(a) 
The Board of Finance shall meet no later than the second Monday following a regular town election. At this meeting it shall elect from its membership a chairperson, who shall preside over its meetings, and choose a clerk, who will prepare the minutes and other records of each meeting and file with the Board of Selectmen a copy of all appropriations made or recommended by the Board of Finance. It may also elect a vice chairperson. Four members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
(b) 
The regulations of the Board of Finance to be filed in the office of the Town Clerk, shall include but not be limited to (1) scheduling of regular meetings at least once a month and a procedure for calling special meetings, and (2) the accounting and expenditure procedures described in 6-7. If the Board does not elect a vice chairperson, it shall provide in its regulation how a person will be chosen to preside at any meetings from which the chairperson is absent.
(c) 
The members of the Board of Finance shall serve without compensation except that necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties may be paid from an appropriation authorized for that purpose.
(d) 
No member of the Board of Finance shall hold any other office or employment with the town government.
[Amended referendum 11-4-2008, effective 12-4-2008]
The Board of Finance shall annually designate an independent public accounting firm to audit the books and accounts of the town as required by the Connecticut General Statutes. The auditor shall be appointed not less than ninety days before the end of the fiscal year to be audited.
[Amended referendum 11-4-2008, effective 12-4-2008]
(a) 
The Board of Selectmen shall appoint a Finance Director to serve as the fiscal officer, who shall be bonded and shall perform such duties as required by The First Selectmen, the Board of Selectmen and the Treasurer, while the Treasurer is in office.
(b) 
Until the conclusion of the term of office of the Town Treasurer elected in the election of November 6, 2007, the Treasurer shall receive all money belonging to the town, pay it out on the order of the proper authority, keep accurately the records required by law, and have such other powers and duties as are prescribed in the Connecticut General Statutes. He or she shall conform the procedures of his office to the regulations of the Board of Finance adopted in accordance with Section 6-7.
(c) 
Effective upon the conclusion of the term of office of the Town Treasurer elected in the election of November 6, 2007, the Finance Director shall receive all money belonging to the Town, pay it out on the order of the proper authority, keep accurately the records required by law, and have such other powers and duties as are prescribed for Town Treasurers by the Connecticut General Statutes and by this charter. The Finance Director shall conform the procedures of its office to the regulations of the Board of Finance adopted in accordance with Section 6-7.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: This amendment goes into effect 11-22-2011.
(d) 
The Finance Director, or its designee, shall be responsible for Town investments, cash management and the issuance and redemption of bonds and other instruments of indebtedness.
(a) 
At such time and in such manner as the Board of Selectmen may require, not less than ninety days prior to the annual budget meeting, (set in accordance with Section 7-3), every department or agency that:
(1) 
is supported wholly or in part by town revenues - or for which a specific town appropriation is or may be made -and
(2) 
requires the Board of Selectmen's authorization or approval for its expenditures; shall present to the Board of Selectmen an itemized estimate of the expenditures to be made by that agency - and all the revenue to be generated directly or indirectly by that agency during the ensuing fiscal year. The estimates shall be accompanied by such other reports and information as the Board of Selectmen shall require. The Board of Selectmen shall then revise the estimates as it deems desirable, and shall prepare a proposed general town budget, for all town concerns other than the maintenance of public schools, for submission to the Board of Finance that segment of the annual budget that deals with municipal activities and services other than the public school system.
(b) 
In accordance with Section 10-222 of the Connecticut General Statutes and the working schedule established by the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Schools shall present to the Board of Education itemized estimates of the expenditures and anticipated revenues for the ensuing fiscal year. The Board of Education shall then revise the estimates as it deems desirable and shall prepare for presentation to the Board of Finance that segment of the annual budget that deals with the operation and maintenance of the public school system in the town.
[Amended referendum 11-4-2008, effective 12-4-2008]
(c) 
At such time and in such manner as the Board of Finance may by regulation require, not less than 45 days prior to the annual budget meeting, the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education shall present to the Board of Finance the itemized proposed expenditures and anticipated revenues (from sources other than the local property tax) for the ensuing fiscal year for their respective segments of the annual budget.
(d) 
In the eight days following the first Monday of March the Board of Finance shall hold one or more public hearings at which any person qualified to vote at the annual budget meeting shall have an opportunity to be heard concerning the estimates proposed for the ensuing year. The Board of Finance may then revise the estimates if and as it deems desirable and shall prepare the recommended annual budget, which may include a contingency appropriation not to exceed one percent of the total estimated expenditures for the current fiscal year and an appropriation to the fund for capital and non-recurring expenditures, and may provide for the payment of any part of the debts of the town. The recommended annual budget shall also include estimates of the revenue to the town from all sources for the ensuing year including taxes to be raised on the grand list of October 1 of the preceding calendar year.
(e) 
The Board of Finance shall publish the proposed budget estimates in a newspaper of general circulation in the town not less than three days before the public hearing, and shall make available copies of the estimates not less than two days before the public hearing. It shall in like manner publish and make available the recommended annual budget before the annual budget meeting.
(f) 
The Board of Finance shall present the recommended budget to the annual budget meeting. The appropriations as voted by the annual budget meeting in accordance with Section 7-3 shall be the budget for the ensuing fiscal year.
(a) 
When the preparation and review of the Grand List has been completed and the annual budget has been adopted, the Board of Finance shall, within ten days, meet and lay a tax on the grand list sufficient to raise the property tax revenues set forth in the approved budget. This tax is to be expressed in mills, and is thus referred to as the mill rate.
(a) 
The Board of Finance may make special appropriations from available fund balances, from an approved contingency appropriation and from unbudgeted revenues. It may also transfer unexpended balances from one appropriation to another. During any fiscal year special appropriations and transfers, other than those from the approved contingency appropriation, made without town meeting approval may not exceed 1% in total of the approved budget for the current fiscal year. The Board of Finance may determine which appropriations and transfers shall be submitted to town meeting for approval, and which appropriations and transfers shall be made without town meeting approval, subject to such 1% limit.
(b) 
Requests to the Board of Finance by any agency that is supported wholly or in part by town revenues and requires Board of Selectmen authorization or approval for a special appropriation or for a transfer of unexpended balances shall not be considered unless:
(1) 
accompanied by a statement from the Board of Selectmen as to whether the request should be granted, or
(2) 
the Board of Selectmen shall have failed to make such a statement within 30 days after notification by the requesting agency.
(c) 
Requests to the Board of Finance from the Board of Education shall be made in accordance with Section 10-222 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
[Amended referendum 11-4-2008, effective 12-4-2008]
(1) 
The chairperson of the Board of Education shall notify the Board of Finance of the need for special appropriation, which request shall be submitted in the same manner as provided for agencies of the town.
(2) 
No additional funds shall be expended unless a supplemental appropriation is granted.
(3) 
No supplemental expenditures shall be made in excess of the funds appropriated by the Board of Finance.
(d) 
When the town is maintaining a reserve fund for capital and non-recurring expenditures in accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes, payments into and appropriations from the reserve fund shall be made only upon the recommendation of the Board of Finance and approval by vote of the Board of Selectmen.
[Amended referendum 11-8-2005, effective 12-8-2005; referendum 11-4-2008, effective 12-4-2008]
(e) 
Special appropriations other than those from available fund balances, or from an approved contingency appropriation or unbudgeted revenues may be made only by a vote of town meeting on recommendation of the Board of Finance. If such an appropriation is voted before the tax is laid in accordance with Section 6-5, it shall be included in the appropriations of the town which the tax must cover. If it is voted after the tax has been laid, town meeting must direct the Board of Selectmen to borrow the amount required on notes of the town, and the amount so borrowed shall be appropriated in the next annual budget and paid from the tax next laid.
(f) 
The provisions of this section shall not be a limitation on the power of the town to issue bonds or other obligations for appropriations or indebtedness in accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes and Sections 3-4 and 7-5 of this charter.
[Amended referendum 11-8-2005, effective 12-8-2005; referendum 11-4-2008, effective 12-4-2008]
(a) 
The fiscal year of the town shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30 of the following calendar year.
(b) 
The system of accounts used by town agencies shall be that prescribed by the Connecticut General Statutes as supplemented by regulations of the Board of Finance.
[Amended referendum 11-4-2008, effective 12-4-2008]
(c) 
The Board of Finance shall keep under review the expenditures of town agencies, and may prescribe periodic reports of expenditures.
(d) 
No officer or agency of the town shall expend or enter into any contract which would oblige the town to expend in excess of an approved department appropriation. Any officer who, without authority from this charter or the Connecticut General Statutes expends or causes to be expended any money of the town, except in payment of final judgments rendered against the town, shall be liable in a civil action in the name of the town, as provided in the Connecticut General Statutes.
[Amended referendum 11-8-2005, effective 12-8-2005; referendum 11-4-2008, effective 12-4-2008]
(e) 
The regulations of the Board of Finance shall also designate the forms and procedures for orders to be drawn on the Treasurer by the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen.
(f) 
The regulations of the Board of Finance required by this chapter shall be consistent with this charter and with the statutory powers and duties of other town agencies, and all town agencies shall comply with them. They shall be adopted and may be amended by vote of the Board. Any proposed regulation or amendment, other than the regulations specified in Section 6-1(b)(1), shall first be referred to the Board of Selectmen for comment and consultation. A similar reference shall be made to the Board of Education or the Treasurer, if their interests are affected. All regulations of the Board shall be filed with the Town Clerk.