[1]
Editor's Note: This article was reorganized and amended in
its entirety 11-2-2010. See also Notes (4), (6), (7), (11), (12),
(13) and (15) at the end of the Charter for prior amendments.
(a)
Preparation of the budget for the coming fiscal year. [(17)(18)(19)]
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The Board of Finance, in consultation with the Board of Selectpersons
and Board of Education, shall prepare annually a Master Budget Schedule
that sets forth (1) the budget formats and data, and (2) the key activities
and dates for the annual budget cycle. The Master Budget Schedule
is due to the First Selectperson, Chair of the Board of Education
and Chair of the Board of Finance no later than the first Monday in
November of the calendar year preceding the coming fiscal year.
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The Board of Finance shall receive from the Board of Selectpersons
and the Board of Education their respective proposed operating budgets
in accordance with the Master Budget Schedule. The Board of Education
shall also submit to the Board of Selectpersons its operating budget
in accordance with the Master Budget Schedule to allow sufficient
time for review and nonbinding recommendation by the Board of Selectpersons
to the Board of Finance. The Board of Selectpersons' recommendation
shall only be as to the total amount of the proposed Board of Education
operating budget.
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The Board of Selectpersons is responsible for the capital budget
for the Town. All Town agencies, including the Board of Education,
shall submit, in accordance with the Master Budget Schedule, their
capital requests to the Board of Selectpersons who will submit a consolidated
capital budget request to the Board of Finance at the same time they
submit their operating budget.
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The budgets shall be prepared in such manner as the Board of
Finance shall prescribe.
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(b)
Powers and duties of the Board of Finance in connection with the
preparation of the budget for the coming fiscal year.
[(17)(18)(19)]
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The Board of Finance shall hold a public hearing on the proposed
budgets on or before the last weekday in March. At least 10 days before
such hearing, printed copies of the proposed budgets shall be available
at the office of the Town Clerk and at such other locations as the
Board may prescribe and shall be posted on the Town’s website.
At least four days prior to said hearing, the proposed budgets shall
be published in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town.
Those wishing changes to the budget as proposed by the Board of Selectpersons
and the Board of Education shall communicate their views at the public
hearing. After the public hearing, the Board of Finance shall meet
to consider public comment, budget requests against projected revenues
and the overall financial condition of the Town. The Board's objective
in these considerations is prudent management of the overall fiscal
situation and not how or where specific amounts are budgeted. Therefore,
any changes made to the operating budget requests of the Town and
the Board of Education by the Board of Finance shall be limited to
the budgets as a whole and shall not address specific items. The Board
of Finance may eliminate any proposed capital item, reduce any proposed
capital item, and, with the concurrence of the Board of Selectpersons,
increase any capital item.
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(c)
Presentation of the budgets at Annual Town and Budget Meeting.
[(18)]
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The annual capital and operating budgets of the Board of Education
and the Board of Selectpersons as recommended by the Board of Finance
shall be brought to the Annual Town and Budget Meeting for discussion
only and then sent to referendum. [(19)]
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Approval of the budget shall be by machine voting at a referendum as set forth in Section 10-1(d). At least 10 days before such meeting, printed copies of the proposed budgets shall be available at the office of the Town Clerk and elsewhere as the Board of Finance may prescribe and shall be posted on the Town’s website. At least four days prior to the meeting, the proposed budgets shall be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the Town.
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The Board of Selectpersons may decide to present certain or all capital items of under $100,000 per item to the Town Meeting for a vote. The meeting shall have the power to delete any such capital item, but it may not increase or add to any line item or establish any additional line item. Said vote shall be binding with reference to those items. All other items on the capital budget shall go to referendum as set forth in Section 10-1(d). [(19)]
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(d)
Budget referendum.[(19)]
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The budget as proposed by the Board of Finance shall be submitted
to a budget referendum. The budget referendum shall be held not less
than seven nor more than 14 days from the date of the Annual Town
and Budget Meeting. The Board of Selectpersons shall set the date
and the hours and shall designate the place for the budget referendum.
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If the annual operating budget of the Board of Selectpersons
or the Board of Education is rejected, the Board of Finance shall
meet and upon due deliberation publish a recommended budget to replace
the rejected budget. Such recommended budget shall be considered at
a subsequent referendum to be held within three weeks after the failed
budget referendum. Subsequent referenda shall be held until a budget
is passed, and should a budget not be passed by July 1, the Town shall
operate under the budget authorization of the previous fiscal year
until a new budget is passed.
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(e)
Following approval of the budget, the Board of Finance shall, by
resolution, fix the tax rate in mills. When the budget is approved,
the Board of Finance shall make it available to Town agencies and
the public through the office of the Town Clerk.
(a)
In the event that a Town agency, other than the Board of Education,
determines that it requires an additional operating appropriation,
the agency shall seek the endorsement of the Board of Selectpersons
in writing of the sum needed. Within 15 days thereafter, any endorsed
request shall be forwarded by the Board of Selectpersons to the Board
of Finance for action.
[(17)(19)]
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In the event that the Board of Education determines that it
requires an additional operating appropriation, it shall request of
the Board of Finance in writing the sum needed and the reasons therefor.
The Board of Education shall send a copy of any such request to the
Board of Selectpersons at the time such request is made to the Board
of Finance. [(17)(19)]
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In the event any Town Agency, including the Board of Education,
requires an additional appropriation for a capital expense, the requesting
agency shall seek the endorsement of the Board of Selectpersons in
writing of the sum needed. Within 15 days thereafter, any endorsed
request shall be forwarded by the Board of Selectpersons to the Board
of Finance for action. [(17)(19)]
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The Board of Finance shall consider and act upon such requests
not more than 15 days after it is in receipt thereof, and shall inform
the requesting agency and the Board of Selectpersons in writing of
its decision and the reason therefor.[(19)]
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The Board of Finance may, in any fiscal year, without approval
of the Town Meeting, provide any single requesting Town agency with
additional appropriations from general fund unreserved-undesignated
fund balance a sum not to exceed $50,000 cumulative. [(17)]
The Board of Finance may not, without approval of the Town Meeting,
provide any additional appropriations from general fund unreserved-undesignated
fund balance that will cause the total of additional appropriations
to exceed the sum of $250,000 in aggregate to all requesting Town
agencies in any fiscal year. [(17)(19)]
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All other additional appropriations requested by Town agencies
that are less than $3,000,000, in accordance with this Charter, shall
require approval of the Town Meeting. In the event of a negative referral
by the Board of Finance, said matter shall go back to the Board of
Selectpersons who shall vote whether to send it to the Town Meeting
or remove it from the Town Meeting and submit it to a referendum.
All additional appropriations requested by Town agencies that are
of $3,000,000 or more shall, after public hearing, be submitted to
referendum without call to Town Meeting.[(19)]
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(b)
If a request for an additional appropriation is made by electors of the Town by verified petition pursuant to Section 3-5 of this Charter, both the Board of Selectpersons and the Board of Finance shall hold public hearings and shall vote on the subject of the petition within 45 days of receipt of the verified petition. The public hearings may be held jointly, upon agreement of both Boards.[(19)]
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If both the Board of Selectpersons and the Board of Finance
approve the petition, the Board of Selectpersons shall call a Special
Town Meeting to be held within 45 days of approval by the Board of
Selectpersons. The Special Town Meeting may approve individual requests
made by verified petition up to the amount of $3,000,000. If the amount
of the request is equal to or greater than $3,000,000, the request
shall be submitted to referendum.
If either or both Boards vote to deny the petition or fail to
act within said forty-five days of receipt of the verified petition,
the Board of Selectpersons shall remove the matter from the Town Meeting
and submit the matter to referendum. Said referendum shall be held
within 45 days of the denial or failure to act by either Board.
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(c)
Capital Reserve Fund.
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The Town maintains a Capital Reserve Fund for capital projects
and nonrecurring expenditures in accordance with the General Statutes,
any payment into or appropriation from the Capital Reserve Fund shall
be made only upon the recommendation of the Board of Finance and approval
of the Town Meeting.
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An appropriation or transfer of unexpended capital project balances
and payment into or appropriation from the Capital Reserve Fund for
capital and nonrecurring expenditures, requiring Town Meeting approval
in accordance with this Charter, may be decreased by a Town Meeting,
but may not be increased. A Town Meeting may make no such appropriation
or transfer of funds not recommended by the Board of Finance. The
Board of Finance shall make a recommendation within five days of receipt
of a request from the Board of Selectpersons for a recommendation. [(19)]
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(d)
Appropriations or transfers of unexpended capital project balances shall be determined by the Board of Selectpersons in consultation with the Board of Finance. In accordance with the General Statutes, such funds may be used for payment of debt servicing, payment of approved capital projects, payment into the general fund, or payment into the Capital Reserve Fund per Section 10-2 (c).
[(18)[1](19)]
(e)
The provisions of this section shall not be a limitation on the power
of the Town Meeting to make appropriations to be met from the authorization
of bonds, notes or other obligations for appropriations in accordance
with the General Statutes and this Charter.
(f)
Transfers of funds between Town agencies or departments (except the
Board of Education) require approval of the Board of Finance upon
the request of the Board of Selectpersons. Transfers within a department's
budget (except the Board of Education) require approval from the Selectpersons
only. The Board of Education
is authorized to approve all transfers within its budget, but shall
provide a summary report of transfer activity to the Board of Finance
at the end of each fiscal year. [(19)]
The fiscal year of the Town shall begin on July 1 and end on
June 30 of the following calendar year.
The system of accounts used by Town agencies shall be that prescribed
by the General Statutes, as supplemented by regulations of the Board
of Finance.
The regulations of the Board of Finance shall also approve the
form and procedures for orders to be drawn on the Treasurer by the
Board of Selectpersons. [(19)]
All Town agencies shall comply with the regulations of the Board
of Finance required by this section. Such regulations shall be adopted
and may be amended by vote of the Board of Finance and shall not be
inconsistent with this Charter and the General Statutes. [(19)][1]
No purchase shall be made by any department or Town agency,
other than the Board of Education, except through the First Selectperson,
and such purchases shall be made under such rules and regulations
as may be established by the Board of Selectpersons with the approval
of the Board of Finance. The Board of Education shall establish appropriate
rules and regulations for such purchases. [(19)]
Town agencies shall not involve the Town in obligations to spend
money for any purpose in excess of the amount appropriated therefor.
The Board of Finance may have access at all reasonable times
to the records and books of account of the Town agencies.
Every appropriation, except an appropriation for a capital expenditure,
shall lapse at the close of the fiscal year to the extent that it
has not been expended or encumbered. An appropriation for a capital
expenditure shall continue in force until the purpose for which it
was made has been accomplished or abandoned; the purpose of any such
appropriation shall be deemed abandoned if, at the end of the third
succeeding fiscal year, there has been no disbursement from or encumbrance
of the appropriation.
[1]
Editor's Note: Language regarding year-end summary report
submissions (see note 17) was deleted 11-7-2023.
The authorization of bonds and notes (except notes in anticipation of taxes to be paid within the fiscal year in which issued) shall be governed by Section 3-10 of this Charter.
[(19)]
The Board of Finance may initiate joint meetings with the Board
of Selectpersons and the Board of Education for the purpose of discussions
on long-range financial planning.
The Board of Finance may require all Town agencies dependent
on the Town budget for any portion of their income to submit estimates
for future spending. Such estimates shall be for the proposed budget
plus two years and shall be the best estimates of the present Town
agency. Said estimates shall be submitted as the Board of Finance
shall dictate as a part of the preliminary budget. Any requests for
budgetary information shall be made through the office of the First
Selectperson or the Superintendent of Schools.
