§ 3667. County financial plans. 1. The county executive shall prepare
and submit to the authority a four-year financial plan, initially for
the fiscal years ending December thirty-first, two thousand one through
two thousand four, together with the proposed budget for the fiscal year
ending on December thirty-first, two thousand one, not later than the
date required for submission of such budget to the legislature pursuant
to the county charter. Such financial plan shall, in addition to the
requirements for financial plans set forth in subdivisions two and three
of this section, contain actions sufficient to ensure with respect to
the major operating funds for each fiscal year of the plan that annual
aggregate operating expenses for such fiscal year shall not exceed
annual aggregate operating revenues for such fiscal year. For purposes
of determining operating revenues in the fiscal years ending December
thirty-first, two thousand one through two thousand seven, such plan may
assume (a) borrowings by the county or the authority to finance tax
certiorari judgments or settlements in annual amounts not exceeding one
hundred million dollars, or, in the aggregate for all such years, four
hundred million dollars; however, of said four hundred million dollars,
no more than fifteen million dollars may be counted as operating revenue
in the fiscal year two thousand six and no more than ten million dollars
may be counted as operating revenue in fiscal year two thousand seven,
and (b) receipt by the county of NCIFA assistance and transitional state
aid in the following collective amounts for each respective fiscal year:
Amount Fiscal Year
2001 amount 2001
2002 amount 2002
2003 amount 2003
2004 amount 2004.
The one hundred million dollars annual limit on assumed tax certiorari
borrowings may be waived by the authority respecting any fiscal year,
upon its determination that the results of any increased and accelerated
settlement or litigation efforts by the county justify such waiver.
As used in this subdivision:
"2001 amount" means that amount expected to be provided by the
authority to ensure balanced major operating fund operations upon its
determination that the county has taken recurring actions to close
between thirty-five per centum (35%) and forty per centum (40%) of the
projected gap.
"2002 amount" means that amount expected to be provided by the
authority to ensure balanced major operating fund operations upon its
determination that the county has taken recurring actions to close
between forty-five per centum (45%) and fifty per centum (50%) of the
projected gap.
"2003 amount" means that amount expected to be provided by the
authority to ensure balanced major operating fund operations upon its
determination that the county has taken recurring actions to close
between sixty per centum (60%) and sixty-five per centum (65%) of the
projected gap.
"2004 amount" means that amount expected to be provided by the
authority to ensure balanced major operating fund operations upon its
determination that the county has taken recurring actions to close
between eighty per centum (80%) and eighty-five per centum (85%) of the
projected gap.
2. Pursuant to the procedures contained in this subdivision, each year
during the interim finance period or during a control period the county
shall develop, and may from time to time modify, taking into account
recommendations of the authority, a four year financial plan covering
the county and the covered organizations. Each such financial plan and
financial plan modification shall conform to the requirements of
paragraph (a) of this subdivision and shall provide that the major
operating funds of the county will be balanced in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles. The financial plan shall be
developed and approved, and may from time to time be modified, in
accordance with the following procedures: (a) The county executive shall prepare and submit to the authority and
the legislature a revised financial plan to the authority covering the
four year period beginning with the ensuing fiscal year, together with
the proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year, not later than the date
required for submission of such budget pursuant to the county charter.
On such dates, the county executive shall also submit to the authority a
certificate stating that such budget is consistent with the financial
plan submitted therewith and that operation within the budget is
feasible.
(b) Not more than twenty days after submission of a financial plan or
more than fifteen days after submission of a financial plan
modification, the authority shall determine whether the financial plan
or financial plan modification is complete and complies with the
provisions of section thirty-six hundred sixty-six and this section and
the other requirements of this title, and shall submit its
recommendations with respect to the financial plan or financial plan
modification in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision.
(c) Upon the approval by the county of a budget in accordance with the
provisions of the county charter and approval of the financial plan by
the legislature, the county executive shall submit such approved budget
and financial plan to the authority accompanied by expenditure, revenue
and cash flow projections on a quarterly basis and certify to the
authority that such budget is consistent with the financial plan to be
submitted to the authority.
(d) If the authority determines that the financial plan or financial
plan modification provided pursuant to paragraphs (c) or (f) of this
subdivision is complete and complies with the standards set forth in
this subdivision, the authority shall make a certification to the county
setting forth revenue estimates agreed to by the authority in accordance
with such determination.
(e) The authority shall, in the event it disagrees with elements of
the financial plan provided pursuant to paragraphs (c) or (f) of this
subdivision, provide notice thereof to the county executive, the
legislature and the comptroller, with copies to the director of the
budget, the state comptroller, the chair of the assembly ways and means
committee and the chair of the senate finance committee, if, in the
judgment of the authority, such plan:
(i) is incomplete;
(ii) fails to contain projections of revenues and expenditures that
are based on reasonable and appropriate assumptions and methods of
estimation;
(iii) fails to provide that operations of the county and the covered
organizations will be conducted within the cash resources available
according to the authority's revenue estimates; or
(iv) fails to comply with the provisions of this title or other
requirements of law.
(f) After the initial adoption of an approved financial plan, the
revenue estimates certified by the authority and the financial plan
shall be regularly reexamined by the authority in consultation with the
county and the covered organizations and the county executive shall
provide a modified financial plan in such detail and within such time
periods as the authority may require. In the event of reductions in such
revenue estimates, or in the event the county or a covered organization
shall expend funds at a rate that would exceed the aggregate expenditure
limitation for the county or covered organization prior to the
expiration of the fiscal year, the county executive shall submit a
financial plan modification to effect such adjustments in revenue
estimates and reductions in total expenditures as may be necessary to
conform to such revised revenue estimates or aggregate expenditure
limitations.
(g) If, within a time period specified by the authority, the county
fails to make such modifications after reductions in revenue estimates,
or to provide a modified plan in detail and within such time period
required by the authority, the authority shall adopt a resolution so
finding.
(h) The county shall amend its budget or shall submit a financial plan
modification for the approval of the authority such that the county's
budget and the approved financial plan shall be consistent. In no event
shall the county operate under a budget that is inconsistent with an
approved financial plan.
3. The financial plan shall be in such form and shall contain such
information for each year during which the financial plan is in effect
as the authority may specify, and shall include the county and all the
covered organizations, and shall, in such detail as the authority from
time to time may prescribe, include (a) statements of all estimated
revenues and of all expenditures and cash flow projections of the county
and each of the covered organizations, (b) a report on the status of
efforts to reform and streamline the tax certiorari claims process and
eliminate the need in each year of the plan for the county to borrow to
finance such claims or judgments, including an accounting of the
expenditure of any transitional state aid for such purposes, and (c) an
accounting of the expenditure of any remaining transitional state aid
available to the county for each year of the plan.
4. The financial plan shall include any information which the
authority may request to satisfy itself that (a) projected employment
levels, collective bargaining agreements and other actions relating to
employee costs, capital construction and such other matters as the
authority may specify are consistent with the provisions made for such
obligations in the financial plan, (b) the county and the covered
organizations are taking whatever action is necessary with respect to
programs mandated by state and federal law to ensure that expenditures
for such programs are limited to and covered by the expenditures stated
in the financial plan, (c) adequate reserves are provided to maintain
essential programs in the event revenues have been overestimated or
expenditures underestimated for any period, and (d) the county has
adequate cash resources to meet its obligations. In addition, except to
the extent such reporting requirements may be modified pursuant to
agreement between the authority and the county, for each fiscal year
occurring during the interim finance period or while bonds issued
pursuant to this title are outstanding, the county executive shall
prepare a quarterly report of summarized budget data depicting overall
trends of actual revenues and budget expenditures for the entire budget
rather than individual line items and updated quarterly cash flow
projections of receipts and disbursements. Such reports shall compare
revenue estimates and appropriations as set forth in such budget and in
the quarterly revenue and expenditure projections submitted therewith
with the actual revenues and expenditures made to date. Such reports
shall also compare actual receipts and disbursements with the estimates
contained in the cash flow projections, together with variances and
their explanation. All quarterly reports shall be accompanied by
recommendations from the county executive to the legislature setting
forth any remedial action necessary to resolve any unfavorable budget
variance including the overestimation of revenues and the
underestimation of appropriations. These reports shall be completed
within thirty days after the end of each quarter and shall be submitted
to the legislature, the authority, the director of the budget and the
state comptroller. Except during a control period, for each fiscal year
occurring during the interim finance period or while bonds issued
pursuant to this title are outstanding, the county executive shall
submit a proposed budget or revision thereto to the authority concurrent
with submission to the legislature, and shall submit the adopted budget
to the authority immediately upon its adoption.
5. For each financial plan and financial plan modification to be
prepared and submitted by the county executive to the authority pursuant
to the provisions of this section, the covered organizations shall
submit to the county such information with respect to their projected
expenditures, revenues and cash flows for each of the years covered by
such financial plan or modification as the county executive shall
determine. Notwithstanding any other provision of law limiting the
authority of the county with respect to any covered organization, the
county, in the preparation and submission of the financial plan and
modifications thereof, shall (except for debt service or for other
expenditures to the extent that such expenditures are required by law)
have the power to determine the aggregate expenditures to be allocated
to any covered organization in the financial plan and any modifications
thereto.
6. The authority and the county shall confer concerning the projected
effect on the budgets of the county and the covered organizations of any
change in generally accepted accounting principles, or change in the
application of generally accepted accounting principles to the county
and the covered organizations, made or to be implemented after the
effective date of this title. If the authority determines that immediate
compliance with such change will have a material effect on such budgets
over a time period insufficient to accommodate the effect without a
substantial adverse impact on the delivery of essential services by the
county, the authority may authorize and approve a method of phasing the
requirements of such change into such budgets over such reasonably
expeditious time period as the authority deems appropriate.
