A. 
Presentation to Board of Selectmen: It shall be the responsibility of the Town Manager to present a draft budget to the Board of Selectmen no later than 90 days in advance of the Town Meeting at which the subsequent fiscal year's budget is to be adopted.
B. 
Town Manager and department head role: The Town Manager shall have the discretion to determine the method of developing the draft budget to be presented to the Selectmen. Department heads shall have the opportunity to work with the Manager to draft their respective departmental budgets.
C. 
Selectmen's initial review: Upon presentation to the Board of Selectmen, the Selectmen shall review and make preliminary recommendations of the budget.
D. 
Meetings with Finance Committee: The Selectmen shall meet with the Finance Committee and, with support from the Town Manager and other staff as appropriate, shall review the draft budget and preliminary Selectmen recommendations with the Finance Committee.
E. 
Preliminary budget: Upon completed review by the Selectmen and Finance Committee, a preliminary budget shall be developed. The preliminary budget shall identify appropriations and expenditures by proposed Town Meeting warrant article. Each proposed warrant article shall include the amount of funds being appropriated and expended, the source of the appropriation and the preliminary recommendations of the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee.
F. 
Joint public hearing on preliminary budget: The Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee shall hold one public hearing on the preliminary budget at least 14 days in advance of the Town Meeting scheduled to adopt the budget. The purpose of the public hearing shall be to present the preliminary budget to the Town and to receive comments from the interested parties. Following the public hearing, the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee shall finalize their budget recommendations.
G. 
Finalization of the budget: Once the preliminary budget has been presented at the public hearing and final recommendations are determined by the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee, the budget shall be presented in final form for Town Meeting review and adoption.
[Added 5-18-2011 STM, Art. 15[1]]
The purpose of the Topsham Community Fund (TCF) is to assist the Town in: developing its financial capacity to make investments in the community; making the community a more desirable and vibrant place for residents to live, work and raise a family; and in supporting the belief that community development investments make the community a more desirable location for future economic development investments.
A. 
Fund description.
(1) 
The fund shall be a nonlapsing capital fund of the Town of Topsham, and funds remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not be credited to the Town's undesignated fund balance, but rather shown in the Capital Improvement Plan for the Town.
(2) 
Expenditures from the TCF shall be made in accordance with the Town's purchasing policies, as administered by the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager.
B. 
(Reserved)
C. 
Funds from the TCF shall be used for capital investments, including for purposes in support of capital investments (such as plans, surveys, designs, studies) in the areas of recreation, arts, social services, parks, heritage/history, natural resources, conservation and environmental stewardship.
D. 
Funds from the TCF can be used to leverage funding from nonmunicipal sources.
E. 
Topsham Community Fund Committee.
(1) 
The TCF Committee shall consist of five members, including two representatives from Topsham Conservation Commission and one representative from each of the following Topsham standing committees and boards, appointed by the respective committees and boards:
(a) 
Topsham Development, Inc.
(b) 
Planning Board.
(c) 
Historic District Commission.
(2) 
One of the Conservation Commission representatives shall serve as the Chair of the TCF Committee, and the Topsham Development, Inc., representative shall serve as the Vice Chair.
(3) 
The following Town department heads shall be nonvoting members:
(a) 
Parks and Recreation Department.
(b) 
Planning Department.
(c) 
Economic and Community Development Department.
(d) 
Department of Public Works.
F. 
Annual plan.
(1) 
On an annual basis, the Chair or Vice Chair of the TCF Committee shall convene the Committee to develop an annual TCF plan.
(2) 
The TCF Committee shall prepare the annual TCF plan for submission to the Town Manager by November 30 for consideration in the Capital Improvement Budget.
(3) 
In preparing this report, the various department and committee representatives shall hold a public meeting, providing the following information, at a minimum:
(a) 
Current status of previously approved and active projects.
(b) 
Current status of uncommitted funds in the TCF, and the source of such funds.
(c) 
Proposed new projects for the coming year(s) and the anticipated capital cost of each.
(d) 
Proposed nonmunicipal sources of revenue for future projects.
(e) 
Proposed municipal sources of funds for future projects.
(f) 
Estimates for ongoing maintenance and operational costs for individual departments.
(4) 
The TCF Committee shall actively solicit the input of members of pertinent standing or ad hoc Town committees, and pertinent community groups active in Topsham.
(5) 
Recommendations to the Town Manager can include expenditures for the coming fiscal year, or appropriations to the TCF to be held for future expenditures.
(6) 
The TCF can also be used as a repository for funds from additional funding sources.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This article also repealed former § 6-24, Economic and Community Development Plan.