True or False: A clear warning sign of a serious problem for a municipal budget is if expenditures are exceeding approved budgeted amounts.
Answer: True
A municipality's expenses must stay within the budget approved by council to avoid negative effects on the financial health of the municipality. Only the council may appropriate, by ordinance, the funds of a municipality for expenditure. If total expenditures exceed the total appropriations that were approved by council in the budget, then council must amend the budget. Because the annual budget is approved by ordinance, the procedure for amending the budget is through the adoption of a new ordinance amending the budget. There is no public hearing requirement for amending the budget, unless the council has established such a requirement locally.
The Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government offers in-person and online courses. Basic Budgeting and Municipal Finance is offered as an on-demand course online. In-person courses will take place February 5, 2020, the day after Hometown Legislative Action Day, in Columbia.