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Committee asks legal review of budget reporting, reserves and temporary appropriation language
Summary
Members asked the law department to locate charter language and sample provisions that would compel finance to provide reports and to clarify whether appropriations may exceed estimated revenues when reserves are available; research requested ahead of June drafting.
The committee returned to Article 9 finance provisions and requested legal research on two related topics: how to require regular written/quarterly financial reporting tied to the budget process, and how the charter should treat appropriations that draw on reserves.
Why it matters: Council members said recent budget actions showed a gap between the charter’s drafting language and how appropriations were implemented; one member said the most recent budget had expenditures that exceeded the charter’s reference to estimated revenues. Committee members asked the law director to find charter language used in other Ohio cities that gives council authority to require the finance director to produce interim or temporary appropriation drafts and to define when reserves may be used to supplement annual revenues.
The law director recommended returning examples of charter language and ordinance options that would allow council, by ordinance, to require the finance director to prepare interim appropriations or temporary budgets, and to spell out reporting timelines (for example, a September 1 written report tied to the budget process and periodic financial reports). The committee asked for model language the council could adopt by ordinance if the charter does not itself require a particular schedule.
Ending: Law Director to research sample charter provisions and drafting options that clarify (a) the finance director’s duty to furnish information and written periodic reports, (b) how temporary appropriations are to be prepared and approved, and (c) whether and how reserves may legally supplement estimated revenues in an appropriation ordinance.
