§900-N.__Budget process

1.__Public hearing.__The county commissioners shall hold one or more public hearings on the budget at times convenient for the residents of the county and before December 16th of each year.

2.__Budget; submission to budget committee.__The Penobscot County commissioners shall submit a budget for the coming year to the budget committee no later than November 10th of each year.__ The budget committee shall review the budget with the county commissioners prior to November 30th and make additions or deletions to the budget by a majority vote of the budget committee.__A unanimous vote of the county commissioners is required to override the budget committee.

3.__Assessment of taxes.__The budget adopted under subsection 2 is the final authorization for the assessment of county taxes.__ The county tax authorized is apportioned and collected in accordance with section 706.

4.__Final budget; filing.__A copy of the final budget must be filed on forms approved by the Department of Audit with the State Auditor, who shall retain it for 3 years.

5.__Interim budget.__If the budget is not approved before the start of the fiscal year, the county must operate on an interim budget that does not exceed the budget of the previous year until a final budget is adopted.

Sec. 2. Staggered terms. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, section 900-M, subsections 2 and 3, before October 15, 2005, each county commissioner district shall elect 2 members to serve on the Penobscot County Budget Committee, one of whom serves a one-year term and one of whom serves a 2-year term.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.