Each board, commission, department, agency or official of the Town shall, on or before January 15th of each year, submit to the First Selectman, on forms provided by him, a detailed estimate of the expenditures to be made by said board, commission, department, agency or official for the Town fiscal year beginning July 1st of that year, together with a statement of revenues (other than tax revenues) which are estimated to be collected by such board, commission, department, agency, or official for said ensuing fiscal year; provided, however, that said submission by the Board of Education shall be on or before March 1st of each year, rather than January 15th thereof. For those boards, commissions, departments, agencies and officials which provide programs and services, budgets shall be accompanied by a statement or statements, in narrative form, describing such programs or services which have been accomplished or expect to be accomplished during its present fiscal year, and those such programs and services which are expected to be accomplished in the next ensuing fiscal year.
The First Selectman shall compile all General Government budgets no later than February 15th of each year, and present to the Board of Selectmen a consolidated proposed budget consisting of the following:
(a) 
A Budget Message which states the present financial condition of the Town and any changes proposed for the ensuing fiscal year.
(b) 
A statement of revenue estimates which shall include receipts collected during the then current fiscal year, last monthly financial report, estimated receipts for the remainder of the then current fiscal year, and estimates of revenue (excluding tax revenue) for the next ensuing fiscal year.
(c) 
A statement of expenditure estimates which shall include itemized expenditures made by each board, commission, department, agency or official for the last completed fiscal year, expenditures made during the then -current fiscal year to the date of the last monthly financial report, estimated expenditures for the remainder of the then current fiscal year, and estimates of expenditures for the next ensuing fiscal year.
(d) 
A recommendation as to any capital projects to be undertaken by the Town during the next ensuing fiscal year, together with a recommendation as to the method or methods of financing the same.
The Board of Finance shall receive from the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education their respective proposed budgets (the budget) by March 1, or should March 1 fall on a weekend or holiday, the next business day. The Board of Education shall also submit to the Board of Selectmen its preliminary proposed budget by February 15 for review.
The Board of Finance may hold hearings with any Department, Office, Board, Commission or Agency on the proposed budget. The Board of Finance may revise the estimates as it deems appropriate and shall complete the budget for the ensuing fiscal year and its report. Not less than two weeks before the Annual Budget Town Meeting, the Board of Finance shall hold one or more public hearings at which itemized estimates of the expenditures of the town for the ensuing fiscal year shall be presented and at which any elector or taxpayer may have an opportunity to be heard regarding the itemized estimates for the ensuing year. At said public hearing(s), the First Selectman and the Board of Education will present their respective budgets. Printed copies of the proposed budget shall be available on the Town's website, at the Office of the Town Clerk and at such other locations as the Board of Finance may prescribe. Also, not less than two weeks before the Annual Budget Meeting, the Board of Finance shall meet, at which time it shall consider the estimates so presented against projected revenues and shall propose a recommended budget and shall thereupon prepare and cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town a report in accordance with Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 7-344. The Board shall present the recommended budget to the Annual Budget Meeting.
(a) 
Annual Budget Meeting. The Annual Budget Meeting shall be held on the first Monday in May each year. It shall receive a "State of the Town" address by the First Selectman. The Board of Finance shall present the final proposed budget, with an estimate of revenues and mill rate. The call of the Town Meeting shall present as separate resolutions the Town Government Budget and the Board of Education Budget to be voted upon in referendum. The Annual Budget Meeting shall be adjourned to referendum for a vote. The Budget Resolutions will be submitted to persons who are otherwise qualified to vote in a Town Meeting, which shall take place not less that seven (7) nor more than fourteen (14) days thereafter, on a day to be set by the Board of Selectmen. At least five (5) days prior to such referendum the Board of Selectmen shall publish, as prescribed by state statute, a notice of such referendum, setting forth the date on which, the hours during which and location at which the referendum will be held and the text of the questions as they will appear on the ballot.
The text shall be as follows for both questions: YES/NO
1. In favor of the proposed Town Government in the Town of Old Saybrook for the fiscal year July 1, to June 30_ in the amount of $ __________________?
2. In favor of the Board of Education Budget of the Town of Old Saybrook for the fiscal year July 1, to June 30, in the amount of $ __________________?
(b) 
Referendum questions. Advisory questions may be added to the budget referendum ballot from time to time by the Board of Selectmen.
(c) 
Rejection of budget. Should either budget section fail to be approved by the majority of those voting thereon, the Board of Finance shall resubmit a budget, which may contain revised estimates and recommendations, to a referendum to be held fourteen (14) days following the date the initial referendum was defeated. The Board of Finance shall hold at least one public hearing upon five (5) days legal notice prior to re-submitting a budget for consideration. No further budget report, other than Notice of the new referendum date, need be published prior to the subsequent referendum provided that such estimates and recommendations shall be available at the Town Clerk's office at least five (5) days prior to the referendum vote. This process shall be repeated at two week intervals until such time as a budget is adopted.
The Board of Finance shall lay a tax on the grand list in accordance with Connecticut General Statutes § 7-344 only after the budget has been approved, provided that if any fiscal year shall begin without a budget's having been approved, the Board of Finance shall be authorized to lay such tax on the grand list as the Board deems advisable in accordance with Connecticut General Statutes § 7-344.
No Officer, Board, Commission or other agency of the Town of Old Saybrook shall enter into any employment or personal services contract, written or oral, which extends for a period of more than one year unless the following has occurred.
(a) 
That the entity entering into the contract has the legal authority to bind the Town of Old Saybrook for the performance of said contract. The legal opinion of legal authority shall be provided in writing by Town Counsel or by the duly appointed counsel for the Officer, Board, Commission or other agency as authorized under Chapter 7, Section 2(b). The legal opinion shall be included in the minutes or official records of such entity approving and entering into the contract.
(b) 
That the monetary obligation of such contract shall have been reviewed and approved by the Board of Finance for inclusion in the applicable Town General Government budgets for the term of the contract. For purposes of this Section, the term monetary obligation shall also include benefits and contractual extras as estimated by the Board of Finance for budgetary purposes.
(c) 
The provisions of this Section shall not apply to contracts entered into by the Old Saybrook Board of Education, collective bargaining agreements entered into by the Town under the provisions of Section 7-467 to 7-477 of the Connecticut General Statutes, agreements incorporated under municipal bonding under the provisions of Section 7-367, any other contract for goods or other services, any multi-year contract entered into prior to the effective date of this Section or any contract required by this Charter or by law to be approved otherwise.
(d) 
Nothing contained in this Section shall exempt any such contract for employment and personal services from the provisions of Section 8 of this Chapter.
When the Chief Executive Officer of the Town declares a local state of emergency in accordance with the provisions of Title 28 of the Connecticut General Statutes, he shall also declare the source of municipal funding to be used when procuring goods or services to prepare for, respond to, and recover from said emergency.
Following the declaration of a local state of emergency, the Town's procurement policies and ordinances are suspended for the duration of the state of emergency, including the provisions of the town Bidding Ordinance, and the need to obtain Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance and/or Town Meeting approval as would normally be required, solely for expenses related to the declared emergency; and the Chief Executive Officer, or his designee, pursuant to the authority of Connecticut General Statutes Section 28-8a, and solely for the duration of the declared local state of emergency, may take such action as he deems necessary to mitigate said emergency, including the incurring of expenses and the contracting for goods and services without limitation so long as the expenditures are related to said emergency.
Except to the extent otherwise provided by this Charter, including those provisions set forth in this chapter, all procedures and schedules of budgeting and finance of the Town shall be governed by the Connecticut General Statutes.