(a) On or before February 15 in each year the board of commissioners shall prepare a budget for the authority for the next fiscal year, which shall include an estimate of the revenue of the Authority from fares and other sources, except membership assessments, and the expenses for the next fiscal year, including debt service. The board of commissioners shall call a meeting of the residents of its member municipalities for the purpose of presenting the proposed budget. The meeting shall be held at a place within the area of operation and shall be warned by a notice published in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of operation at least 15 days prior to the meeting, which notice shall contain a copy of the proposed budget. Members of the legislative body of each member municipality shall be notified of the meeting by certified mail.

(b) Annually, following the meeting provided in subsection (a) of this section, the board of commissioners shall review the proposed budget of the authority in light of any discussion, and shall then adopt the budget with or without changes.

(c) The treasurer of the authority, following adoption of the budget, shall apportion the sums required to be contributed by each member municipality according to the average number of weekly miles of service for the 12 month period preceding the adoption of the budget, for each member community, as compared to the average number of weekly miles of service for all member communities for the same period. The formula for apportionment may be changed by the board of commissioners with the concurrence of each of the legislative bodies of the member municipalities. The treasurer of the authority shall immediately notify the treasurer of each member municipality and the chair of the legislative body in each member municipality, of the amount of such assessment, and the member municipality shall add such assessment to its own budget and shall assess such tax as is necessary to raise the amount of the assessment. The amount of the assessment in each member municipality shall be paid to the treasurer of the authority on or before July 15 in each year.

(d) In the event that the budget of the authority in any year becomes insufficient to support the operations of the authority, the board of commissioners may assess the member municipalities for additional sums, apportioned in the manner provided in this section. The additional assessment shall require the approval of each of the legislative bodies of the member municipalities. (Added 1975, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 10, 1976.)