13-506.

Proposed budget statement; notice; contents; hearing; adoption; certify to board; file with auditor; school district; duties.

(1) Each governing body shall each year or biennial period conduct a public hearing on its proposed budget statement. Such hearing shall be held separately from any regularly scheduled meeting of the governing body and shall not be limited by time. Notice of place and time of such hearing, together with a summary of the proposed budget statement, shall be published at least four calendar days prior to the date set for hearing in a newspaper of general circulation within the governing body's jurisdiction. For purposes of such notice, the four calendar days shall include the day of publication but not the day of hearing. When the total operating budget, not including reserves, does not exceed ten thousand dollars per year or twenty thousand dollars per biennial period, the proposed budget summary may be posted at the governing body's principal headquarters. At such hearing, the governing body shall make at least three copies of the proposed budget statement available to the public and shall make a presentation outlining key provisions of the proposed budget statement, including, but not limited to, a comparison with the prior year's budget. Any member of the public desiring to speak on the proposed budget statement shall be allowed to address the governing body at the hearing and shall be given a reasonable amount of time to do so. After such hearing, the proposed budget statement shall be adopted, or amended and adopted as amended, and a written record shall be kept of such hearing. The amount to be received from personal and real property taxation shall be certified to the levying board after the proposed budget statement is adopted or is amended and adopted as amended. If the levying board represents more than one county, a member or a representative of the governing board shall, upon the written request of any represented county, appear and present its budget at the hearing of the requesting county. The certification of the amount to be received from personal and real property taxation shall specify separately (a) the amount to be applied to the payment of principal or interest on bonds issued or authorized to be issued by the governing body or the legal voters of the political subdivision and (b) the amount to be received for all other purposes. If the adopted budget statement reflects a change from that shown in the published proposed budget statement, a summary of such changes shall be published within twenty calendar days after its adoption in the manner provided in this section, but without provision for hearing, setting forth the items changed and the reasons for such changes.

(2) Upon approval by the governing body, the budget shall be filed with the auditor. The auditor may review the budget for errors in mathematics, improper accounting, and noncompliance with the Nebraska Budget Act or sections 13-518 to 13-522. If the auditor detects such errors, he or she shall immediately notify the governing body of such errors. The governing body shall correct any such error as provided in section 13-511. Warrants for the payment of expenditures provided in the budget adopted under this section shall be valid notwithstanding any errors or noncompliance for which the auditor has notified the governing body.

(3) Each school district shall include in the notice required pursuant to subsection (1) of this section the following statement: For more information on statewide receipts and expenditures, and to compare cost per pupil and performance to other school districts, go to: [Insert Internet address for the website established pursuant to section 79-302.01]. In addition, each school district shall electronically publish such statement on the school district website. Such electronic publication shall be prominently displayed with an active link to the Internet address for the website established pursuant to section 79-302.01 to allow the public access to the information.