Budget Dates

On or before September 20, pursuant to Town Law § 104, the head of each administrative unit must submit an estimate of revenues and expenditures to the budget officer:

The head of each administrative unit, except as otherwise provided in section two hundred two-a of this chapter, shall submit on or before the twentieth day of September to the budget officer an estimate of revenues and expenditures of such administrative unit for the ensuing year. … Estimates shall be submitted in such form and shall contain such information as the budget officer shall prescribe.
If the head of an administrative unit shall fail to submit an estimate by the designated date, the budget officer shall forthwith prepare the estimate for such administrative unit.

On or before September 30, the budget officer must file in the town clerk’s office the tentative budget with the budget message, if any, and the estimates and schedules.

On or before October 5, the town clerk must present the tentative budget to the town board at a regular or special meeting. Board members may already have received the budget from the supervisor.

On or before the Thursday following the November general election, pursuant to Town Law § 108, a town board public hearing on the preliminary budget must be held.

Not beyond November 15 may said hearing be adjourned.

The town board shall hold a public hearing on the preliminary budget showing such changes, alterations and revisions as shall have been made therein by such board pursuant to subdivision three of section one hundred six of this chapter. Such hearing shall be held on or before the Thursday immediately following the general election … Notice of such public hearing shall be published at least once in the official newspaper, or if no official newspaper has been designated, in any newspaper having general circulation in the town. The notice may be published in such other newspapers and for such other additional times as the town board, by resolution, shall direct. At least five days shall elapse between the date of the first publication of the notice and the date specified for the hearing. The notice of hearing shall state the time when and the place where the public hearing will be held, the purpose thereof and that a copy of the preliminary budget is available at the office of the town clerk where it may be inspected by any interested person during office hours. Such notice shall also specify the proposed salaries of each member of the town board, an elected town clerk and an elected town superintendent of highways. The town clerk shall cause a copy of the notice to be posted on the signboard of the town, maintained pursuant to subdivision six of section thirty of this chapter, not later than five days before the day designated for such hearing. The hearing may be adjourned from day to day but not beyond the fifteenth day of November … At such hearing, any person may be heard in favor of or against the preliminary budget as compiled or for or against any item or items therein contained.

By November 20, the budget must be adopted, pursuant to Town Law § 109:

After the public hearing, the town board may further change, alter and revise the preliminary budget, subject, however, to the requirements of subdivision one of section one hundred seven of this chapter.
The preliminary budget as submitted or amended shall be finally adopted by resolution of the town board not later than the twentieth day of November … The preliminary budget as adopted shall be known as the annual budget for the town for the fiscal year beginning on the first day of January next succeeding, and it shall be entered in the minutes of the town board.
Upon the adoption of the resolution required by this section the amounts proposed to be appropriated shall thereupon be appropriated. In the event that the town board shall fail to adopt a budget as of the twentieth day of November, … the preliminary budget, with such changes, alterations and revisions, if any, as shall have been made by the town board, shall constitute the budget for the ensuing fiscal year.