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The procedure, time schedule and instructions for preparation of the
County Extension District budget are included in the County Extension
District Law and Chapter 24 of the Iowa Code as amended. These instructions
will assure a valid budget and will secure the county levy. The
following procedures and time schedules comply with the law:
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I.
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At the November or December meeting, the County Extension
Council needs to: |
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A. |
Review the budget procedure outlined in this piece. |
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B. |
Develop a schedule for the budget preparation and
approval process. |
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C. |
Set up a Budget Committee. |
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D. |
Set a date for meeting of the Budget Committee to
prepare a tentative county work budget. This date ought to be in
late December or early January to accommodate the budget schedule.
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II.
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The Budget Committee meets to review the current budget
status and the tax
levy limitations for the coming year and prepares a budget estimate
following IDOM
Instructions, using Iowa Department of Management (IDOM) Forms
and Extension Forms.
Before the meeting, staff should use the IDOM
and ISUE Excel worksheets provided to prepare an accurate
estimate of income and expenditures. Supporting documentation
and income-expense projections should be gathered from County
records, Field Specialists and County staff. Reports should be
prepared for each committee member. This will be important for
predicting expenditures and especially important for setting wages
and proposing raises. The Partner Agreement schedule determines the amount to be budgeted for county support.
After the meeting send copies of each form developed by the budget
committee to your Area Director for review. See the Check
List.
The budget ought to be a reasonable estimate of the anticipated
expenses of supporting the county program. Some allowance is necessary
for expenditures not evident at the time the budget is prepared.
It is more important to finance a good program than
it is to build a large carry-over balance. Balances are built
over a period of years and serve three functions:
- To provide cash flow until tax receipts are received.
- To build a "fund" for large expenditures.
- To level annual fluctuations in the levy.
The carry-over balance cannot exceed 50% of the year's actual
expenditures. All types of unreserved monies are a part of the
balance. Only reserved balances as determined by the year-end
carryover worksheet are removed from the carryover balance. There
is political concern about the size of year-end balances of various
governmental units. Unless there is a compelling reason, it would
be a good idea to build your budget so that the year-end balance
is closer to 40% of the year's expenditures. |
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III.
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County Extension Council reviews the Budget Committee
report and adopts a budget estimate at the January or February Council
meeting. (A quorum of the Council is necessary.) |
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A. |
The Chair of County Budget Committee should present
the proposed budget. The total amount of budgeted expenditures is
the maximum that can be spent during the year regardless of the
amount of receipts that are available. Budget estimates need to
be made carefully and include all reasonably anticipated expenditures
and income. Unexpected expenditures and emergencies that occur during
the year are easily handled through the budget amendment
process. |
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B. |
The Council by motion approves the budget
estimate and directs the publication of the budget hearing notice.
The following motions can be used and recorded in the minutes: (For
your convenience, these are also in the 2006
Extension Council Reorganization Forms under "Other motions
that could be needed". See Mark Settle's memo regarding the
2006 Reorganization Instructions.)
"Motion by ______ that the FY2007 Extension Education Operating
Budget be approved for $______ in expenditures with a total tax
request of $________, with $______ from property tax and $_______
from utility excise tax. Motion seconded by ______. Motion carried
by a vote of ______ to ______ with ______ dissenting."
The amount for expenditures comes from IDOM Form 678, Column
C (Cell F20) (or F24 if you are not levying for Unemployment Compensation
or Tort Liability), County Agricultural Extension Education line.
The amount for property request comes from IDOM Form 678, Column
AW (Cell D36) (or D40 if you are not levying for Unemployment
Compensation or Tort Liability), County Agricultural Extension
Education line.
"Motion by ______ that the county extension education director
be directed to officially publish that the FY2007 Budget public
hearing is scheduled for (date), (time) at (place), in (address,
city, zip). Motion seconded by ______. Motion carried by a vote
of ______ to ______ with ______ dissenting."
A separate motion must be made and approved if your county levies
for Unemployment Compensation.
The amount for expenditures comes from IDOM Form 678, Column
C (Cell F22), Unemployment Compensation line. The amount for property
request comes from IDOM Form 678, Column AW (Cell D38), Unemployment
Compensation line.
A separate motion must be made and approved if you county levies
for Tort Liability.
The amount for expenditures comes from IDOM Form 678, Column
C (Cell F23), Tort Liability line. The amount for property request
comes from IDOM Form 678, Column AW (Cell D39), Tort Liability
line.
The information is taken from the respective lines on IDOM Form
678. All three funds are covered by publishing IDOM Form 674. |
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C. |
The Council secretary completes the necessary information
on Form 674. Staff can prepare this form ahead of time if there
is reasonable expectation of budget approval. No signature is required
to be published on this form. |
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IV.
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Following the Council meeting, file the original of Form 674
with the current budget information. Send one copy of Form 674
and 674-A-Attachment 1 and 674-A-Attachment 2 (if used) to your
Area Director for review prior to sending it to the newspaper
for publication.
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V.
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The publication notice (Form 674) is to
be published
in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. BE SURE
TO CHECK ON PUBLICATION DEADLINES WELL IN ADVANCE. The notice must
be published not less than 10 nor more than 20 calendar days before
the date set for the hearing.
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VI.
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Request two copies of the newspaper publication
with affidavits of publication signed by the publisher. One copy
is filed with the County Auditor along with Form 678 and one copy
is filed with the current budget information. |
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VII.
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Conduct the public hearing at an Extension
Council meeting before March 15. |
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A. |
The hearing needs to begin at the time
stated in the official notice. |
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B. |
The required quorum is a majority of the
Council (5 members). |
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C. |
The hearing may be conducted as a part of the regular
monthly meeting rather than as a separate meeting. Regular Council
business may be conducted before and after the hearing. Technically,
the regular meeting ought to be recessed, the budget hearing opened,
the budget hearing closed, and the regular meeting resumed. The
proposed meeting minutes below reflect this series of actions. |
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D. |
The purpose of the hearing is to provide an opportunity
for citizens to comment on the budget. Details become important,
thus, any citizen who attends the meeting and comments must share
their name and address and their comments need to be accurately
recorded in the minutes. |
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E. |
Any budget figure may be changed following the hearing,
however, neither the amount of the total expenditures nor the amount
of the tax request can exceed the amounts published in the hearing
notice. These figures can only be reduced. |
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This is a proposed meeting agenda and
script for the Public Hearing portion of a regular Council meeting: |
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A. |
Open Council meeting. |
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B. |
Roll call. |
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C. |
Approval of minutes of the previous meeting. |
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D. |
Other Business as desired. |
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E. |
Motion to recess regular Council meeting
at or after the time designated in published hearing notice. |
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F. |
Suggested Public Hearing Script:
Chair: "This is the time and place set for a public hearing
on the ________ County Extension Education Operating budget (plus
Tort and/or Unemployment budget)."
Chair: "The notice of the public hearing did appear in the
___________________ newspaper on ________ as required by law."
Chair : "Are there any objections or comments concerning
the budget?"
- If comments are received, they need to be accurately recorded
in the minutes with the person's name and address.
- If no one asks to speak, the Chair instructs the secretary
to note that fact in the minutes.
- Chair requests a motion to close the public hearing. "I
move to close this public hearing." Motion seconded, and
the vote recorded.
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G. |
Chair reopens recessed meeting. |
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H. |
Chair requests a motion to approve budget request (s) (A regular
agenda item):
"Motion by ______ that the FY2007 Extension Education Operating
Budget be approved for $______ in expenditures with a total tax
request of $________, with $______ from property tax and $_______
from utility excise tax. Motion seconded by ______. Motion carried
by a vote of ______ to ______ with ______ dissenting."
The amount for expenditures comes from IDOM Form 678, Column
C (Cell F20) (or F24 if you are not levying for Unemployment Compensation
or Tort Liability), County Agricultural Extension Education line.
The amount for property request comes from IDOM Form 678, Column
AW (Cell D36) (or D40 if you are not levying for Unemployment
Compensation or Tort Liability), County Agricultural Extension
Education line.
A separate motion must be made and approved if your county levies
for Unemployment Compensation.
The amount for expenditures comes from IDOM Form 678, Column
C (Cell F22), Unemployment Compensation line. The amount for property
request comes from IDOM Form 678, Column AW (Cell D38), Unemployment
Compensation line.
A separate motion must be made and approved if you county levies
for Tort Liability.
The amount for expenditures comes from IDOM Form 678, Column
C (Cell F23), Tort Liability line. The amount for property request
comes from IDOM Form 678, Column AW (Cell D39), Tort Liability
line.
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I. |
Record ayes and nays by name. |
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J. |
Proceed with other items on the agenda. |
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IX.
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Following the hearing, the secretary needs
to see that the necessary information is included on Form 678 with
the appropriate signatures. Staff can prepare this ahead of time
if there is a reasonable expectation of budget approval as published. |
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X.
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The distribution of completed forms is
as follows: |
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A. |
Two copies of IDOM Form 678 and one copy
each of 674, 674-A-Attachment 1 and affidavit of publication delivered
to the County Auditor on or prior to March 15. (674-A -Attachment 2 is
also necessary if the Tort Liability and/or Unemployment levy is
requested.) |
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B. |
Email the final adopted budget Excel file to Jim Nervig, IDOM, at jim.nervig@iowa.gov |
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C. |
A copy of IDOM Form 678 with two copies
of the approved Budget Summary (CB-2) to the Area Director. The
information on CB-2 is used for several purposes and is needed in
this format. Do not alter. |
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D. |
Original IDOM Forms 674, 674-A-Attachment
1 and 2, 678, affidavit of publication and the approved Budget Summary
(CB-2) filed with the FY2007 budget information. |
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XI.
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This completes the process for another
year. Good job!
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