(1)
Composition. There shall be a Town Budget Committee
whose members and alternates shall be appointed by the Board of Selectmen
as provided in this Charter and in the Code of the Town of Wells unless
otherwise required by law and shall have such powers and perform such
duties as provided by law and the Code of the Town of Wells.
(2)
Secretary. The Town Treasurer shall serve as Secretary
to the Budget Committee, and he/she shall attend all Budget Committee
meetings or send his/her representative to the meetings. The Town
Treasurer, as Secretary, shall prepare and distribute all meeting
minutes to members, and he/she shall notify all department heads of
scheduled budget review meetings.
(3)
Town Manager. The Town Manager shall attend Budget
Committee meetings, when and as appropriate.
In addition to those duties and responsibilities
prescribed by law and the Code of the Town of Wells, the Budget Committee
shall have the following responsibilities:
(1)
The Budget Committee's fiduciary responsibility is
to the taxpayers of the Town of Wells.
(2)
The Budget Committee shall meet at least once per
month, for each ten-month period of the current Fiscal Year, and at
the discretion of the Chairman, may meet more frequently.
(3)
The Budget Committee shall review all individual proposed
budgets submitted by department heads, and it shall work with department
heads and the Town Manager to improve financial efficiencies within
each proposed budget.
(4)
The Budget Committee shall recommend to the Town Manager
and the Board of Selectmen additions or subtractions of monies within
each proposed budget submitted by individual department heads.
(1)
By December 1 of each year, the Budget Committee and
the Board of Selectmen shall conduct a meeting with all department
heads to begin the budget process.
(2)
No later than January 15 each year, all department
heads shall have completed their proposed budgets to be reviewed by
the Budget Committee.
(3)
No later than February 15 each year, all financial
requests for the following Fiscal Year shall be completed and ready
for the Budget Committee's review.
(4)
By March 1 each year, all revenue projections, bonding
issues and requests proposed by the Capital Improvement Committee
shall be submitted and reviewed by the Budget Committee.
(5)
No later than April 1 each year, a joint meeting of
the Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee shall take place in
order to perform a reconciliation of the proposed budget.
(6)
No later than April 20 each year, the Budget Committee and the Board of Selectmen shall hold a joint public hearing on the proposed budget. After the public hearing is closed, the Budget Committee and the Board of Selectmen shall determine the final reconciled budget, as set forth in Section 7.07(3).
