WICOMICO COUNTY                                2129

public hearing shall be held on the Expense Budget and the date for
the adoption of the Expense Budget by the County Council of Wicomico
County, Maryland, for the next fiscal year.

Section 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF
WICOMICO COUNTY, MARYLAND, that Article VII entitled "Budg-
etary and Fiscal Procedures"; Section 703 entitled "Expense budget and
budget message"; Subsection (d) entitled "Inspection of documents; hear-
ings" and Subsection (e) entitled "Adoption of budget" be and they are
hereby repealed and re-enacted with amendments to read as follows:

(d)     Inspection of documents; hearings. The Expense Budget and
Budget Message as submitted to the County Council by the Administrative
Director shall be open to public inspection after [April] May 15th of each
year and copies shall be made available to the public. The County Council
in Executive Session shall give at least five days' notice in one or more
newspapers published in Wicomico County, of a public hearing on the
Expense Budget, to be held between [April] May 20th and 25th. Any
taxpayer of the County or his representative, the Administrative Director,
and the head of any department or other agency shall be entitled to be
heard at the public hearing.

(e)    Adoption of Budget. Following such hearing and not later than
[April 30th] May 31, or such other date as may be prescribed by Ordi-
nance of the County Council in Executive Session, the County Council in
Executive Session shall adopt an Expense Budget for the next fiscal year,
and by resolution appropriate the amount of the expense items, including
all sums necessary during such year for authorized Capital Projects and
debt service; and after having finally adopted said budget, shall, by resolu-
tion, levy and cause to be raised the amount of taxes required by the
budget in the manner provided by law. If the County Council fails to
adopt the Expense Budget by resolution within the time aforesaid, the
proposed budget submitted by the Administrative Director shall stand
adopted, and funds for the expenditures proposed in the current Expense
Budget shall stand appropriated as fully and to the same extent as if
favorable action thereon had been taken by the County Council. Copies of
the budget as adopted shall be made available to the public.

Section 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED that this Act, having
been approved by not less than four members of the County Council of
Wicomico County, such proposed amendments shall be published by the
Administrative Director in one or more newspapers of general circulation
in Wicomico County once each week for five successive weeks prior to the
next General election or Congressional election occurring after the pas-
sage hereof and at said election the question shall be submitted to the
voters of the County and if at said election the majority of the votes cast
on the question shall be in favor of the herein proposed amendments, such