[Adopted May 1993 STM]
Any town board, agency, authority, committee or officer empowered by General Law, state regulation or Town Charter or bylaw to enter into a contract or issue a license, the duration of which is longer than two (2) years from the date of execution or issuance, shall, by written notice within forty-five (45) days of the time of proposal or application, require the proposed vendor under such a contract or the applicant for such a license, as a prerequisite to the acceptance and execution of such contract or the approval and issuance of such a license, to reimburse the Town of Ashland for the reasonable costs incurred by the town where it contracts for technical, professional and/or legal consultants to advise, to research, to carry out and to review the process of application and negotiation and the proposed terms, conditions and provisions of such contract or license for the benefit of the town and its residents. Such notice to the proposed vendor or applicant shall include the estimated amount of such reimbursement.
A. 
The necessary amount of any such reimbursement shall be certified, in writing, by the appropriate board, agency, authority, committee or officer of the town to the proposed vendor or applicant, and the vendor or applicant shall then either pay the amount so certified or make arrangements acceptable to the appropriate board, agency, authority or officer for such reimbursement.
B. 
In the event of a dispute over the amount of reimbursement so required, the vendor or applicant shall notify the town of such dispute, in writing, specifying the basis and facts of such dispute, whereupon the vendor or applicant and the town shall submit such dispute to a certified arbitrator of the American Arbitration Association, and the decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties.
In the event that the review or negotiating process for such a contract or license extends over more than one (1) fiscal year, multiple partial reimbursements, totaling the full amount of the town's costs, in the discretion of the appropriate board, agency, authority, committee or officer, may be required and accepted at the end of any fiscal year, in accordance with the procedure set forth in §141-5 of this Article.