Fiscal
The Steuben County Legislature annually adopts a budget to account for all money which will be received and spent by the County during the next fiscal year, which runs concurrent with the January 1 to December 31 calendar year.
The budget process begins by each department head submitting a proposed departmental budget for the coming year to the County Manager, following approval by the appropriate standing committee. This proposed budget must be submitted no later than September 1, and is composed of two parts: 1) Capital Budget, which includes equipment purchases and projects, and 2) Operating Budget, which includes the proposed funding to operate the department for the next year. Following receipt of the individual department requests, the Office of the County Manager prepares a proposed County Budget, for submission to the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee reviews the proposed budget, making modifications where appropriate, then submits it to the whole Legislature for approval.
The budget document itself is based on the State-mandated Uniform Accounting System for New York State Local Governments and provides a line-by-line accounting of all County revenues and expenditures.