§ 17. Budgeting; control of expenditures.

The chief executive shall submit to the board not later than December 15 of each year a proposed budget governing the expenditures of all county funds, including capital outlay and public works projects for the following calendar year. In an election year, if the incumbent chief executive is not reelected, this date may be extended to January 15 of the year to which the budget pertains. The proposed budget submitted to the commission shall be accompanied by a report containing information and data relating to the financial affairs of the county pertinent to arriving at and establishing the annual budget.

The chief executive shall cause to be published in the official organ of DeKalb County a copy of the proposed budget along with a notice to the public that a public hearing on the proposed budget shall be held at a time and place certain, which time shall be not less than ten (10) days of [from] the publication. At this public hearing the commission shall review the proposed budget. It may adopt the budget as presented by the chief executive or it may make such amendments thereto as it deems necessary to maintain the county in a sound financial condition. Nothing herein shall prevent the commission from continuing the hearing on the proposed budget from time to time, provided the time and place to which the hearing is continued shall be publicly announced at the previous hearing. However, the final budget shall be approved and adopted before March 1, of the year to which it pertains. The final budget shall constitute the commission's appropriations of all funds for such year. The budget may be amended during the calendar year which it covers upon formal action of the commission in a regular meeting, but no increase in appropriations shall be made therein without provision also being made for financing same.

A copy of the final budget adopted shall be transmitted by the chief executive to the grand jury of DeKalb County Superior Court then in session within ten (10) days of its adoption.

Between January 1 and such time as the budget for the county is adopted by the board of commissioners, the director of finance, with the approval of the chief executive, shall be authorized to make such expenditures of county funds as are deemed necessary and proper for the continuing operation of the county any its various departments at the then-currently approved level of service. These expenditures shall not include disbursements for new personnel, new services, new equipment, or other items which could be interpreted as providing additional level of service not previously authorized.

No expenditure of county funds shall be made except in accordance with the county budget, or amendments thereto, adopted by the Commission. The chief executive shall enforce compliance with this requirement by all departments, offices, or agencies of the county government, including elected county officers, with the exception of the tax commissioner, clerk of the superior court, district attorney, and sheriff.

(Acts 1981, p. 4304, § 1; Ord. No. 85-17, § I, 7-23-85; Acts 2007, p. 4073, § 1)

Editor's note— The ordinances shown in the left-hand column below may be found in the acts as shown in the right-hand column below:

Ord. No.	Acts
85-17	1986, p. 5704