O.C.G.A. § 36-81-5 (2019)

(a) By the date established by each governing authority, in such manner and form as may be necessary to effect this article, and consistent with the local government’s accounting system, the budget officer shall prepare a proposed budget for the local government for the ensuing budget period.

(b) The proposed budget shall, at a minimum, be an estimate of the financial requirements at the legal level of control for each fund requiring a budget for the appropriate budget period and shall be in such form and detail, with such supporting information and justifications, as may be prescribed by the budget officer or the governing authority. The budget document, at a minimum, shall provide, for the appropriate budget period, a statement of the amount budgeted for anticipated revenues by source and the amount budgeted for expenditures at the legal level of control. In accordance with the minimum required legal level of control, the budget document shall, at a minimum, provide a statement of the amount budgeted for expenditures by department for each fund for which a budget is required. This does not preclude the governing authority of a local government from preparing a budget document or establishing a legal level of control at a more detailed level of budgetary control than the minimum required legal level of control.

(c) On the date established by each governing authority, the proposed budget shall be submitted to the governing authority for that body’s review prior to enactment of the budget ordinance or resolution.

(d) On the day that the proposed budget is submitted to the governing authority for consideration, a copy of the budget shall be placed in a public location which is convenient to the residents of the unit of local government. The governing authority shall make every effort to provide convenient access to the residents during reasonable business hours so as to accord every opportunity to the public to review the budget prior to adoption by the governing authority. A copy of the budget shall also be made available, upon request, to the news media.

(e) A statement advising the residents of the local unit of government of the availability of the proposed budget shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the jurisdiction of the governing authority. The notice shall be published during the week in which the proposed budget is submitted to the governing authority. In addition, the statement shall also advise the residents that a public hearing will be held at which time any persons wishing to be heard on the budget may appear. The statement shall be a prominently displayed advertisement or news article and shall not be placed in that section of the newspaper where legal notices appear.

(f ) At least one week prior to the meeting of the governing authority at which adoption of the budget ordinance or resolution will be considered, the governing authority shall conduct a public hearing, at which time any persons wishing to be heard on the budget may appear.

(g)(1) The governing authority shall give notice of the time and place of the budget hearing required by subsection (f ) of this Code section at least one week before the budget hearing is held. The notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the jurisdiction of the governing authority. The statement shall be a prominently displayed advertisement or news article and shall not be placed in that section of the newspaper where legal notices appear.

(2) The notice required by paragraph (1) of this subsection may be included in the statement published pursuant to subsection (e) of this Code section in lieu of separate publication of the notice.

(h) Nothing in this Code section shall be deemed to preclude the conduct of further budget hearings if the governing body deems such hearings necessary and complies with the requirements of subsection (e) of this Code section.