Vote and approval of the local budget in Cameroon

A local government’s annual budget indicates a community’s civic priorities, projected revenue and costs, and plan for the future.

What revenue will pay for which departmental services and for whom those services exist. Development of the annual budget in the public sector is more than just number crunching;

the budget reflects a strategic plan and its conception should consider the needs and priorities of all stakeholders, from government administrators and employees to citizens and business leaders.

Vote and approval of the local budget in Cameroon

The development, approval, and implementation of a public agency’s budget are all critical steps of the budget process.

In the US, local governments include counties, municipalities (including cities, villages, and boroughs), townships, special districts (e.g., water and sewage authorities, parks and recreation), and school districts.

Most local governments have multiple funds, or budgets, that keep designations for public money organized and transparent.

Each major department of the local government has a line-item budget that tracks every dollar spent for personnel, operating, and equipment costs (broken down further into more detail by program).

The budget process is highly complex and, while the specific departments, services, and budget calendars may differ from state to state, the annual budget process generally includes the following stages.

In Cameroon, the budget (local or national) is implemented after and. voting the local budget Voting of the RLA’s budget is the responsibility of the deliberating organ, namely:

the advisory board for the council, the municipal advisory board for the city council and the Regional advisory board for the Region. The vote must be done by December 15th of each year at the latest.

The deliberative organ is convened at least 15 days before the budget session during which the budget is voted. In case of an emergency, this deadline is reduced to three days.

Vote and approval of the local budget in Cameroon

If the RLA executive has not convened the deliberative organ in time to vote the budget, the convening can be done by the representative of the State (the Senior Divisional Officer or the Governor).

The deliberative organ votes the budget chapter after chapter or even article after article. He has the power to modify or reject the proposals made to him by the chief executive who prepared the budget.

However, the powers of the deliberative organ in budgetary matters are strictly regulated in accordance with Article 423 of the bill to institute the GCRLAs.

Once voted, the local executive has 7 days to transmit the budget, the documents or appendices and the minutes of the meeting to the supervisory authority for approval.

Approval of the Local Budget

When the proposed budget goes to the legislative body for review, depending on the size of the group, there may be committees that oversee various portions of the budget.

Each member of the legislative body reviews the budget in detail (during what are known as work sessions) and hosts a public budget hearing and information session for public input.

After community input and review, the local legislative will adopt the budget. Typically, this takes place one or two months before the fiscal year begins.

The budget office’s responsibilities include monitoring expenditures and ensuring that monies are used as planned after the budget is enacted. The legislative body will adopt a final budget reconciliation, as well as other year-end accounting changes to the budget, at the end of the fiscal year.

The local budget voted by the deliberative organ of the RLA is enforceable only after approval of the competent supervisory authority by order and within 15 days following the date of submission of the voted budget.

The supervisory authority ensures that the budget voted is balanced, that the appropriations for compulsory expenditures are sufficient (salaries and wages, allowances and benefits, social security contributions, tax to be paid, etc.),that the expenditure is 19 regular and that the ratios provided for in article 417 paragraph 1 are respected.

If this is not the case, he may, after a formal unanswered notification, proceed to modify the budget automatically, but ensuring that expenditure is only increased if it is compulsory.

The approved budget is published on the concerned RLA’s website, by posting, by any other means and deposited at its headquarters where it can be consulted by any citizen or taxpayer.

A copy of the approved budget is sent to the Minister of Decentralization and Local Development and the Minister of Finance respectively. Thereafter, the local budget can be executed.

It is important that community members provide input throughout the budget planning process. Soliciting their input in the local government’s choices further strengthens trust and buy-in. Ways to engage residents in the process include: