[Adopted as Art. 2 of the Town Bylaws]
[Amended 5-1-2023 ATM by Art. 21]
A.
It shall be the duty of the Moderator to present to the voters for
approval or other appropriate action at each annual Town Meeting the
names of five voters who will act as a Nominating Committee for filling
expiring terms and vacancies of the Finance Committee during the ensuing
year. The Moderator may fill any vacancy on the Nominating Committee
created by the resignation of a member prior to the expiration of
their term. The Moderator shall not present to Town Meeting or fill
any vacancy with a then-serving member of the Finance Committee. At
its organization meeting held after Annual Town Meeting each year,
the Finance Committee shall vote to appoint an ex officio, nonvoting,
advisory member of the Nominating Committee. Any Finance Committee
member whose term is expiring during the ensuing year shall not be
eligible to serve.
B.
After being so constituted, the Nominating Committee shall solicit
and consider all submitted applications to serve on the Finance Committee.
At the next Annual Town Meeting, the Nominating Committee shall present
nominees to the voters for approval or other appropriate action to
fill some or all of the expiring terms and vacancies on the Finance
Committee.
C.
The Finance Committee shall consist of 11 registered voters of the
Town. Members of the Finance Committee shall serve staggered three-year
terms such that the terms of approximately 1/3 of the members shall
expire after each Annual Town Meeting. Members shall serve without
pay.
[Amended 5-1-2023 ATM by Art. 21]
The Finance Committee shall meet at the call of the Town Clerk
within two weeks after each Annual Town Meeting for purposes of organization
and the election of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson or -persons and
a Clerk. In the event the Town Clerk fails to issue the call, any
member of the Finance Committee may do so. The Committee shall meet
thereafter from time to time, as it deems advisable, and shall keep
a true record of all proceedings, and otherwise shall in all respects
be in compliance with the provisions of the open meeting laws. The
Finance Committee shall have the power to fill vacancies on the Committee
by vote, such candidates to be presented by the Nominating Committee,
an attested copy of which shall be sent by the Clerk of the Committee
to the Town Clerk. Any member so appointed by the Committee shall
serve thereon until the next Annual Town Meeting.
[Amended 5-1-2023 ATM by Art. 21]
A.
It shall
be the duty of the Finance Committee to inform themselves as to those
affairs and interests of the Town, in particular budgets and those
other matters to be generally included in the warrants for the Annual
Town Meeting or any Special Town Meetings.
B.
In gathering
information to report to voters, relative to an article, the Finance
Committee shall meet with the party or parties that proposed the article
and concurrently with others who want to comment thereon. Officers
of the Town shall, upon request, furnish the Finance Committee with
facts, figures, and any other information pertaining to their departments.
If in their opinion the officer, or board of officers, believe that
open communication of any requested information may affect injuriously
the interests of the Town, said opinion shall be communicated to the
Chair of the Finance Committee. The contents of said information may
then be discussed, if appropriate, in an executive session, convened
and conducted pursuant to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law,[1] at a meeting of the Finance Committee.
[1]
Editor's Note: See MGL c. 30A, § 18 et seq.
[Amended 5-1-2023 ATM by Art. 21]
A.
The Finance
Committee shall consider all articles in the warrant for all Town
Meetings (including, with respect to each member of the Finance Committee,
the articles in the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting after which
such member's term expires) and shall report in print to the Town
Meeting recommended actions it deems to be in the best interests of
the Town, together with the Finance Committee's reasons therefor.
The Finance Committee shall cause such report to be mailed or otherwise
delivered to every residence at least seven days before each Town
Meeting.
B.
The Finance
Committee shall prepare the following schedules, with appropriate
input from the Board of Assessors, Finance Director, and Capital Outlay
Committee for inclusion in the warrant of each Annual Town Meeting:
(1)
A comparative computation of the tax rate showing the actual computation
for the then-current year and the estimated calculation for the next
year;
(2)
A comparative schedule of receipts and available funds for the same
periods as above;
(3)
A schedule of reserve fund transfers; and
(4)
A schedule of five-year capital improvement program for the Town,
which shall include the construction and reconstruction of capital
assets (such as municipal buildings, recreational facilities, roads
and landfills) and acquisition of land, equipment and vehicles and
other personal property, and shall make recommendations to the appropriate
authorities who proposed such improvements.
C.
If the Finance Committee's report on any article exceeds 50
words in length, excepting an article which requests approval of the
Town's itemized, omnibus operating budget or capital items budget
for the ensuing fiscal year, then that report on said article shall
include a summary of reasons favoring the article that were considered
by the Finance Committee in its deliberations and a separate summary
of reasons disfavoring the article that were considered by the Finance
Committee in its deliberations.
D.
The Finance Committee shall also make an annual report which shall
be published as part of the Annual Town Report. The report shall include
recommended initiatives regarding the finances of the Town and actions
the Committee deems to be necessary and appropriate.
It shall be the duty of the Town Clerk to immediately notify
in writing persons elected or appointed to the Finance Committee pursuant
to the above provisions, such notice to state the business upon which
members of the Committee are to act.
