Title...
An Ordinance amending the Administrative Code of Allegheny County, Article 801, entitled “Comprehensive Fiscal Plan,” §5-801.09, entitled “Restrictions on expenditures,” in order to establish a process for authorizing expenditures from the County’s general fund.
Body...
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article IV, §2(b) of the Home Rule Charter of Allegheny County, County Council is vested with the power and duty to “[m]ake appropriations, levy taxes, fees and service charges, and incur indebtedness as permitted by law or this Charter”; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article IV, §2(c) of the Home Rule Charter of Allegheny County, County Council is vested with the power and duty to “[a]dopt balanced annual operating and capital budgets as provided in Article VII”; and
WHEREAS, the County maintains a general fund with an unrestricted fund balance that has historically been between approximately $5.5 million and approximately $40 million; and
WHEREAS, withdrawals from this general fund can and have been made by Chief Executives in the past, and, provided that such withdrawals do not result in payment of amounts exceeding existing appropriations for any given line item(s) in the County’s budgets, these withdrawals do not currently require notice to or authorization by Council; and
WHEREAS, as noted by the current County Manager at the October 16, 2013 meeting of the Committee on Budget and Finance, the general fund balance is of significant importance to the County insofar as it materially impacts, among other things, the County’s bond rating and, accordingly, future debt service costs and ability to obtain financing; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that allowing any Chief Executive to unilaterally reduce the County’s general fund balance violates the clearly expressed intent of the Charter by removing budgetary authority from the Council and placing it with the Executive, while simultaneously eliminating all transparency with regard to how public f...
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