Montgomery County                                2281

(C)    Represent the fire board at public hearings.

(D)    Review, prepare a summary, hold hearings, and make recom-
mendation to the board on the annual budgets of the fire departments and
rescue squads as provided for hereafter.

(E)    Perform such other duties as delegated by the fire board,
(d) Budget and Fiscal Procedures.

(1)    Fiscal year. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code
to the contrary, fire departments and rescue squads supported in whole or
in part by tax levies for the 1970-71 fiscal year and thereafter shall pre-
pare annual budgets under procedures and at times as directed by the fire
board to conform to the fiscal years of the County, July 1 to June 30.

(2)    Budgets and Distribution of Fire Tax Revenue. Each fire de-
partment and rescue squad shall prepare in the uniform manner prescribed
by the fire board its annual budget requirements with appropriate justi-
fication. All budgets shall be submitted to the fire board at the time
required by the fire board. The fire board shall prepare a separate budget
for its own proposed expenditures, which shall be funded by the county
and be subject to approval of the county council. The executive committee
shall conduct a public hearing on such budgets not later than January 15
of each year. Reasonable advance public notice shall be given of the dates
of such budget hearing or hearings to newspapers, civic groups and other
interested parties and a transcript shall be made of each hearing. The
budgets and transcripts shall be made available for review by members of
the public.

The fire board shall forward all budgets, with a summary and its
recommendations, to the county no later than April 15 in 1970 and no later
than February 15 of each year thereafter. The council, in their next annual
levy, shall levy a tax on all property assessed for county tax purposes within
the respective taxing areas for those fire departments or rescue squads
requiring such tax levy at a rate of each one hundred dollars of the
assessed value of the property to produce an amount that may appear to
the council as sufficient for the purposes, of maintaining, equipping and
operating the departments or squads, provided that the council shall not
levy such tax at a rate which would produce less than the amount so certi-
fied by any fire department or squad, as necessary to maintain, equip and
operate the fire department or squad, without a previous public hearing to
determine the necessity of any proposed reduction of the amount so certi-
fied by the fire department or squad. The tax shall be levied and shall be
collected as county taxes are now or may be hereafter levied and collected
and shall have the same priority rights, bear the same interest and penal-
ties and in every respect be treated the same as county taxes. The taxes so
levied for the ensuing year shall be collected by the tax collecting authori-
ties of the county and they shall remit the whole amount of the taxes so
collected to the respective treasurers of the departments or squads. The
treasurers, upon authorization by their departments or squads, shall pay
all proper costs, expenses, claims, and demands necessary for the mainte-
nance, equipment and operation of their fire departments and squads, and
shall, upon demand of the council, make a report to the council of such
expenditures.

(3)    Treasurer's Bond. Each fire department and rescue squad shall
provide a corporate bond to Montgomery County to be approved by the
director of finance and the county attorney of the county in a penal sum to