(4) The instructions shall prescribe the manner, form and timing in which the budget requests shall be submitted and subsequently reported on.

(5) The urban area or city shall on the basis of the instructions in subsections (3) and (4) prepare and submit budget requests to the County Treasury upon approval by the Board in sufficient time, in the case of cities and municipalities, for their approval as part of the annual county Appropriation Bill.

(6) The budget estimates in subsection (5) shall include the current services budget, representing the cost of maintaining the urban area or city services at current levels.

(7) The budget submission shall also contain new services requests, covering one-time expenditures for the construction and maintenance of facilities in the urban area’ or city. 106 [Rev. 2020] Public Finance Management No. 18 of 2012

(8) The County Treasury shall evaluate the budget proposal and make recommendations to the urban area or city to enable the preparation of the itemized annual budget for consideration and approval by its Board.

(9) In preparing the strategic plan in subsection (1) and the annual budget estimates in subsection (5), the accounting officer of an urban area or city— (a) shall ensure that the public is given an opportunity to participate in the preparation process as outlined in the second schedule of the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011; and (b) for that purpose, may publish guidelines for public participation.

(10) The Accounting Officer of each urban area or city shall— (a) publish and publicise the strategic plan within seven days following its adoption; and (b) publish and publicise the annual budget estimates within twenty one days after the county assembly has approved the budget estimates.

176. Response to delays in approval of annual budgets by urban areas or cities (1) If the annual County Appropriation Act for the financial year has not been assented to or is not likely to be assented to by the beginning of the financial year, the relevant county assembly may authorise the withdrawal of funds from the County Revenue Fund for the purpose of meeting expenditure of an urban area or city in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) Funds withdrawn under subsection (1)— (a) may only be used to meet expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the urban area or city during the financial year concerned using the estimates submitted to the county assembly for approval; and (b) may not exceed in total one-half of the amount included in the estimates of expenditure submitted to the county assembly for approval.

177. Borrowing by urban areas or cities (1) An urban area or city may borrow only— (a) from the county government; (b) through its county government; or (c) by way of a bank overdraft.