The tentative budget shall be accompanied by the budget message from
the County Executive. The budget message shall include an outline of the fiscal policy of
the County government and a description of the important features of the budget with
reference both to proposed expenditures and anticipated income. It shall include a request
for an appropriation for the ensuing fiscal year.
B. Adoption of the annual operating budget.
1. Submission to the County Legislature. The Clerk of the County Legislature, upon receipt
of the tentative budget from the County Executive as provided in § 7.04(A)(5)(b), shall
transmit a copy of said tentative budget to each legislator and cause copies to be printed
and made available to the public.
2. Preliminary review. The County Executive and Commissioner of Finance shall meet with
the Budget and Finance Committee of the County Legislature within five (5) days after
the transmittal of the tentative budget to review the document with said Committee.
3. Review by the Budget and Finance Committee. The Budget and Finance Committee of
the County Legislature shall conduct a public hearing on the tentative budget as
submitted by the County Executive. The County Executive and the Commissioner of
Finance shall be present to answer questions about the tentative budget. The Budget and
Finance Committee shall then review the tentative budget submitted by the County
Executive and shall file a report with the Clerk of the County Legislature on or before the
twentieth (20th) day of October. The report shall set forth any proposed changes,
alterations or revisions to the tentative budget, including any recommendations made by
the Budget and Finance Committee. Copies of the report shall be made available to the
public.
4. Public hearing by the County Legislature. On or before the twenty-fifth (25th) day of
October, the County Legislature shall conduct a public hearing on the tentative budget
submitted by the County Executive and the report of the Budget and Finance Committee
of the County Legislature.
5. Legislative action after the public hearing. Following completion of the public hearing by
the County Legislature and prior to the twenty-eighth (28th) day of October, the Chair of
the County Legislature shall convene a regular or special meeting of the County
Legislature to consider for adoption the annual operating budget. The County Legislature,
by resolution, may change, alter and revise the tentative budget by striking items of
appropriations or anticipated revenues from the tentative budget or reduce items therein,
excepting appropriations required by law for debt service, or add to or increase all such
appropriations or revenue items in such budget. The County Legislature shall state
separately and distinctly any change, alteration or revision made to the tentative budget
and provide along with the budget it adopts a legislative memorandum detailing its
amendments to the tentative budget.
6. Legislature’s failure to act. In the event that the County Legislature shall fail to adopt a
budget, as herein provided, on or before the first (1st) day of November, the tentative
budget as submitted by the County Executive shall constitute the annual operating budget
for the ensuing fiscal year.
7. Executive veto. Within three (3) business days following the adoption of said annual
budget by the County Legislature, the Clerk of the County Legislature shall forward to
the County Executive the changes, alterations and revisions made by the County
Legislature in the tentative budget for approval or veto by the County Executive. The
County Executive shall approve or veto any or all such changes, alterations and revisions
by line item and return the same to the Clerk of the County Legislature on or before the
eighth (8th) day of November, together with a message containing justification of each
line item veto. If no action is taken by the County Executive on or before the eighth (8th)
day of November, he or she shall be deemed to have approved the amendments and the
tentative budget with such changes, alterations and revisions, made by the County
Legislature, shall constitute the annual operating budget for the ensuing fiscal year.
8. Legislative reconsideration. Upon receipt of the veto message from the County
Executive, the Chair of the Legislature shall convene the County Legislature on or before
the fifteenth (15th) day of November for the purpose of reconsidering each vetoed item.
Following such final action of the County Legislature, the tentative budget, as amended
by the legislative revision and approved by the County Executive, and items vetoed by
the County Executive but overridden by the County Legislature by an affirmative vote of
at least two-thirds (2/3) of the whole number of its members, shall become the final
annual operating budget for the ensuing fiscal year.
9. Appropriations resolution. Upon adoption of the final annual operating budget, the
County Legislature shall adopt an appropriations resolution to provide for the conduct of
County government for the ensuing fiscal year.
Section 2.
This Local law shall take effect forty-five (45) days after its adoption, subject to referendum on
petition in accordance with the provisions of Section 24 of the New York State Municipal Home
Rule Law.