Budget
The primitive budget
The primitive budget constitutes the first obligatory act of the annual budget cycle of the community. It must be voted on by the deliberative assembly before April 15 of the year to which it relates (law of March 2, 1982) and sent to the representative of the State within 15 days of its approval. By this act, the authorizing officer (the Mayor) is authorized to carry out the revenue and expenditure operations entered in the budget, for the period which extends from January 1 to December 31 of the calendar year.
From an accounting point of view, the budget is presented in two parts, an operating section and an investment section. Each of these sections must be presented in balance, with income equaling expenditure. Schematically, the operating section traces all the expenditure and revenue operations necessary for the day-to-day management of community services. The excess of revenue over expenditure, released by the operating section, is used as a priority to repay the capital borrowed by the community, the surplus constituting self-financing which will make it possible to supplement the financing of the investments planned by the community. .
The investment section presents new or ongoing investment programs. These expenses are financed by the local authority's own resources, by endowments and subsidies and possibly by borrowing. The investment section is by nature that which aims to modify or enrich the heritage of the community.
The administrative account
The authorizing officer (the Mayor) reports annually on the budgetary operations he has carried out. At the end of the fiscal year, which occurs on January 31 of year N 1, it establishes the administrative account for the main budget as well as the administrative accounts corresponding to the various annex budgets.
The administrative account:
• reconciles the forecasts or authorizations entered in the budget (at chapter or article level according to the provisions adopted during the vote on the initial budget) with the actual expenditure (mandates) and revenue (titles);
• presents the accounting results for the year;
• is submitted by the authorizing officer, for approval, to the deliberative assembly, which finally adopts a vote before June 30 of the year following the end of the financial year.
How does the municipality's budget work?
The municipal budget is the act by which the annual income and expenditure of the municipality is planned and authorized. It is established as an operating section and an investment section, both in terms of income and expenditure.
Operation:
The operation includes the current expenditure of the municipality relating to the operation of services, in particular staff costs, school catering, leisure facilities, maintenance of buildings and roads, water, electricity, etc. and transfer (participation in inter-municipal unions, subsidies, etc.).
These expenses are repetitive. They must be financed by regular receipts, renewed each year, mainly by local taxes and the State's participation in the expenses of the municipality (global operating allocation-DGF).
Investment:
The investment concerns the acquisitions of goods and major repairs or construction. They are financed by the savings made in operation after repayment of the annuities of the debt (self-financing), by subsidies, by loans if necessary. The municipalities advance the VAT which is then compensated to them.
