Finance FAQ

1. Budgets, Do I really have to have one? Who is responsible for creating the budget? Are there legal deadlines?

   Who is responsible for creating the budget? Are there legal deadlines? 

   Developing a Budget is a never ending process. The process begins the moment you begin your fiscal year and ends, only to begin again. 

   There are two basic budget options for Oklahoma municipalities. The Municipal Budget Act (11.O.S. §§ 17-201 through 17-216) and the Estimate of Need Law ( 68 O.S. §§ 3001 through 3033 & 62 O.S. § 461). You will need to determine which one is Applicable to your municipality.

   It will depend on your form of government on who prepares the budget.

   Aldermanic form of Government  - Mayor prepares the budget

   Council-Manager form of Government - City Manager prepares the budget

   Strong-Mayor form of Government - Mayor prepares the budget

   Town form of Government - Council prepares the budget

   The legal deadlines for municipalities under the Municipal Budget Act are as follows:

   • Chief Executive Officer must submit the budget to the Governing Body thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. (June 1st)

   • Governing Body must hold a public hearing on the proposal no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. (June 15th)

   • Notice of the date, time and place of the hearing together with the proposed budget summary shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality not less than five (5) days before the date of the hearing. (June 11th)

   • Governing Body must adopt budget by resolution at least seven (7) days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. (June 24th)

   • Adopted budget must be filed with the State Auditior & Inspector and Municipal Clerk on or before the first day of the fiscal year. (July 1st)

   • Within fifteen (15) days after filing with the State Auditor & Inspector, any taxpayer may protest alleged irregularities.

   The legal deadlines for municipalities under the Estimate of Need Law are as follows:

   • Governing Body must begin preparing Estimate of Need and report of revenues, the first Monday in August. (1st Monday in August)

   • Excise Board convenes July 1, to set schedule for public meetings. (July 1st)

   • Prepare Estimate of Needs. (by September 1st)

   • Submit financials and needs of estimate to county excise board.

   • Incorporated towns by August 22nd

   • Cities by August 27th

   • Publication affidavit filed at least 5 days after budget filing.

 (For more details about budgets see pages G-6 through G-20 of the OML Handbook for City and Town Officials.)

2. Can we put a fee of $5.00 on each utility bill to subsidize our ambulance service?

The Attorney General issued an opinion (2004 OK AG 15) on ‘subsidizing’ a private ambulance service. The crux of the opinion is whether the fee pays for a public purpose. A city-owned operation, such as an ambulance service, is a public purpose of the city. By collecting the fee through the utility bill, the city is merely charging for a service like it does for water, sewer, garbage, electric, gas, etc, this is just one more utility service. 

You should work with your municipal attorney to create a policy about what happens if the entire bill is not paid. The law is settled that you may not terminate water service if the ambulance fee is not paid. However, you may have a policy that partial payments will be allocated first to ambulance, then to garbage, then to sewer and last to water. In implementing a policy, the fee that is left unpaid is the water bill.

3. Do we need to send $5.00 to a drug fund?

Question:

It has been brought to our attentionthat we need to send $5.00 to a drug fund from each conviction of a drug offense. Do you have any information about this? 

Answer:

EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2008- SB 1960 created the Bureau of Narcotic Drug Education RevolvingFund, which is to be used by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics andDangerous Drugs Control for purposes relating to drug education and information in the State.

Any person entering a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to the crime of misdemeanor possession of marijuana is required to pay a five dollar ($5.00) fee, which is in addition to and not in substitution for any and all fines and penalties provided for law for such offense. The court clerk shall deposit the amount for every adjudicated or convicted person. 

New Law- Title 69, Sections 265, and2357.301

Marihuana Report (.doc)

Funds are to be submitted to:

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and DangerousDrugs Control

Attention: Drug Education Fund

440 N.E. 39th Street

Oklahoma City, OK 73105-7200

Questions or for electronic transfer capabilities contact Pam Birdsong, Director of Fiscal Services, OBN @ (405)521-2885 or email: pbirdsong@obn.state.ok.us

4. Fire Department Fund Raisers - Where does the money go?

Question:  Our town’s volunteer fire department is getting ready to conduct it’s annual taco sale, and holds other fund-raising events throughout the year.  It has been the practice of the fire department members to deposit the funds into a bank account controlled by the fire department, rather than turning the money over to the town treasurer for deposit into the general fund.  Is this legal?

Answer: Well the short answer is No but maybe Yes.  The firefighters may believe any money raised by them is their money to do with as they wish, however this is only true in certain restrictive instances.  Both paid and volunteer municipal fire departments are administrative departments of the creating municipality.  Any money derived from any activity of a municipal department is required to be paid over to the municipal treasurer.  (Title 62 O.S. Section335-below)  If the volunteer firefighters form an association, and raise money in the name of the association rather than the name of the department, the money is the property of the association and the municipality has no oversight or accountability for it.

Title 62. PublicFinance  Section 335- Money Received From Lease, Sale or Rental - Disposition of

When any money is due any county, city, town or school district in this state from sale, lease or rental or any public property, or royalty, or for compensation for service of public employees or other purpose, it shall be paid over to the lawful treasurer thereof.

The governing board shall have authority to direct by written resolution duly entered in the minutes of its meeting at the time such money is received or prior thereto that such money shall be credited to the fund account from which such property was derived or from which payment has been or will be made for such services rendered or other purposes.

If there be no resolution by the governing board directing the disposition of the money received as contemplated herein it shall be the duty of the treasurer to credit such money so received to the general fund.

The governing board shall have authority to direct that a fund derived for such sources as herein contemplated, where applicable to a public utility, be created and used to repair, relocate or replace any utility or part thereof new or hereafter existing.