What role does the governing body have in municipal debt?

The governing body plays a crucial role in municipal debt management by providing formal approval through resolutions. This function is essential as it grants the necessary authority to issue debt and ensures that the process aligns with the municipality's financial policies and statutory requirements. The approval of resolutions allows the governing body to assess the prudence of incurring debt, ensuring that the decision is in the best interest of the community and supporting responsible financial management.

This responsibility aims at safeguarding the municipality's fiscal integrity by requiring a public declaration of intent, which can be subjected to scrutiny and public input. The formal approval process also serves to establish a clear legislative record regarding the municipality’s debt obligations, which can be essential for transparency and accountability to the public and other stakeholders.

While other responsibilities like drafting the budget, reviewing external debt reports, and enforcing debt repayment schedules are important in managing municipal finances, they do not embody the same level of governance authority and public accountability as the formal resolutions required for debt issuance. These activities support the governance process but do not specifically involve the critical step of authorization that comes with resolution approvals.