Section 5-8-1. Title. The provisions of this article shall be known and cited as the Northglenn Budget Ordinance.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-2. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the City of Northglenn shall be the calendar year commencing on January 1, and ending on December 31, of each year.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-3. Budget Required--Applicable Law.

The City of Northglenn shall adopt an annual budget.

The budget shall be prepared, adopted and amended pursuant to and in conformance with the Charter and ordinances of the City. Except as otherwise provided by ordinance, the budget shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, in such form as will facilitate compliance with the Local Uniform Accounting Law.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-4. Preparation of Budget--Contents.

The City Manager, prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, shall prepare and submit to the City Council the budget for said ensuing fiscal year and an accompanying budget message.

The budget shall provide a complete financial plan of all municipal funds and activities for the ensuing fiscal year. In organizing the budget, the City Manager shall utilize the most feasible combination of expenditure classification by fund, organization unit, program, purpose or activity, and object. It shall begin with a clear general summary of its contents and shall be so arranged as to show comparative figures for actual and estimated revenue, expenditures and encumbrances of the preceding fiscal year, with estimated revenue, expenditures and encumbrances for the ensuing fiscal year, and it shall indicate in separate sections:

Anticipated revenues and estimated fund balances at the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year;

Proposed expenditures for current operations during the ensuing fiscal year, detailed by fund and by offices, departments and agencies in terms of their respective work programs, and the method of financing such expenditures, including any deficit fund balances;

Required expenditures for debt service;

Proposed capital expenditures during the ensuing fiscal year, detailed by offices, departments and agencies when practicable, and the proposed method of financing each such capital expenditure.

The total of proposed expenditures shall not exceed the total of estimated revenue.

The budget may include a provision of stated sums of money for expenditure for contingencies, provided that:

Expenditures and encumbrances shall not be charged directly to contingencies but shall be charged to the appropriate account.

Appropriations shall be made for contingent expenditures in conformance with the contingencies reflected in the budget. The necessary part of the appropriations for contingencies may be transferred to the appropriate fund or account.

No such transfer shall be made without the expressed approval of the City Council, and then only for expenditures which could not readily be foreseen at the time the budget was adopted.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-5. Budget Message.

The budget message, which may be a part of the budget, shall explain the budget both in fiscal terms and in terms of the work programs, and shall also:

Outline the proposed financial policies of the City for the fiscal year;

Describe the important features of the budget;

Indicate major changes in financial policies and the reasons therefor;

Indicate major changes in expenditures and revenues and the reasons therefor; and

Summarize the City's debt position.

The budget message may also include such other material as the City Manager may deem desirable or such as the Council may require.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-6. Capital Projects Program.

The City Manager shall annually prepare and submit to the City Council, simultaneously with the budget, a proposed capital projects program for the next five (5) fiscal years.

The capital projects program shall include:

A clear general summary of its contents;

A list of capital improvements proposed to be undertaken during the five-year period covered by the program, showing, as to each such proposed improvement:

Information as to the necessity for the improvement;

An estimate of the cost;

The method of financing;

Recommended schedules for each such improvement;

The estimated annual cost of operating and maintaining the facilities to be constructed or acquired.

The capital projects program may be adopted by the City Council by resolution separately from the budget. The information therein contained may be revised or extended each year with regard to capital improvements still pending, in process of construction or acquisition, or not undertaken.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-7. Budget Submission--Property Tax Levy.

In any year in which a general property tax levy is anticipated to be included in the budget for the ensuing year, the budget shall be submitted to the City Council no later than September 20.

Except as otherwise provided in section 5-8-7(a) the budget shall be submitted to the City Council before the last day on which the budget hearing may be held pursuant to the provisions of this article.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-8. Budget Hearing--Adoption--Notice.

The budget shall be adopted by the City Council by resolution, after public hearing.

A public hearing on the proposed budget and proposed capital projects program shall be held by the City Council on any date at least fifteen (15) days prior to the final day established by law for the certification of the ensuing year's ad valorem tax levy to the county.

Notice of the time and place of the budget hearing, stating that the budget is on file in the office of the City Clerk for public inspection, shall be published once in a newspaper having general circulation in the City of Northglenn, posted on the City website, and posted at official City posting places.

The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prevent the holding of public meetings and public hearings in addition to the required budget hearing.

After the public hearing, the City Council may adopt the budget with or without amendment. In amending the budget, the Council may add or increase programs or amounts of expenditures, and may delete or decrease programs or amounts of expenditures, except expenditures required by law or for debt service or for estimated cash deficit.

No amendment to the budget shall increase the authorized expenditures to an amount greater than the total amount of estimated revenue.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975; 1442, 2006; 1797, 2020]

Section 5-8-9. Budget Adoption--Effect.

Adoption of the budget by the City Council shall constitute appropriations of the amounts specified therein as expenditures from the funds indicated.

Adoption of the budget by the City Council shall constitute a levy of the property tax therein proposed.

If, at the termination of any fiscal year, the budget for the ensuing fiscal year shall not have been adopted, the amounts appropriated for the current operations for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed adopted for the ensuing fiscal year on a month-to-month basis, with all items in it prorated accordingly, until such time as the City Council adopts the budget for the ensuing fiscal year.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-10. Property Tax Levy--Election Required in Certain Cases.

After adoption of the budget, the City Council shall cause any property tax levy to be certified to the county as required by law.

Any increase in the property tax in excess of 2 mills in any one year must be approved in a general or special election prior to the adoption of the budget; provided, however, that such property tax limitation shall not apply to general obligation bonds issued by the City.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-11. Appropriations.

After adoption of the budget, the City Council shall enact an ordinance appropriating funds for municipal operations for the ensuing fiscal year. Appropriations shall lapse at fiscal year end for all funds except for funds appropriated pursuant to the capital projects program created by section 8.5 of the City Charter. Appropriation for projects identified in the capital projects program shall continue, and be carried forward to succeeding years, until the project is completed.

If, at the termination of any fiscal year, the appropriations necessary for the operation of the City for the ensuing fiscal year have not been made, the amounts appropriated for current operations for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed adopted for the ensuing fiscal year on a month-to-month basis, with all items in it pro-rated according, until such time as the Council by ordinance shall appropriate funds for the ensuing fiscal year.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975; 1331, 2003]

Section 5-8-12. Supplemental Appropriations. If during the fiscal year the Manager certifies that there are available for appropriation revenues in excess of those estimated in the budget, the City Council by ordinance may make supplemental appropriations for the year up to the amount of such excess. Such ordinance shall take effect immediately upon adoption.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-13. Emergency of Appropriations.

To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the peace of the citizens of Northglenn, the City Council may make emergency appropriations. Such appropriations may be made by emergency ordinance.

To the extent that there are no available unappropriated revenues to meet such appropriations, the City Council may be emergency ordinance authorize the issuance of emergency notes, which may be renewed from time to time, but the emergency notes and renewals of any fiscal year shall be paid not later than the last day of the fiscal year next succeeding that in which the emergency appropriation was made.

Budget provision for the payment of such emergency notes and related interest in the next succeeding fiscal year shall be mandatory.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-14. Reduction of Appropriations.

If at any time during the fiscal year it appears probable to the City Manager that the revenues available will be insufficient to meet the amount appropriated, the City Manager shall report to the City Council without delay, indicating the estimated amount of deficit, any remedial action taken by the City Manager, and the City Manager's recommendation as to any other steps to be taken.

The City Council shall then take such further action as it deems necessary to prevent or minimize any deficit and for that purpose it may by ordinance reduce one or more appropriations. Such ordinance shall take effect immediately upon adoption.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975; 1824, 2022]

Section 5-8-15. Transfer of Appropriations. Except as provided in Section 5-8-16:

At any time during the fiscal year the City Manager may transfer part or all of any unencumbered appropriation balance among programs within a department, office or agency for which such appropriation was made.

Upon written request by the City Manager, the City Council may by ordinance transfer part or all of any unencumbered appropriation balance from one fund to another fund. Such ordinance may take effect immediately upon adoption.

[Source: Ord. 1441, 2006]

Section 5-8-16. Limitation on Reduction or Transfer of Appropriations.

No appropriation for debt service may be reduced below the amount required for service of the debt, and no transfer shall be made therefrom which would reduce such appropriation below the amount required for service of the debt.

No appropriation may be reduced below any amount required by law to be appropriated, or by more than the amount of the unencumbered balance thereof.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-17. Amendment of Budget and Appropriations.

The City Council may amend the budget by resolution at any time, and shall do so in the event of any supplemental appropriation, emergency appropriation, reduction of appropriations or transfer of appropriations.

The City Council may by ordinance amend any appropriation to conform to the budget as adopted or amended, and shall do so to the extent any such appropriation is affected by any supplemental appropriation, emergency appropriation, reduction of appropriations or transfer of appropriations.

If at any time it shall appear that the budget and the appropriations are not in agreement, or that substantial error exists in either or both the budget or the appropriations ordinances, the City Council may amend either or both the budget or the appropriations ordinance accordingly.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-18. Budget Public Record. Copies of the budget and the capital projects program as adopted, and all amendments thereto, shall be public records and shall be made available to the public at the City offices in the municipal building.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-19. Monthly Budget Report. The City Manager shall submit to the City Council such reports as the City Manager deems appropriate or as requested by the City Council, in the form of a monthly budget report.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975; 1824, 2022]

Section 5-8-20. Effect of Irregularity. No procedural defect or irregularity, including failure of compliance with requirements relating to time, shall affect the validity of any budget, ordinance, resolution or appropriation adopted by the City Council in compliance with the substantive requirements of this article.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]

Section 5-8-21. Application. The provisions of this ordinance and this article shall apply to the budget and appropriations of the City, whether in effect on the effective date of this ordinance or hereafter prepared, adopted or enacted.

[Source: Ord. 376, 1975]