Article 6. Appropriations And Transfers of California Government Code >> Division 3. >> Title 3. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 6.

Except as otherwise provided by law, the board and every other county or dependent special district official and person shall be limited in the incurring or paying of obligations to the amounts of the appropriations allowed for each budget unit as originally adopted or as thereafter revised by addition, cancellation, or transfer.

Except as otherwise provided by law, obligations incurred or paid in excess of the amounts authorized in the budget unit appropriations are not a liability of the county or dependent special district, but a personal liability of the official authorizing the obligation.

The board shall not approve a claim and the auditor shall not issue payment for any obligation in excess of that authorized in the budget unit appropriation, except upon an order of a court, for an emergency, or as otherwise provided by law.

(a) If at the beginning of any fiscal year, the budget has not been adopted, the auditor shall approve payments for the support of the various budget units in accordance with the following authorizations:
  (1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), the amounts in the recommended budget, except capital assets, transfer-out, and new permanent employee positions, are deemed appropriated until the adoption of the budget.
  (2) Capital assets, transfers-out, and new permanent employee positions are deemed appropriated until the adoption of the budget if specifically approved by the board. For the purposes of this subdivision, the words "new permanent employee positions" do not include any employee positions created in lieu of an employee position that is abolished.
  (3) If the recommended budget has not been approved by the board because of an emergency as described in subdivision (a) of Section 29127, the amounts deemed appropriated shall be based on the final budget of the preceding year, excluding assets and transfers-out unless specifically approved by the board.
  (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, prior to the adoption of the adopted budget, the board of supervisors may impose expenditure limitations that are more restrictive than those contained in this section.

(a) Transfers and revisions to the adopted appropriations may be made by an action formally adopted by the board at a regular or special meeting as follows:
  (1) If between funds, by a four-fifths vote.
  (2) If transfers from appropriation for contingencies, by a four-fifths vote.
  (3) If between budget units within a fund if overall appropriations are not increased, by a majority vote.
  (b) The board may designate the administrative officer or auditor to approve transfers and revisions of appropriations within a budget unit if the overall appropriations of the budget unit are not increased.

At any regular or special meeting the board may cancel any appropriation in whole or in part that is not needed and transfer the amount canceled to the appropriation for contingencies of the fund from which the appropriation was originally made if there is one, or to any appropriation for contingencies account, or fund, to which the amount canceled may be properly transferred. If there is no appropriation for contingencies in the respective fund, the board may establish one.

At any regular or special meeting the board may cancel any unused appropriation in whole or in part upon determining that the source of funding of the appropriation will be unrealized in whole or part. An offsetting reduction shall be made to the corresponding estimated revenue.

The auditor may review and issue reports and make recommendations regarding estimated financing sources, or actual financing sources, or both, and the status of appropriations. The auditor shall submit to the board, and any other official the board may designate, a statement showing this information with respect to the condition of each separate budget appropriation and to the condition of estimated financing sources, as the board requires.

After adopting a resolution stating the facts constituting an emergency by a four-fifths vote of the board at any regular or special meeting, the board may appropriate and make the expenditure necessary to meet an emergency in any of the following cases:
  (a) Upon the happening of an emergency caused by war, fire, failure or the imminent failure of a water system or supply, flood, explosion, storm, earthquake, epidemic, riot, or insurrection.
  (b) For the immediate preservation of order or of public health.
  (c) For the restoration to a condition of usefulness of any public property, the usefulness of which has been destroyed by accident.
  (d) For the relief of a stricken community overtaken by calamity.
  (e) For the settlement of approved claims for personal injuries or property damages, exclusive of claims arising from the operation of any public utilities owned by the county.
  (f) To meet mandatory expenditures required by law.

All emergency expenditures shall be paid from any money in the county treasury in any fund from which the expenditure may properly be paid.

At any regular or special meeting, the board by a four-fifths vote may make available for appropriation any of the following fund balances for which the board has authority:
  (a) Restricted, committed, assigned, and unassigned fund balances, excluding the general reserves and nonspendable fund balance.
  (b) Amounts that are either in excess of anticipated amounts or not specifically set forth in the budget derived from any actual or anticipated increases in financing sources.