East Palo Alto Municipal Code Ch. 3.16 Financial Control

The chief financial officer shall have charge of the administration of the financial affairs of the city and to that end shall supervise and be responsible for the disbursement of all moneys and have control over all expenditures to insure that appropriations are not exceeded. He/she shall exercise financial budgetary control over each office, department and agency and shall cause separate accounts to be kept for the items of appropriation contained in the budgets each of which account shall show the amount of appropriation, the amounts paid therefrom, the unpaid obligations against it, and the unencumbered balance. The same classification and numbering system used in the budget and required by Section 3.08.050, shall be used. Unless he/she shall certify that there is a sufficient unencumbered balance available, no appropriation shall be encumbered and no expenditure shall be made.

(Prior code § 3-2.401)

Before the beginning of the budget year, the head of each office, department or agency shall submit to the budget office, at the time required, his/her work program for the year, which program shall show the requested allotments of appropriations for such office, department or agency, by quarterly periods, for the entire budget year. The budget officer shall review the requested allotments in the light of the work program of the office, department or agency concerned and may revise, alter or change such allotments before approving the same. The aggregate of such allotments shall not exceed the total appropriation available to the office, department or agency for the budget year. The budget office shall certify a copy of the allotments approved to the chief financial officer who shall authorize all expenditures for the offices, departments and agencies to be made from the appropriations on the basis of approved allotments and not otherwise. The approved allotment may be revised during the budget year in the same manner as the original allotment was made. If, at any time during the budget year, the budget officer shall ascertain that the available income, plus balances, for the year will be less than the total appropriations, he/she shall reconsider the work programs and allotments for the several offices, departments and agencies and shall revise the allotments so as to forestall the making of expenditures in excess of income.

(Prior code § 3-2.402)

The budget officer may at any time transfer any unencumbered appropriation balance or portion thereof between general classifications of expenditures within a department, regarding service, function or activity. At the request of the budget officer and within the last three months of the budget year, the city council may by resolution transfer any unencumbered appropriation balance or portion thereof from one office, department or agency to another. No transfer shall be made from the appropriations required by subsections A, B and C of Section 3.12.090.

(Prior code § 3-2.403)

No office, department or agency shall, during any budget year, expend or contract to expend any money or incur any liability, or enter into any contract which by its terms involves the expenditure of money for any purpose in excess of the amounts appropriated for the general classification of expenditures pursuant to this title. Any contract, verbal or written, made in violation of this title shall be null and void.

(Prior code § 3-2.404)

All appropriations shall lapse at the end of the budget year to the extent that they shall not have been expended or lawfully encumbered.

(Prior code § 3-2.405)