(a)
General provisions. The Board of County Commissioners
shall, by resolution, annually adopt an expense budget detailing anticipated
revenues, estimated expenditures and disposition of reserve funds.
The County Commissioners shall adopt, by resolution, as part of said
budget, tax rates sufficient to raise anticipated tax revenues. The
estimated expenditures so adopted shall not exceed the anticipated
revenues and reserve funds available.
(b)
Procedures. On or before April 15 of each
year, the head of each department or agency funded in whole or in
part by County funds shall submit to the Administrative Director,
in such form as he shall prescribe, an itemized estimate of the revenues
and expenditures of the department or agency for current expenses
for the next fiscal year. On or before April 30 of each year, the
Administrative Director shall consolidate estimates of expenditures,
revenues and reserve funds and transmit the requested expense budget
to the Board of County Commissioners.
(c)
Hearing, adoption and publication. On or before
May 30 of each year, the Board of County Commissioners shall hold
a public hearing on the expense budget. Said budget or a fair summary
thereof shall be advertised at least once per week for two weeks in
a newspaper of general circulation in the County prior to the date
of the public hearing, and copies of said budget shall be available
for public inspection in the office of the County Commissioners. On
or before the first Tuesday in June, the Board of County Commissioners
shall adopt the expense budget and tax rates. The adopted budget and
tax rates shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation
in the county at least once per week for two weeks before September
1 of each year.
(d)
Lapsed appropriations. Except as may be specifically
provided by Public General Law, Local Law or resolution of the Board
of County Commissioners, all unexpended and unencumbered appropriations
in the current expense budget remaining at the end of the fiscal year
shall revert to the County's unappropriated surplus.
(e)
Administration and reports. The Administrative
Director shall be responsible to the Board of County Commissioners
for the proper administration and execution of the expense budget.
The Administrative Director shall furnish records and reports relating
to the expense budget as requested by the Board of County Commissioners.
(f)
Appropriation control.
(1)
No office, department, institution, board, commission or other
agency of County government shall, during any fiscal year, expend
or contract to expend any money or incur any liability or enter into
any contract which, by its terms, involves the expenditure of moneys
in excess of the amounts appropriated or allotted for that category
of expenditure identified in the Commissioner's budget-approving
resolution for such fiscal year without prior approval of the Board
of County Commissioners. Any such contract shall be voidable at the
option of the County Commissioners.
(2)
The department head or person responsible for the administration
of any department, institution, board, commission or agency budget
in which there is an expenditure in excess of the amount appropriated
or allotted may be held personally liable to the County Commissioners
for the amount of any overexpenditure or any portion thereof where
the department head knowingly and willfully permitted such overexpenditure
without good cause, and the County Commissioners shall have the right
of setoff against any amount due from the County Commissioners to
such individual, including any salary due, to the extent necessary
toward the full amount thereof. Before holding any individual personally
liable, the County Commissioners shall provide the individual with
a right to a hearing upon fifteen days written notice.
[Amended 12-17-1985 by Bill No. 85-6]
(g)
Supplementary appropriations. The Board of
County Commissioners, in order to meet emergency and unanticipated
requirements, may, by resolution, make supplementary appropriations.
The County Commissioners shall designate the source of funds for such
supplementary appropriations.
(h)
Source of funds. The Board of County Commissioners
may provide that an approved appropriation for a particular service,
department or category of expenditure be funded, in whole or in part,
from a specific revenue source and that funds collected from that
revenue source, only to the extent necessary to satisfy the approved
appropriation, be designated for that particular purpose.
[Added 3-23-1982 by Bill No. 82-2]
(a)
Competitive bidding. Any single purchase
or contract involving an expenditure of more than $25,000 of County
funds shall be made from or let by bids or proposals after public
notice for such period of time and in such manner as may be prescribed
by law or as may be determined by the County Commissioners; provided,
however, that where it is determined by a five-sevenths vote of the
County Commissioners that bidding would be impractical or not in the
best interest of the County Government, bidding requirements may be
waived. Competitive bidding may include formal sealed bids or proposals,
solicitations, invitations, auctions, competitions directly or through
agents, or any other method employed to obtain the best results for
the County. In awarding such contracts, the Commissioners may consider
lowest or best bid, quality of goods and work, time of delivery or
completion, responsibility of bidders, local presence of bidders and
previous experience of bidders with County contracts. The Commissioners
are not required to accept the lowest bid. The Commissioners may require
security or bond from the successful bidder for the performance of
their contract. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable
to the engaging of an independent auditor or the awarding of contracts
for professional services.
[Amended 8-20-2002 by Bill No. 02-11; 10-23-2018 by Bill No. 18-6]
(b)
Centralized purchasing. The County Commissioners
may, by resolution, establish a system of centralized purchasing for
any or all purchases made with funds entrusted to the County Commissioners.
(c)
Claims approval and payment. Expenditures
may be made from County funds and drafts drawn thereon only if such
expenditures have been approved by a majority of the entire Board
of County Commissioners and such approval is evidenced in writing,
provided that all other requirements of law have been complied with
with regard to the expenditure, and further provided that the regular
County payroll based upon salaries previously approved by the County
Commissioners may be paid upon approval of the Administrative Director
or by any one County Commissioner and such approval is evidenced by
writing. For the purpose of this section, "evidenced in writing" shall
include, without limitation, signed and approved minutes of the County
Commissioners meetings, the initialing and signing of lists of expenditures
or any other paper writing evidencing the expenditure. Checks shall
be legal and sufficient if they are legally authorized as hereinbefore
set forth and if they bear the signature of at least one County Commissioner
and the countersignature of the County Treasurer or his deputy. The
County Commissioners may authorize substitute procedures for drafts
and expenditures for interagency and special project funds as may
be provided by law or as determined by the Commissioners.
(a)
Funds authorized. The County Commissioners
are hereby authorized to establish a general and reserve fund and
such other funds as may be required by law or as they may by resolution
from time to time determine necessary.
(b)
Investments authorized. The County Commissioners
of Worcester County are hereby authorized and empowered from time
to time, in their discretion, to invest in United States government
bonds or evidences of indebtedness unexpended revenues received from
taxation, bond sales, lawful distributions to it of funds from other
governmental agencies or any other funds properly received by it until
it determines that the funds are needed for proper public purposes.
