§ 7. Enactment of Ordinance of Estimates.

(a) Introduction; authorized cuts.

(1) On receipt of the proposed Ordinance of Estimates and the accompanying materials, the President of the City Council shall promptly cause it to be introduced in the City Council, and the Council shall hold public hearings on the proposed Ordinance of Estimates.

(2) By a majority vote of its members, the City Council may reduce or eliminate any of the amounts in the proposed Ordinance of Estimates, except:

(i) amounts fixed by state or federal law;

(ii) amounts for the Fire Department established by a board of arbitration and included in the proposed Ordinance of Estimates; and

(iii) amounts for the payment of the interest and principal of the municipal debt.

(b) Increases and additions.

(1) Except as provided in this subsection, the City Council does not have the power to increase the amounts fixed by the Board or to add any amount for any new purpose in the proposed Ordinance of Estimates.

(2)(i) By a majority vote of its members, the City Council may increase items of appropriation within the general fund or add items within the general fund for new purposes provided that:

(A) the aggregate amount of the increase does not exceed the aggregate amount by which the City Council has reduced or eliminated from the Ordinance of Estimates under subsection (a) of this section;

(B) the increases authorized by this subsection do not derive from the reduction or elimination of revenue, which by law, contract, or regulation must be used to support appropriations for specific purposes; and

(C) an item added for a new purpose is or will be authorized by legislation separate and apart from the Ordinance of Estimates.

(ii) In no event, however, may:

(A) the total amount of the Operating Budget or the Capital Budget, as amended by the City Council, exceed the total amount of the Operating Budget or Capital Budget, respectively, as proposed by the Board of Estimates; or

(B) any increase or addition be made to or for any item described in subsection (a)(2)(i), (ii), or (iii) of this section.

(3) If the carrying out of a particular program, purpose, activity, or project depends on action by a body other than the City, the City Council may insert a specific provision in the proposed Ordinance of Estimates making the appropriation for the particular program, purpose, activity, or project contingent on that action.

As soon as practicable after the passage of the Ordinance of Estimates, the City Council shall enact such revenue ordinances as are necessary to produce sufficient expected revenues, as estimated by the Board of Estimates, to cover the total anticipated expenditures authorized by the Ordinance of Estimates. The Council may adopt revenue sources or revenue rates other than those proposed by the Board and in each such instance the estimate of the revenue to be yielded by such a source or rate shall be made by the Board of Estimates.

The Board of Estimates shall, taking into account any reductions and eliminations made by the City Council in the anticipated expenditures contained in the proposed Ordinance of Estimates and the revenues to be derived from all existing sources and from any new sources or new rates enacted by the City Council, certify to the Council the difference between the anticipated expenditures for the next fiscal year contained in the Ordinance of Estimates and all expected revenues other than from the full rate property tax. The Board shall then state a rate for the levy of full rate property taxes sufficient to realize the amount required to meet the said difference and the ordinance making the annual levy of full rate property taxes shall fix a rate not less than that stated by the Board so that it shall not be necessary at any time for the City to create a floating debt to meet any deficiency, and it shall not be lawful for the City to create a floating debt for any such purpose.