The Mayor shall require each department, office, or agency of the Town supported wholly or in part by Town funds, or for which a specific Town appropriation is made, including the Board of Education, to set forth, in narrative or such other form as the Mayor may prescribe, program(s) showing services, activities, and work accomplished during the current fiscal year and to be accomplished during the ensuing fiscal year. The fiscal year of the Town shall commence on the first day of July and end on the last day of June.
The Mayor shall compile preliminary estimates for the annual budget. The head of each department, office or agency of the Town as described in Section 1 of this chapter, including the Board of Education, shall, by the first Wednesday in February, file with the Mayor on forms prescribed and provided by the Mayor's office a detailed estimate of the expenditures to be made by his department, office, or agency, including identifiable expenses incurred by the Town for any District or authority in the Town, and the revenue other than tax revenues, including reimbursements from any district or authority in the Town for which identifiable expenses are incurred by the Town, to be collected in the ensuing fiscal year and such other information as may be required by the Mayor.
Not later than the first Wednesday in March, the Mayor shall present to the Board of Selectmen and a budget consisting of:
A. 
A budget message outlining the financial policy of the Town government and describing the important features of the budget plan indicating any major changes from the current year in financial policies, expenditures, and revenues together with the reasons for such changes, and containing a clear general summary of its contents.
B. 
Estimates of revenue, presenting in parallel columns the itemized receipts collected in the last fiscal year, the receipts collected during the current fiscal year prior to the time of preparing the estimates, total receipts estimated to be collected during the current fiscal year, estimates of the receipts, other than from the property tax, to be collected in the ensuing year, and an estimate of available surplus.
C. 
Itemized estimates of expenditures, presenting in parallel columns the actual expenditures for each department, office, agency or activity for the last completed fiscal year and for the current fiscal year prior to the time of preparing the estimates, total expenditures as estimated for the current fiscal year, and the Mayor's recommendations of the amounts to be appropriated for the ensuing fiscal year for all items, and such other information as may be required by the Board of Finance. The Mayor shall present reasons for his recommendations. The Board of Education shall have the same duties and follow the same form and procedure with respect to the budget of the Board of Education as required of the Mayor in Section 2 of this chapter for other departmental estimates. As part of the budget, the Mayor shall present a program, previously considered and acted upon by the Town Planning Commission in accordance with the General Statutes, as amended, concerning municipal improvements, of proposed capital projects for the ensuing fiscal year and for the five fiscal years thereafter. Estimates of the costs of such projects shall be submitted by each department, office, or agency annually in the form and manner prescribed by the Mayor. The Mayor shall recommend to the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance those projects to be undertaken during the ensuing fiscal year and the method of financing the same.
Not later than the third Wednesday in March, the Board of Selectmen shall present their recommendations on the Mayor's budget to the Board of Finance.
The Board of Finance shall hold one or more public hearings not later than 20 days before the date of the annual budget meeting of the Town at which any elector or taxpayer may have an opportunity to be heard regarding appropriations for the ensuing fiscal year. Sufficient copies of the estimates from the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen shall be made available for general distribution in the offices of the Town Clerk and Mayor at least five days prior to the public hearing. Following the receipt of the estimates from the Mayor, Board of Selectmen, and the Board of Education and the holding of the final such public hearing(s), the Board of Finance shall prepare a budget and shall recommend the same to the Annual Town Meeting. Sufficient copies of said annual budget shall be made available for general distribution in the offices of the Town Clerk and Mayor, and, at least five days prior to said Annual Town Meeting, the Board of Finance shall cause to be published in a newspaper having a circulation in the Town a summary of the proposed budget showing anticipated revenues by major sources and proposed expenditures by functions or departments in the same columnar form as prescribed for budget estimates in Section 3 of this chapter, and shall also show the amount to be raised by taxation. The budget shall become effective when approved by the Annual Town Meeting as provided in this chapter and an official copy shall be filed with the Town Clerk. Within 10 days after the Annual Town Meeting, the Board of Finance shall fix the tax rate in mils, which shall be levied on taxable property in the Town for the ensuing fiscal year. The resolution adopting the budget may provide for appropriations by department or function, and such appropriations need not be in greater detail than to indicate the total appropriation for each department or function. The budget for the Board of Education and the General Government shall be approved separately. Should the Board of Finance fail to recommend and/or should the Annual Town Meeting fail to approve either portion of the budget at the Annual Town Meeting as specified herein, expenditures for that portion of the budget shall be made in accordance with the General Statutes, as amended. Should the Board of Finance fail to fix the tax rate within the time required, the tax rate shall be fixed by the Mayor. For the purposes of Chapters 108 and 111 of the General Statutes, as amended, the Board of Finance shall be deemed to be the budget-making authority and the legislative body of the Town and shall have all powers and duties contained in Chapter 108 for the creation of a "Reserve Fund for Capital and Non-Recurring Expenditures," and shall have the power to select the independent public accountant as provided in Chapter 111.
The Annual Town Meeting for the consideration of the budget and the transaction of other business shall be held on a date set by ordinance and at such hour and at such place as the Board of Finance may determine. The annual budget may be petitioned to a referendum in the manner provided in the General Statutes, as amended.
Special appropriations, the amount of which shall not exceed $10,000, may be made upon the recommendation of the Board of Selectmen and approval of the Board of Finance, provided a public hearing, at which any elector or taxpayer shall have an opportunity to be heard, shall be held prior to making such appropriation. Notice of the public hearing shall be given in a newspaper having circulation in the municipality not more than 10 days or less than five days prior to such hearing. Such hearing and notice of hearing may be waived if the Board of Finance, by an affirmative vote of at least four of its members, shall decide that a delay in making the emergency appropriation would jeopardize the lives, health, or property of citizens. In the absence of sufficient general fund resources to meet such appropriation, additional means of financing shall be provided in such manner, consistent with the provisions of the General Statutes, as amended and of this Charter, and may be determined by the Board of Finance.
A. 
No expenditure of Town funds shall be made by any agency or office of the Town, other than the Board of Education, except through the Board of Selectmen. The Board of Selectmen or their agent shall record the amount of authorized purchases and contracts for future purchases as encumbrances against the appropriation from which they are to be paid.
B. 
No voucher, claim, or charge against the Town shall be paid until the same has been audited by the Board of Selectmen or their agent and approved by them for correctness and validity. Payment of all approved claims shall be authorized by the Board of Selectmen. All Town payments shall be made in accordance with the Finance Department Policies.
C. 
The several agencies and offices of the Town shall not involve the Town in any obligation to spend money for any purpose more than the amount appropriated until the matter has been approved by the Board of Selectmen and each order drawn upon, the Treasurer shall state the department, commission, board, or office and the appropriation against which it is to be charged.
D. 
Upon request transmitted by the Mayor, the Board of Finance may by resolution transfer any unencumbered appropriation, balance, or portion from one agency or office to another. No transfer shall be made from any appropriations for debt service and other statutory charges.
E. 
Appropriations for construction or for other permanent improvements, from whatever source derived, shall not lapse until the purpose for which the appropriation was made shall have been accomplished or abandoned. A project shall be deemed to have been abandoned if three fiscal years elapse without any expenditure from or encumbrance of the appropriation. Any portion of an annual appropriation remaining unexpended and unencumbered at the close of the budget year shall lapse.
F. 
Every payment made in violation of the provisions of this Charter shall be deemed illegal. Officials authorizing or making such payment or taking part therein and every person receiving such payment or any part thereof shall be jointly and severally liable to the Town for the full amount so paid or received. If any officer or employee of the municipality knowingly incurs any obligation, or authorizes, or makes any expenditure in violation of the provisions of this Charter or take any part therein, such action shall be cause for the official's removal.
The Board of Finance shall annually designate an independent public accountant or firm of independent public accountants to audit the books and accounts of the municipality in accordance with the provisions of the General Statutes, as amended.
The Town shall adopt by ordinance procedures governing the solicitation of bids for municipal purchases. Said ordinance shall be applicable to all municipal agencies and offices.
The municipality shall have the power to incur indebtedness by issuing its bonds or notes as provided by General Statutes, as amended subject to the limitations thereof and the provisions of this Charter.
The municipality shall not contribute to any organization or private corporation unless so authorized by the General Statutes, as amended, or certified by the Board of Selectmen as providing a necessary public service. No such contribution of more than $500 shall be made to any such organization or corporation unless the Town is represented on its Board by one or more members nominated by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Board of Selectmen. The Board of Selectmen may waive such right of representation.
It shall be the duty of the Collector of Revenues to transmit per law to each taxpayer in the Town and the District a tax bill prepared in accordance with the provisions of the General Statutes, as amended.
Except as specifically provided in this Charter, the assessment of Town and District property for taxation and the collection of Town and District taxes and service charges shall be carried on by the Town Assessor and the Collector of Revenues as provided in the General Statutes, as amended. Taxes or service charges collected by the Collector of Revenues for the benefit of the District or the Water Pollution Control Authority shall be deposited by the Town Treasurer and an accounting of such transactions shall promptly be made to the District and the Water Pollution Control Authority. The cost of collecting taxes or service charges shall be borne by the proper district or authority.
Funds received by the Town of Putnam for tax relief purposes shall be expended solely for services that are provided Town-wide.