The fiscal year of the Town of Rockland shall be in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 44, Section 56 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth.
[Amended by c. 99, Acts of 2024]
On or before the 31st day of December of each year the select board shall prepare a budget for the ensuing fiscal year and shall submit said budget to the Finance Committee. Said budget shall be inserted in the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting.
[Amended by c. 99, Acts of 2024]
The budget shall provide a complete financial plan of all Town funds and activities for the ensuing Fiscal Year; and except as required by law, shall be in such forms as the select board deem desirable. It shall begin with a clear general summary of its contents and shall show in detail all estimated income and proposed expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year. It shall be so arranged as to show comparative figures for actual and estimated income and expenditures of the current fiscal year. It shall indicate in separate sections:
(1) 
proposed expenditures for the current operation during the ensuing fiscal year, as detailed by officers, departments and agencies, and the method of financing such expenditures; and
(2) 
proposed capital expenditures during the ensuing fiscal year, as detailed by officers, departments and agencies, and the method of financing each such capital expenditure. The total of the proposed expenditures shall not exceed the total of the estimated income.
A. 
There shall be a Finance Committee consisting of fifteen (15) registered voters of the Town of Rockland who shall be appointed by the Moderator for a term of three (3) years in such a manner that one-third (1/3) of said Finance Committee shall be appointed annually, said appointments being made as soon as practicable after the conclusion of each year's Annual Town Meeting.
B. 
In the event that any member of the Finance Committee shall resign during his term of office, he shall not be eligible for reappointment to the Finance Committee until the expiration of one (1) year from the date of such resignation.
C. 
No person shall serve as a member of the Finance Committee who holds any Town position by reason of election or appointment. However, a member or members of the Finance Committee may serve on special committees established by vote of Town Meeting if such vote requires that a member or members of the Finance Committee be named to said special committee. Any member of the Finance Committee who shall become a candidate for elected office in the Town shall ipso facto be disqualified from continuing to serve as a member of the Finance Committee.
D. 
The Finance Committee shall consider the budget as submitted to it by the select board, and shall give its opinions as to each budgetary item together with an explanation of said opinion. The select board shall cause the opinion of the Finance Committee to be included in appropriate places in the Warrant. The Finance Committee may hold hearings and take any other action necessary to discharge its duties hereunder. No appropriation shall be made at a Town Meeting until the Finance Committee has reported thereon. The Finance Committee shall endeavor to complete its duties and make its report within such time as to allow the Warrant to be printed and distributed by the select board in accordance with the terms of this Charter.
[Amended by c. 99, Acts of 2024]
E. 
A majority of those members appointed shall constitute a quorum; however, a lesser number may from time to time adjourn meetings of the Finance Committee.
[Amended by c. 59, Acts of 2005]
F. 
The Finance Committee shall choose its own officers and shall serve without compensation, except that the Secretary shall be paid an annual salary to be determined at the Annual Town Meeting.
G. 
In addition to the specific powers enumerated above, the Finance Committee shall have all the powers and duties conferred upon it by the General Laws of the Commonwealth.
A copy of the budget and the capital program as adopted shall be public records, and shall be deposited with the Town Clerk.
Every appropriation, except an appropriation for a capital expenditure, shall lapse at the close of the fiscal year to the extent that it has not been expended or encumbered, or as otherwise provided by a vote at a Town Meeting. An appropriation for a capital expenditure shall continue in force until the purpose for which it was made has been accomplished or abandoned. The purpose of any such appropriation shall be deemed abandoned if three (3) fiscal years pass without any disbursement from or encumbrance of the appropriation.
[Added by c. 55, Acts of 2005]
(a) 
There shall be a capital planning committee comprised of 7 voting members, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the select board, 2 by the finance committee, 1 by the school committee, and 2 by the moderator. When first constituted the select board, the finance committee and the moderator shall each appoint 1 member for a 3-year term and the school committee 1 member for a 2-year term. The select board, the finance committee and the moderator shall each appoint 1 member for a 1-year term. Thereafter, following the annual town meeting, appointments to the committee shall be made by the the same appointing authorities so as to provide for overlapping 3-year terms. Two members of the committee may also be current members of the finance committee. The town administrator and the town accountant shall be non-voting ex-officio members.
[Amended by c. 99, Acts of 2024]
(b) 
The capital planning committee shall study proposed capital projects and improvements involving major recurring and non-recurring tangible assets and projects which (1) are purchased or taken at intervals of not less than 5 years; or (2) have a useful life of at least 5 years, and; (3) cost over $50,000. All officers, boards, departments, and committees, shall, by October 1 of each year, give to the capital planning committee, on forms furnished by the capital planning committee, information concerning all anticipated projects requiring town meeting appropriation during the ensuing 5 years. Using the revenue and expenditure projections prepared by the town administrator, the capital planning committee shall consider the relative need, impact, timing and cost of these expenditures and the effect each will have on the financial position of the town. An appropriation shall not be voted for a capital improvement request by the department, board, or committee unless the proposed capital improvements is considered in the committee's report or the committee shall first have submitted a report to the town meeting explaining the omission.
(c) 
The capital planning committee shall prepare an annual report recommending a capital improvement budget for the next fiscal year and a capital improvement program, including recommending budget for the next fiscal year and capital improvement program, including recommended capital improvements for the following 4 fiscal years. The report shall be submitted to the select board for review and recommendations.
[Amended by c. 99, Acts of 2024]
(d) 
The capital planning committee's report and the select board's recommended capital improvement budget shall be published and made available in a manner consistent with the distribution of the operating budget.
[Amended by c. 99, Acts of 2024]