The Director of Finance shall:

(a) Obtain from all officers, departments, boards and commissions and other agencies receiving appropriations from the City such information as shall be necessary to enable him to compile for the Mayor the information necessary for the preparation and submission to the Council of the annual operating budget;

(b) Not later than six months prior to the end of each fiscal year, distribute to the Mayor, the Managing Director, the Personnel Director, each department, board and commission of the City, the chief clerk of the Council and all other officers of the City and other governmental or other agencies which desire City appropriations to be made to them, the proper blanks necessary for the preparation of operating budget estimates, with a request that such blanks be returned with the information desired not later than five months prior to the end of the fiscal year. Such blanks shall be in such form as shall be prescribed by the Director of Finance to procure any and all information pertaining to the revenues and expenditures for the preceding fiscal year and for the current fiscal year, including the appropriations made by the Council for the previous year, the expenditures therefrom, the encumbrances thereon, the amount unencumbered and unexpended, itemized estimates of the revenues and expenditures of the current fiscal year and for the succeeding fiscal year, and an estimate of the revenues and amounts needed for expenses of the Council, and for all offices, departments, boards and commissions of the City and other governmental or other agencies to which appropriations are likely to be made by the Council for the next fiscal year. Such blanks shall also request the person returning them to accompany them with a statement in writing, giving the facts and an explanation of and reasons for the estimates of receipts and expenditures for the succeeding fiscal year contained upon the blanks returned;

(c) Under the direction of the Mayor, make inquiries and investigations as to the financial needs, expenditures, estimates or revenues of any officer, department, board or commission of the City or other agency requesting appropriations from the City. The Mayor may, after giving to each such officer, department, board, commission or other agency an opportunity to be heard, approve, disapprove or alter the estimates. The Director of Finance shall submit to the Mayor, in writing, the above information and any additional information requested by the Mayor as a basis for the Mayor's estimates for appropriations for the next fiscal year;

(d) Obtain annually from all officers, departments, boards and commissions and other agencies requesting funds from the City for capital improvements, such information as the City Planning Commission shall require to enable it to prepare the capital program and capital budget;

(e) Prepare and supply to the Mayor such information as will enable the Mayor to keep currently acquainted with the financial conditions and prospective receipts and expenditures of the City during the current fiscal year in order to control expenditures in such a manner as to avoid deficits.

ANNOTATION

Sources: The Administrative Code of 1929, Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 177, Section 601.

Purposes: 1. The Director of Finance is to be in over-all charge of the preparation of the annual operating budget so that it may be prepared in an orderly and efficient manner and so that it will reflect all possible economies. Thus, he has the duty of gathering from all officers and agencies of the City all the information necessary for the preparation of the budget. He may request any officer or agency to justify the information furnished either as to expenditures requested or revenues estimated. It is to be noted that since the Director of Finance is the principal financial assistant of the Mayor, the Mayor is ultimately responsible for the budget, and for this reason the Director of Finance will act under the direction of the Mayor, to the extent that the Mayor deems it appropriate to give such direction. The Mayor is empowered to make the final decision as to the content of the operating budget to be submitted to the Council.

2. The Director of Finance is also to gather information required by the City Planning Commission in the preparation of the capital program and capital budget since, as the City's chief financial and budget officer, he will be in a position to obtain such information.

3. The Director of Finance is required to gather and compile information which will enable the Mayor to know at all times the financial condition of the City. One of the purposes of this requirement is to enable the Mayor to be in a position to reduce expenditures in the event the flow of revenues indicates a deficit may be or is about to be incurred. Section 8-102.