2015 Public Chapter 170 amended T.C.A. §§ 5-9-404, 5-12-109, and 5-21-111 to provide that if a local fiscal body fails to adopt a budget by July 1, the operating budget and appropriation resolution for the preceding fiscal year will continue in effect without any further action by the body until a final operating budget is adopted. While the continuation budget is in effect, no agency or entity receiving county funds can encumber funds in any month in excess of the allotment for a comparable month in the preceding fiscal year without county legislative body approval. Any such approval must include a corresponding funding source to cover the excess expenditures.
The Comptroller's office has provided the following Guidance with regard to their approval of continuation budgets:
GUIDANCE FOR
COUNTY CONTINUATION BUDGETS AND EXTENSIONS PURSUANT TO
PUBLIC CHAPTER 170, ACTS OF 2015
Counties budgeting pursuant to the General Law, County Budgeting Law of 1957, and Financial Management Act of 1981 may continue operations within the appropriations of the prior fiscal year if the county legislative body (the “CLB”) has not adopted an appropriation resolution for its current fiscal year by June 30th. Public Chapter 170, Acts of 2015. No action is required by the CLB to adopt a continuation budget if the budget is adopted prior to August 31st. An agency of a county, or other entity that receives county monies, can spend no more than the amount spent in the same month of the prior fiscal year while operating under a continuation budget. A county can amend a continuation budget according to the procedures for amending a final operating budget. A county must amend its continuation budget to provide for the payment of debt service and court-ordered expenditures. A final operating budget for each fiscal year must be adopted no later than August 31st. Under extraordinary circumstances, a county may request approval from the Office of State and Local Finance (OSLF) to adopt a continuation budget approval resolution that extends its prior fiscal year appropriation authority through September 30th.
Continuation Budget Extension
There are extraordinary circumstances that may justify an approval from OSLF to extend the county’s continuation budget authority until September 30th. The following circumstances would not meet requirements for approval of a continuation budget extension:
To request an approval for an extension, the following steps need to be followed:
OSLF will respond to the CLB indicating approval of its request within seven (7) days after the receipt of the request and any supplemental documentation.
The CLB should set and properly advertise a meeting at which either a continuation budget extension resolution can be adopted or the appropriation resolution for its current fiscal year can be adopted. If the extension of a continuation budget is approved, the CLB must adopt the county’s appropriation resolution and tax levy resolution by September 30th. A county will not have authority to spend money after September 30th without an adopted budget. Adopting a budget and tax levy in September may delay the collection of taxes until after the property tax due and payable date of the first Monday in October.
Final Operating Budget Requirements
The CLB needs to take into account the following in determining when it will adopt the appropriation and tax levy resolutions: