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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny amending Chapter 311 of the Administrative Code of Allegheny County by requiring, as a prerequisite to the introduction, consideration or approval of certain ordinances or resolutions proposed by a member of council or the chief executive, the preparation and submission of a written statement outlining the estimated financial impact and cost to the County of implementing the proposed ordinance or resolution and identifying the revenue source to pay for the services, activities or programs set forth in the proposed ordinance or resolution.
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WHEREAS, the fiscal integrity of the County of Allegheny requires a close monitoring of County expenditures; and
WHEREAS, increased expenditures resulting from new services, activities and programs mandated by ordinances and resolutions that do not identify the specific sources of funding for such services, activities and programs runs a significant risk of placing the County into a budget deficit and thereby triggering the need for remedial action under Article VII, Section 7(e) of the Home Rule Charter; and
WHEREAS, the creation of a requirement of a fiscal impact statement as part of the consideration and enactment of certain County ordinances and resolutions would be a useful and productive tool in maintaining the County's fiscal integrity by ensuring that new services, activities and programs do not become unfunded mandates.
Now, therefore, be it ordained and enacted by the County Council of the County of Allegheny, in lawful session duly assembled, as follows:
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 311.02 - FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Section 311.02 is amended to read as follows:
Section 311.02 Ordinance and resolution form: Fiscal Impact Statement Required
A. Every proposed ordinance and resolution shall be submitted to the County Clerk in the form required in the Rules of Council.
No ordinance or resolution shall contain more than one subject.
The title of every ordinance and resolution shall clearly express the subject.
D. Except for emergency ordinances and resolutions under Section 311.06 of this Administrative Code and the ordinance and resolution required by Article VII Section 4 of the Home Rule Charter for adopting tax rates and balanced annual operating and capital budgets, every proposed ordinance or resolution shall be accompanied by a fiscal impact statement. The fiscal impact statement shall be prepared by the chief author of the proposed ordinance or resolution and reviewed and approved in writing either by Council's chief budget officer in the case of an ordinance or resolution introduced by a member of Council or by the County's Budget Director in the case of an ordinance or resolution introduced by the Chief Executive or County Manager. For purposes of this chapter, the term “fiscal impact statement” shall generally mean a statement of the estimated financial cost to the County of implementing the proposed ordinance or resolution and the identification of the revenue source to pay for the cost of implementation of the proposed ordinance or resolution. The fiscal impact statement shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
A general statement of the fiscal effect that the proposed ordinance or resolution will have on the operating, capital or grants budget for the current fiscal year and for each of the next two succeeding fiscal years and the Department, County Office, Row Office or division of the Courts affected;
A quantitative estimate of the monies needed to implement the proposed ordinance or resolution and the assumptions used in preparing that estimate;
A statement on the extent to which current appropriations are available to finance implementation of the proposed ordinance or resolution, if it is to be implemented within the current fiscal year; and
An identification of the revenues from existing revenue sources or from funds currently available, or likely to be available, to implement the proposed ordinance or resolution for the current year and each of the next two succeeding fiscal years.
SECTION 2. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 311.04
Paragraph A of Section 311.04 of the Administrative Code is amended to read as follows:
A. Except as otherwise provided by Section 311.02 D, [n]o proposed ordinance or resolution shall be voted on until unless: (1) it is accompanied by a fiscal impact statement; (2) it has been read by title and summary at two (2) Council meetings separated by at least seven (7) days; and (3) the public has been given the opportunity to comment on the proposed ordinance or resolution.
SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY
The provisions of this ordinance and of the Code of Ordinances adopted hereby are severable, and if any clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment or decision shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined in its operation and application to the clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof rendered illegal, invalid or unconstitutional. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the County Council that this ordinance and the Code of Ordinances would have been adopted if such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof had not been included therein.
SECTION 4. REPEALER
Any ordinance or any part of an ordinance conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Ordinance shall enter into full force and effect immediately.
SECTION 6. If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 7. Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.