PRINTER'S NO. 1310
No. 1157 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY ROSS, BARD, COY, HERMAN AND LESCOVITZ, APRIL 7, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, APRIL 7, 1999
AN ACT 1 Amending the act of May 1, 1933 (P.L.103, No.69), entitled, as 2 reenacted and amended, "An act concerning townships of the 3 second class; and amending, revising, consolidating and 4 changing the law relating thereto," further regulating the 5 annual budget and uniform report forms. 6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 7 hereby enacts as follows: 8 Section 1. Sections 3202 and 3203 of the act of May 1, 1933 9 (P.L.103, No.69), known as The Second Class Township Code, 10 reenacted and amended November 9, 1995 (P.L.350, No.60), is 11 amended to read: 12 Section 3202. Annual Budget.--(a) The board of supervisors 13 shall annually prepare a proposed budget for all funds for the 14 ensuing fiscal year. The proposed budget shall reflect as nearly 15 as possible the estimated revenues and expenses of the township 16 for the year for which the budget is prepared. A township shall 17 not prepare and advertise notice of a proposed budget when it is 18 knowingly inaccurate. Upon any revision of the proposed budget, 19 if the estimated revenues or expenses in the final budget are
1 increased more than ten percent in the aggregate or more than
2 twenty-five percent in any major category over the proposed
3 budget, it may not be legally adopted with those increases
4 unless it is again advertised once, the same as the original
5 proposed budget, and an opportunity given to taxpayers to
6 examine the amended proposed budget. A major category is a group
7 of related revenue or expense items, the combined total of which
8 is listed as a line item. [on the annual budget forms furnished
9 by the Department of Community Affairs under section 3203.] The
10 budget shall be prepared on a uniform form prepared and
11 furnished under section 3203. The estimates in the budget shall
12 specify the amount of money necessary for each governmental
13 activity of the township for which a special tax levy may or may
14 not be authorized and the amount of money necessary for the
15 payment of debts and other miscellaneous purposes.
16 (b) Upon the preparation of the proposed budget, the board
17 of supervisors shall give public notice by advertisement once in
18 one newspaper of general circulation in the township that the
19 proposed budget is available for public inspection at a
20 designated place in the township. After the proposed budget has
21 been available for public inspection for twenty days, the board
22 of supervisors shall, after making revisions as are appropriate,
23 adopt the final budget not later then the thirty-first day of
24 December and the necessary appropriation measures required to
25 put it into effect.
26 (c) The total appropriation shall not exceed the revenues
27 estimated as available for the fiscal year. [The board of
28 supervisors shall within fifteen days after the adoption of the
29 budget file a copy of the budget with the Department of
30 Community Affairs.]
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1 (d) During the month of January next following any municipal
2 election, the board of supervisors may amend the budget and the
3 levy and tax rate to conform with its amended budget. A period
4 of ten days' public inspection at the office of the township
5 secretary of the proposed amended budget, after notice by the
6 township secretary to that effect is published once in a
7 newspaper of general circulation in the township, shall
8 intervene between the adoption of the proposed amended budget
9 and the final adoption of the amended budget. Any amended budget
10 must be adopted by the board of supervisors on or before the
11 fifteenth day of February. No proposed amended budget shall
12 before final adoption be revised upward in excess of ten percent
13 in the aggregate or in excess of twenty-five percent of the
14 amount of any major category in the proposed amended budget. A
15 major category is a group of related revenue or expense items,
16 the combined total of which is listed as a line item. [on the
17 annual budget forms furnished by the Department of Community
18 Affairs under section 3203. Within fifteen days after the
19 adoption of an amended budget, the township secretary shall file
20 a copy of it with the Department of Community Affairs.]
21 (e) The board of supervisors may by resolution make
22 supplemental appropriations for any purpose from any funds on
23 hand or estimated to be received within the fiscal year and not
24 otherwise appropriated, including the proceeds of any borrowing
25 authorized by law. Supplemental appropriations may be made
26 whether or not an appropriation for that purpose was included in
27 the original budget as adopted.
28 (f) The board of supervisors may by resolution transfer
29 unencumbered moneys from one township account to another, but no
30 moneys may be transferred from the fund allocated for the
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1 payment of debts or from any fund raised by a special tax levy 2 or assessment for a particular purpose. Transfers shall not be 3 made during the first three months of the fiscal year. No moneys 4 shall be paid out of the township treasury except upon 5 appropriation made according to law. 6 Section 3203. Uniform Report Forms.--(a) The uniform forms 7 for [the annual budget and] the annual financial [statement] 8 report required to be made by the auditors shall be prepared by 9 a committee consisting of four representatives of the State 10 Association of Township Supervisors and one representative each 11 from the Department of Transportation and the Department of 12 Community [Affairs.] and Economic Development. 13 (b) Representatives of the State Association of Township 14 Supervisors shall be appointed by the president of that 15 organization. The representatives may be township supervisors, 16 auditors or secretaries and should represent townships in the 17 various population groups. The president of the State 18 Association of Township Supervisors shall supply to the 19 Department of Community [Affairs] and Economic Development the 20 names and addresses of the representatives immediately upon 21 their appointment. 22 (c) Representatives of the townships shall serve without 23 compensation but shall be reimbursed by the Commonwealth for all 24 necessary expenses incurred in attending meetings of the 25 committee from appropriations made to the Department of 26 Community [Affairs.] and Economic Development. The committee 27 shall meet at the call of the Secretary of Community [Affairs] 28 and Economic Development, or an agent of the secretary, who 29 shall chair the committee. 30 [(d) In preparing the uniform forms, the committee shall 19990H1157B1310 - 4 -
1 give careful consideration to the fiscal needs and procedures of 2 townships of the various population groups, producing separate 3 forms, if necessary, to meet the needs of townships of varying 4 sizes. The form for annual reports shall contain the information 5 required to be furnished under this act and any other 6 information the committee believes proper and shall be arranged 7 to correlate with the forms for the budget, respecting order of 8 items and division of revenues by major classifications and 9 disbursements by major functions. The committee shall also 10 prescribe the form of the statement summarizing the annual 11 report which is required to be published under this act.] 12 (e) The Department of Community [Affairs] and Economic 13 Development shall prepare and furnish the forms required by this 14 act in cooperation with the committee. If the committee fails to 15 cooperate, the Department of Community [Affairs] and Economic 16 Development shall issue the forms and distribute them annually, 17 as needed, to the proper township officers. 18 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. A26L73MRD/19990H1157B1310 - 5 -