N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 3667: County financial plans

§ 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.