65.05 Adoption of budget; changes, how made.

(1) The common council, by vote of the majority of all the alderpersons, may make such changes in the proposed budget submitted by the board of estimates, and by the finance committee, either as to purposes or amounts for which money may be expended and as to purposes or amounts for which bonds or mortgage certificates may be issued as it may deem best.

(2) The common council shall not change the purposes or amounts provided in the proposed budget as submitted to it for the departments which by law are authorized to determine their expenditures and the taxes to be levied therefor, unless such department by formal resolution adopted by a majority of all its members shall authorize such change, nor shall the common council change the purposes or amounts of the bond or mortgage certificate issues which are required to be issued by law.

(3) When any department, authorized to determine its expenditures and the taxes to be levied therefor, shall authorize a change in its budget by the common council, the department shall file its resolution authorizing the change with the city clerk at least 2 days prior to the time fixed by law for the adoption of the budget, and the council shall then make the change in accordance with the resolution.

(4) For each budget period, the common council, on or before November 14, shall adopt the proposed budget by a majority vote of all the alderpersons either as submitted or as changed by the council. It shall not be necessary to refer the budget to a committee of the common council.

(5) The budget submitted by the board to the council as changed by the council within the time therein provided shall constitute the budget of the city for the following budget period whether or not any formal resolution or motion adopting it has been passed by the common council. Within 5 days either after its formal adoption by the council or by operation of law it shall be certified by the city clerk to the mayor for the mayor's approval.

(6) If the mayor approves the budget the mayor shall sign it. The mayor shall have power only to disapprove of any item or items therein under the control of the common council and upon disapproving any item or items the mayor shall return the budget to the clerk with a written statement of the mayor's objections to those items and the reasons therefor.

(7) The common council shall vote on each item disapproved by the mayor separately, and if the mayor's disapproval is sustained it shall affect only the items disapproved and sustained. The council may then proceed, by an affirmative vote of a majority of the alderpersons, to adopt a substitute for the item rejected which shall be separately submitted to the mayor subject to the mayor's approval. All items not disapproved by the mayor and sustained by the council shall constitute the budget and be in full force. The city clerk shall have the budget printed. The printed budget shall be filed in the office of the comptroller and made available for general distribution. In case of an obvious error in authorizing any salary or position as provided in s. 65.02 (8) (b), the common council may by a three-fourths vote of all its members correct such error in the period between the adoption of the budget and December 31 inclusive of each year.

(8) Except as provided in s. 65.025 (5), the adoption of the budget shall determine the amount of money to be levied upon all taxable property in the city for the ensuing budget period. The tax levy shall be computed by deducting the surplus and miscellaneous revenues available therefor from the appropriations for expenditures for the ensuing year. The city comptroller shall then certify the necessary taxes to be levied to the commissioner of assessments, who shall calculate the tax rate. Such tax rate shall be the rate of the ensuing tax levy.

(9) The compensation rates of pay and the number of positions established in the budget shall determine the compensation to be paid and the number of positions for the ensuing budget period except that additional positions may be established where necessary during the year by resolution adopted by three-fourths vote of all the alderpersons.

History: 1987 a. 289; 1989 a. 266; 1991 a. 156, 316; 1993 a. 184, 381, 491; 1995 a. 225; 2019 a. 42.