The constitutional purpose of a budget is to make government responsive to public opinion and responsible for its acts.

William Howard Taft (1857 – 1930), Message to Congress. December 1909

Overview

The budget process actually begins with the preceding year’s audit. Municipalities have their fiscal affairs audited every year, another legal requirement found in T.C.A. § 6-56-105. The audit helps provide a picture of how well the city is doing financially. Information found in the audit can be used to help determine where new revenues are needed and what to set aside for bonded indebtedness, etc. The portion of the audit dealing with revenues and expenditures should be based on the prior fiscal year’s budget so that a municipal official can readily compare actual figures with budget estimates. This information, when considered with the staff’s day-to-day knowledge, provides a basis for developing a budget, as well as determining needs for improving the city’s fiscal picture. The auditor’s recommendations for changes in bookkeeping, accounting, etc. complete the review and allow deficiencies to be rectified. Once a review of the financial affairs is completed, this knowledge can be used to plan for the coming year.

Most cities are required to follow guidelines set forth in the Municipal Budget Law of 1982. T.C.A. § 6-56-201 et seq. However, there are exceptions. If your charter requires estimates of proposed expenditures for each department, board, office, or other agency of the city; and if your charter requires estimates of anticipated revenues from all sources, including current and delinquent taxes, non-tax revenues, and proceeds from selling bonds or long-term notes, then it is sufficient to follow your city’s charter and not the Municipal Budget Law. Mayor-aldermanic (general law) charters require following the budget law; however, modified-city manager-council (general law) charters already require sufficient detail and are not required to follow the budget law. Private act charter cities will have to examine their budgeting provisions to determine if the charter provides enough specificity. Finally, city-manager-commission (general law) charters seem to meet the detailed requirements; however, it is recommended that you contact your auditor for a conclusive determination.

With that being said, according to the Municipal Budget Law of 1982 (T.C.A. § 6-56-203), all budget ordinances require the following six elements:

• Estimates of proposed expenditures for each department, board, office or other agency of the municipality, showing, in addition, expenditures for corresponding items for the last preceding fiscal year, projected expenditures for the current fiscal year and reasons for recommended departures from the current appropriation pattern in such detail as may be prescribed by the governing body. It is the intent of this subdivision that, except for monies expended pursuant to a project ordinance or accounted for in a proprietary type fund or a fiduciary type fund, which are excluded from the budget ordinance, all monies received and expended by a municipality shall be included in a budget ordinance. Therefore, notwithstanding any other provision of law, no municipality may expend any monies regardless of their source (including monies derived from bond and long-term note proceeds, federal, state or private grants or loans, or special assessments), except in accordance with a budget ordinance adopted under this section or through a proprietary type fund or a fiduciary type fund properly excluded from the budget ordinance;
• Statements of bonded and other indebtedness of the municipality, including debt redemption and interest requirements, debt authorized and unissued, and the condition of the sinking fund;
• Estimates of anticipated revenues of the municipality from all sources, including current and delinquent taxes, non-tax revenue, and proceeds from the sale of any bonds or long-term notes with a comparative statement of the amounts received by the municipality from each of such sources for the last preceding fiscal year, the current fiscal year, and the coming fiscal year in such detail as may be prescribed by the governing body;
• A statement of the estimated balance or deficit as of the end of the current fiscal year;
• A statement of pending capital projects and proposed new capital projects relating to respective amounts proposed to be raised therefore by appropriations in the budget and the respective amounts, if any, proposed to be raised therefore by the issuance of bonds during the fiscal year; and
• Such other supporting schedules as the governing body deems necessary or are otherwise required by law.