[Amended 5-2-2005, effective 6-2-2005]
(a) For purposes of this §
6-3 and §
6-4, the words below shall have the following meaning:
(1) "Allot or Allotment" shall refer to a sum of money
allocated from the current fiscal year contingency fund;
(2) "Request" shall mean the written communication from
a requesting agency to the Board of Selectmen indicating the sum it
needs;
(3) "Requesting Agency" shall mean a Spending Agency that
determines it requires a sum of money greater than its current appropriation;
(4) "Spending Agency" shall be as defined in § 6-2(a)(1);
(5) "Supplementary Appropriation" shall refer to a sum
of money allocated from the undesignated and unreserved general fund
balance or if no undesignated and unreserved general fund balance
shall be then available, to be financed by borrowing, which borrowing
shall be included in and made part of the tax levied in the following
fiscal year;
(6) "Town Budget" shall mean the annual Town Budget approved pursuant to §
6-2 of this Charter;
(7) "Transfer" shall refer to a sum of money allocated
from all or part of the Unexpended Balance of any appropriation previously
approved for the current fiscal year;
(8) "Unexpended Balance" is that part of any appropriation
previously approved for the current fiscal year which any Spending
Agency has determined it will not expend during the current fiscal
year.
(b) A Requesting Agency shall file its Request with the
Board of Selectmen. No more than 15 days thereafter, the Board of
Selectmen shall forward the Request to the Board of Finance together
with a statement setting forth the recommendation of the Board of
Selectmen as to the Request.
[Amended 5-2-2005, effective 6-1-2005]
(c) No more than 15 days after receipt of the Request from the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance shall take one or more of the actions listed in Subsections (c)(1) through (3) below, and shall inform the Requesting Agency and the Board of Selectmen in writing of its action, the reasons therefor and, if an Allotment or Supplementary Appropriation is recommended pursuant to Subsections (c)(1) or (3) below, whether it requests the Board of Selectmen to call a special meeting of the Town Meeting pursuant to Subsection
(d) below:
(1) The Board of Finance may Allot to the requesting agency
a sum of money up to the amount of the request, provided that the
aggregate amount Allotted to any one requesting agency in each fiscal
year shall not exceed the greater of 0.3% of the total Town Budget
for that fiscal year or $100,000.
[Amended 4-27-1987, effective 5-4-1987; amended 7-23-1998, effective
11-4-1998; amended 5-2-2005, effective 6-1-2005]
(2) The Board of Finance may Transfer to the Requesting
Agency a sum of money up to the amount of the Request.
(3) Subject to the second and third sentence of this Subsection
(c)(3), the Board of Finance may make a Supplementary Appropriation
to the Requesting Agency up to the amount of the Request, in an amount
not exceeding the greater of 0.15% of the total Town Budget for that
fiscal year or $50,000. A Supplementary Appropriation to any one Requesting
Agency in an amount which exceeds the greater of 0.15% of the total
Town Budget for that fiscal year or $50,000 can be made only upon
the vote of a meeting of the Town Meeting. The Board of Finance shall
not, in any fiscal year, authorize Supplementary Appropriations which
exceed the greater of 0.2% of the total Town Budget for that fiscal
year or $75,000 to all Requesting Agencies without the vote of a meeting
of the Town Meeting.
[Amended 4-27-1987, effective 5-4-1987; amended 7-23-1998, effective
11-4-1998; amended 5-2-2005, effective 6-1-2005]
(4) The Board of Finance may recommend that no Transfer,
Allotment, or Supplemental Appropriation be made.
(d) In accordance with the terms of Subsection
(c) above,
(1) The Board of Finance may pursuant to Subsection (c)(1),
request the Board of Selectmen to call a special meeting of the Town
Meeting for the purpose of Allotting to the Requesting Agency a sum
of money in an amount recommended by the Board of Finance.
(2) The Board of Finance shall with respect to Supplementary
Appropriations described in the second and third sentences of Subsection
(c)(3) request the Board of Selectmen to call a special meeting of
the Town Meeting for the purpose of making a Supplementary Appropriation
to any Requesting Agency, in an amount recommended by the Board of
Finance
[Amended 5-2-2005, effective 6-1-2005]
(3) The Board of Selectmen thereupon shall call such a
special meeting of the Town Meeting.
(4)
At such a special
meeting of the Town Meeting the recommended Allotment or Supplementary
Appropriation shall be deemed to have been made unless it is increased,
decreased or eliminated by a vote of the Town Meeting which meets
all of the following conditions:
(a)
The total number of eligible voters present
when the question is put to a vote equals not less than 250; and
(b)
The votes in favor of the motion to increase,
decrease or eliminate the amount recommended by the Board of Finance
constitute not less than 60% of the total number of votes cast.
[Amended 11-7-1972, effective 1-1-1973; amended 5-7-1979, effective
7-1-1979]
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Provided, notwithstanding the foregoing, no
such recommended Allotment or Supplementary Appropriation may be increased
to an amount which is greater than the Request by the Requesting Agency. [Amended 4-28-1992, effective 11-3-1992]
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(e) If the Board of Finance, pursuant to Subsection
(c) above, Allots, Transfers or makes a Supplementary Appropriation less than the full amount or none of the Request, then a special meeting of the Town Meeting can be called as provided in Article
III above, in which case, subject to the provisions of Subsection (d)(4) above, such special meeting of the Town Meeting may take one or more of the following actions:
(1) Make an Allotment to the Requesting Agency.
(2) Make a Transfer to the Requesting Agency.
(3) Make a Supplementary Appropriation to the Requesting
Agency.
[Amended 11-7-1972, effective 1-1-1973]
(f) No individual or Spending Agency shall make any expenditure on behalf of the Town, or enter into any contract by which the Town shall become liable for any sum, which exceeds the appropriation for such Spending Agency, except for expenditures authorized pursuant to this Article
VI, and expenditures made for the purpose of paying judgments or settling claims against the Town under provisions of law. Any individual responsible for a violation of this §
6-3 shall be liable in a civil action in the name of the Town, and the amount unlawfully expended hereunder shall be liquidated damages in such civil action. The provisions of this §
6-3 shall not be a limitation on the Town in issuing bonds under the provisions of law or expending the proceeds thereof in accordance with the vote of the Town Meeting.
[Added 5-2-1983, effective 6-1-1983; amended 4-28-1992, effective
11-3-1992]
In the event that a special meeting of the Town
Meeting, called to deal with financial matters, is unable to act because
of lack of a quorum, then the matters scheduled on the agenda for
such meeting may be acted upon by the Board of Selectmen and Board
of Finance, provided that a two-thirds vote of each of such Boards
shall be required to approve any expenditure on the agenda.