For the purposes of this chapter the fiscal year shall begin October 1 and shall end September 30 following.

No warrant or order for the payment of money shall be issued in pursuance of authority of the county commission until funds are available for its payment upon presentation to the treasurer or depository. It shall be the duty of the county commission to provide and appropriate funds for paying warrants issued upon orders drawn by other county officials in pursuance of law, which orders are not required by law to be approved and authorized by such board.

The county commission is hereby authorized to invest the remaining surplus in any fund, after the adoption of the budget or after provision has been made for anticipated indebtedness, in interest-bearing securities issued by the United States government which are guaranteed as to principal and which are redeemable upon application. This section shall be retroactive and investments heretofore made are hereby ratified and approved.

Any county commission is hereby authorized to make appropriations to the Lurleen B. Wallace Memorial Cancer Hospital Fund, Inc., incorporated May 28, 1968.

It shall be the duty of every county official who is authorized by law to purchase supplies for the use of his office and every county official who is entitled under the law to receive from the county what is known as ex officio fees to prepare and submit to the county commission at or before the meeting of such board at which the county budget is adopted, an estimate of the amount necessary to be spent by him for office supplies and the amount estimated by such official as will be due such officer as ex officio fees during the following fiscal year. Such county commission shall examine into such estimates and pass upon them, allowing therefor such amounts as to such county commission may seem to be proper for the purpose or purposes mentioned in this section, and no obligation incurred by such officer over and above the amount or amounts approved by such county commission and appropriated therefor shall be an obligation of the county, except to the extent thereafter approved by the county commission.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit the authority of the county commission to appoint any other officers or employees it may be authorized by law to appoint or employ.

In the event any situation resulting from an act of God or the public enemy over which the county commission has no control results in an appreciable obligation against the county over and above what said county commission has reason to anticipate and for which no moneys from the current year's income are available to pay, such county commission may issue its interest-bearing warrants as now authorized by law in an amount sufficient to pay such emergency obligation and the interest and maturities of principal of such warrants shall constitute a part of the budget for the year in which they mature. But before such warrants shall be authorized or sold under this section, such county commission shall inquire into and find that such emergency obligation has arisen, and such finding shall be spread upon the minutes of its proceedings.

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to county bonds now outstanding or that may be hereafter issued under authority of law.

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to public school funds administered by county boards of education by whatever name they may bear.

It is the purpose of this chapter to vest in the county commission more efficient power and control over all public funds that may now or hereafter be under its management and control, to limit its power and authority to incur obligations and to approve and pay claims for current operating expenses in any fiscal year to the income of such year available for such purposes and to authorize the refunding of outstanding general obligations, other than bonded indebtedness, so that the provisions of this chapter may be put into effective operation.

It shall be the duty of the county commission, at some meeting in September of each calendar year or not later than its first meeting in October following, to prepare and adopt an estimate of the income of the county for the fiscal year beginning on October 1 of the current calendar year for all public funds under its supervision and control, and to estimate for the same fiscal year the expense of operations and to appropriate for the various purposes the respective amounts that are to be used for each of such purposes; provided, that the appropriations so made shall not exceed the estimated total income of the county available for appropriations.

In order that such estimate of income and operating expenses may be as nearly correct as possible the county commission shall call upon any public official who handles any incoming moneys, or who issues any kind of order payable out of the county treasury without approval of such county commission to furnish them in writing an estimate of such income and of the probable amount of orders he will be called upon to issue during such fiscal year and it shall be the duty of such official to furnish such estimates without delay.

Where counties issue or have heretofore issued refunding warrants in lieu of obligations outstanding, the interest of such outstanding warrants together with the principal thereof maturing in any fiscal year, shall constitute a part of the current operating budget of such county for that fiscal year and shall be paid out of funds available in such year for operating purposes, unless funds are provided otherwise for such payment.

In making up the budget provided for under this chapter the amount borrowed on temporary loans in anticipation of the collection of taxes to be made during each fiscal year shall be included as a part of the operating revenue of the county for such year and the amount of such temporary loan, principal and interest payable in each fiscal year, shall constitute a part of the current operating expenses to be included in the budget of the county for the fiscal year in which such loans are payable and shall be paid out of the funds pledged therefor.

At the end of every fiscal year any unexpended balances remaining in the several funds set up under the provisions of this chapter shall go forward into the respective several funds for the succeeding year, and such balance or balances shall constitute a part of the income available for such fiscal year and shall be handled, appropriated and disbursed as any other income for that year.

The county commission shall provide for a record of the financial status of each county to be made up and kept in suitable form for the purpose, which said record shall be available to the public at all reasonable times for examination and information. This record shall be kept up to date at all times and reflect the true status of all outstanding obligations of the county and the estimated income for the current fiscal year; provided, however, that orders issued by county officers authorized to issue them without the approval and authority of the county commission must be presented to the officer authorized to issue warrants therefor without the approval of said county commission.

The record provided for in section 11-8-7 shall be kept under direction of the chairman of the county commission, whose duty it shall be to keep this record up to date at all times and to perform any other duties with reference to accounting, auditing claims, issuing warrants and supplying such county commission with information as they may deem necessary for the administration of the financial affairs of the county; provided, that the county commission shall provide for the payment of reasonable compensation for the work of keeping this record.

No warrant shall be issued or check drawn on the county treasury or county depository by any person except the chairman of the county commission or such other officer as may be designated by such county commission, unless otherwise provided by law, and officers who are authorized to pay claims which have not been first approved by the county commission shall issue orders for warrants or checks which must be presented to the officer so authorized to issue warrants payable out of the county treasury or county depository.