The budget document is the instrument used by the budget-making authority to present a comprehensive financial program to the appropriating body, which is the Greenfield City Council.
A municipal budget is the financial expression of plans prepared by city Department Heads for operating an organization during a period of time and for changing its capital investments, such as a new library or a new skate park or a new fire engine.
The Massachusetts General Laws also require public involvement in the process including the requirement for a public hearing on the proposed budget.
The Mayor provides leadership in the budget process by developing budgetary policy and working closely with the city Finance Department, department heads and the City Council to assure that the process identifies community needs and priorities and develops a farsighted and well-crafted plan. The Mayor initiates the budget process that provides the policy context for identification of priorities and development of initiatives. See Article 5 of the Greenfield City Charter for the rules of the budget process.
This information about real estate taxation is designed to explain the process leading to a tax bill and attempts to dispel many of the common misconceptions associated with this often-misunderstood subject. Slightly over half the money needed to fund the City’s government must be raised through property taxation. The remainder of the revenue comes from other sources, such as state aid and local receipts. Massachusetts’ municipal law permits two types of local property taxation – real estate and personal property. Since it affects the greatest number of residents, most public attention is focused on the real estate tax.
The link above provides an example of an operating budget summary. The FY22 Operating Budget summary will be published in the FY22 Budget Book released in early April 2021.
Below is a graph that represents the city budget for FY21. It shows the total amounts for each section of the budget along with percentages of each section that comprise our total budget.
Posted: Wed, Sep 30, 2020 03:27 PM
Updated Tue, Feb 16, 2021 12:00 AM
