At its June 11 meeting, the City Council delayed until July 25 it's consideration of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012-13 budget for Personal Services, Operations and Maintenance, Debt Service and Transfers.  State law requires that the tax assessments for the fiscal year must be set by the Council after adoption of the final budget and no later than 30 calendar days after receiving certified taxable values from the State Department of Revenue or the first Thursday in September. Certified taxable values are expected to be delivered by the State Department of Revenue on August. 1st, which would mean the assessments have to be set no later than the regular Council meeting on August 27th, and the budget must be adopted no later than that date. A public hearing was advertised in The Billings Times on May 24th and 31st, and the public hearing was held on June 11, 2012. A simple majority of the Council votes is needed for approval.

The Council may:
 
• Approve the resolution; or
• Not approve the resolution; or
• Delay adoption of the resolution to a date certain.

The resolution sets the spending limits for all City Funds. Amendments during the year are accomplished in exactly the same way as the original adoption, with the few exceptions noted in the resolution. The total Personal Services, Operations and Maintenance, Debt Service and Transfers budget for FY 2013 is $181,094,629.

Staff recommends that City Council approve the resolution approving and adopting the FY 13 Budget for Personal Services, Operations and Maintenance, Debt Service and Transfers.