The authority must keep books of account, which must be independently audited at least once in each calendar year. A copy of the audit report must be provided to the member municipalities and counties. The authority must make an annual report of its activities to the member municipalities and counties. The authority must submit to the member municipalities and counties the annual operating and capital budget proposed for each fiscal year, at least sixty days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. In the event a member municipality or county disagrees with the proposed budget, it may set forth points of disagreement and transmit its statement to the authority and other governing bodies of the member municipalities and counties within thirty days of the receipt of the proposed budget. Budgets must be adopted by a majority of the member governments. In the event a majority of the governing bodies of the member municipalities and counties do not agree with the proposed budget, the authority must convene a meeting of chief elected and administrative officials of member governments to develop a budget which may be acceptable to a majority of the member governments; a majority, for the purposes of this section, includes the governing bodies of the member municipalities and counties representing more than one-half of the service area population. In the event a budget acceptable to a majority of the member governments is not developed prior to the beginning of its fiscal year, the authority shall continue to operate at the budget levels of the previously approved budget. Any budget changes requiring an increase in local funds in excess of ten percent during the budget year must be approved as provided above for annual budgets.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 59-127; 1973 (58) 726; 1985 Act No. 169, Section 2, eff July 1, 1985; 1997 Act No. 43, Section 6, eff May 21, 1997.