Budget Process

The City of Hartford’s fiscal year begins July 1st and ends June 30th.

The annual budget provides programs and services to the community.  It is an estimated plan for the next fiscal year.  It provides presentations of governmental policy, especially the implementation of policy changes. The Mayor’s Strategic Plan identifies the City’s major goals and objectives and how to achieve them.

  • Department heads send their budget projections between November and February. These are for the next fiscal year.
  • Department heads attend budget kick-off meetings in January or February. They receive city-wide goals for the next fiscal year.
  • The Mayor must submit a recommended operating budget to the City Council (Council). This must occur by the third Monday in April. The operating budget includes proposed expenditures and the means of financing them.
  • Residents and taxpayers may attend open meetings and public hearings.  This is for them to comment on the recommended budget.
  • The Council modifies the budget by resolution. Revenues, debt service and other capital, and pension requirements are not modified. Council submits an amended budget to the Mayor for certification.
  • The Mayor may approve, reduce, and/or disapprove Council’s budget modifications (resolutions). This must occur within 48 hours.
  • Upon action by the Mayor, Council has until May 31 to adopt the budget and all related ordinances. If it doesn't, they must consider the last revised budget as the budget of the City and adhere to that for expenses. The Council will make an ordinance for appropriation and tax levy in agreement with the budget.1

 

1 Hartford Municipal Code Part 1, Charter of the City of Hartford, CT, Chapter X, Section 5.

 

Back to top