104                             The Annual Budget.                         [§ 226

The City of New York, as constituted by this act, for the then
next ensuing year. Such budget shall be prepared in such detail
as to the aggregate sum and the items thereof allowed to each
department, bureau, office, board, or commission as the said
board of estimate and apportionment shall deem advisable. In
order to enable said board to make such budget, the heads of
departments, bureaus, offices, boards and commissions shall, at
least thirty days before the said budget Is hereby required to be
made, send to the board of estimate and apportionment an esti¬
mate in writing, herein called' a departmental estimate, of the
amount of expenditure, specifying in detail the objects thereof,
required In their respective departments, bureaus, offices, boards
and commissions, including a statement of each of the salaries of
their ofificers, clerks, employes and subordinates. Duplicates of
these departmental estimates and statements shall be sent at the
same time to the municipal assembly. Before finally determin¬
ing upon the budget, the board of estimate and apportionment
shall fix such sufificient time or times as may be necessary to
allow the taxpayers of said city to be heard In regard thereto, and
the said board shall attend at the time or times so appointed for
such hearing. After such budget is made by the board of esti¬
mate and apportionment, it shall be signed by all the members
thereof, and submitted by said board within ten days to the muni¬
cipal assembly, whereupon a special joint meeting of the two
houses constituting the municipal assembly shall be called to con¬
sider such budget, and the same shall simultaneously be published
in the City Record. The president of the council shall preside at
such joint meeting, and it shall be the duty of said two houses to
consider and Investigate carefully the said budget; but such con¬
sideration and Investigation shall not continue beyond fifteen days.
The municipal assembly, by a majority vote by all the members
elected thereto, may reduce the said several amounts fixed by the
board of estimate and apportionment, except such amounts as are
now or may hereafter be fixed by law, and except such amounts
as may be inserted by the said board of estimate and apportion¬
ment for the payment of state taxes and payment of interest and
principal of the city debt, but the municipal assembly may not
Increase such amounts nor insert any new items. Such action of
the municipal assembly on reducing any Item or amount fixed by
the board of estimate and apportionment shall be subject to the
veto power of the mayor, as elsewhere provided in this act, and
unless such veto is over-ridden by a five-sixths vote of the munic-