[Amended 3-5-2019]
The City Manager, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 15 and 18 of the Rochester City Charter, shall appoint a City Finance Director who shall be responsible for the supervision and direction of all phases of the City's fiscal operations subject to the direction and supervision of the City Manager. This position shall require a four-year degree in accounting, business administration or related area, plus professional experience in the field.
A. 
Itemization. No account or claim against the City, except judgments of judicial courts, shall be received or acted upon unless each item thereof shall be specifically set forth, and unless such account or claim shall be accompanied with the approval of the officer or agent authorized in behalf of the City, School Board or Trustees of the Public Library to make the contract, or cause the expenditure to be made, that the same is correct and just.
B. 
Officers to receive. The Superintendent of Schools shall receive all accounts and claims from persons having demands against the School Board, the Librarian from persons having demands against the Trustees of the Public Library and the City Finance Director from persons for all other demands against the City. They shall carefully examine all such accounts and claims and see that they are correctly cast, and present the same to the City Finance Director for final approval by the City Manager.
[Amended 3-5-2019]
C. 
Payment by check. Payment of all claims as approved in accordance with the preceding section shall be made by check drawn and signed by the City Treasurer and countersigned by the City Manager; provided, however, that the City Council, in the absence or disability of either the City Treasurer or the City Manager, or both, may appoint some other person to sign in his/her place.
A. 
Deposited in name of City. Unless otherwise specifically provided, all sums received by or on behalf of said City shall be deposited in the name of the City.
B. 
When and where deposited. The City Treasurer and City Tax Collector shall deposit to the credit of the City all money which they may receive for or in behalf of the City in such bank or banks as the Treasurer may direct. Their financial records and lists shall be submitted to the City Finance Director for his/her inspection and computation. All other persons who shall at any time have money in their hands belonging to the City, unless otherwise provided, shall forthwith pay the same to the City Treasurer, taking his/her receipt for the same.
[Amended 5-1-2007]
C. 
Record of receipts and payments. The City Finance Director shall enter in suitable books fair, detailed and correct records of all sums of money received into and paid from the City treasury. He/she shall enter the various appropriations made by the City Council, each under its appropriate head, and charge to each the different payments and expenditures which from time to time shall be made therefrom.
[Amended 3-5-2019]
D. 
Expended appropriations to be reported. Whenever any appropriation shall be expended, the City Finance Director shall immediately give notice thereof to the City Manager and the City Council, and no claim or account shall be passed or allowed chargeable to any head or appropriation which has been expended, until the City Council shall have provided the means for paying the same.
[Amended 3-5-2019]
The City Tax Collector shall collect all permit fees required by law in the registration of motor vehicles, keep a proper record of the same, and pay the same to the City.
A. 
Exemption for prisoners of war. The permit fee shall be waived for a permit to register one motor vehicle owned by any person who was captured and incarcerated for 30 days or more while serving in a qualifying war and armed conflict as defined in RSA 72:28, IV, and who was honorably discharged, provided the person has provided the City Tax Collector with satisfactory proof of these circumstances.
[Amended 3-5-2019]
The City Treasurer, with the assistance and subject to the approval of the City Manager, shall negotiate all loans to the City which shall be authorized by the City Council and shall report the amount to the City Finance Director.
A. 
Signatures required. Whenever authority is given by the City Council to borrow money on the credit of the City, all notes and certificates of indebtedness given therefor shall be signed by the City Manager and City Treasurer and countersigned by the City Clerk, and all such notes and certificates shall be registered in books kept for that purpose by the City Finance Director. Such registers shall describe said notes and certificates by number, date and amount, the name of the person to whom payable, when payable, the rate of interest and the date of the ordinance or resolution authorizing the same, and, when paid, the date of payment shall be inserted on each of said registers.
[Amended 3-5-2019]
B. 
Form. All notes given the City of Rochester shall be substantially in the following form:
CITY OF ROCHESTER
Treasurer's Office
For value received the City of Rochester will pay at the office of the City Treasurer to _______________ or order, the sum of ________________________ dollars __________ in __________ from the date hereof, with interest __________ at the rate of __________ percent. In testimony whereof we, the City Manager and Treasurer, in the name and in behalf of the City, by virtue of authority in us vested for this purpose, by an order of the City Council of said City, passed on the _______ day of _____________ A.D. _____ have hereunto set our hands and the Seal of said City, at said Rochester this __________
City Manager
Treasurer
This note is also countersigned by the City Clerk of said City.
City Clerk
The City Manager shall annually prepare the municipal budget in accordance with the provisions of Section 40 of the Rochester City Charter, and shall lay the same before the City Council at least 60 days before the start of the fiscal year of the budget. Said budget shall contain an estimate of the amount of money necessary to be raised for the next financial year, under the various heads of appropriations, and the various means of raising the same. The City Council shall set a date for a public hearing on the annual budget, which hearing shall be held before the final adoption of said budget, at such time and place as the City Council shall direct, provided that notice of such public hearing shall be published by the City Clerk at least one week in advance of said hearing, and posted together with a summary of the budget, as submitted, in two public places at least one week in advance of said hearing.
[Amended 4-5-2022]
An independent audit of all accounts of the City shall be made annually by certified public accountants selected by the City Council upon recommendation by the City Manager and experienced in municipal accounting in accordance with the provisions of Section 46 of the Rochester City Charter.
[Amended 3-5-2019]
The City Treasurer with the approval of the City Manager is hereby authorized to purchase any bonds of the City of Rochester from any funds in said City, provided they can do so to the advantage of said City. Any bonds and the coupons attached thereto when purchased and redeemed shall be canceled by the Treasurer of said City, and a record of the same shall be made in the bond book of said City and signed by the City Clerk, City Treasurer, and City Manager showing the numbers of the bonds with their coupons attached, when purchased, and their numbers when canceled. Said bonds when so canceled shall be kept by the City Finance Director.
No contract or agreement for labor, or for the purchase or sale of any materials, goods, wares or merchandise, in which any member of the City Council or any officer or agent appointed by the City Council shall be directly or indirectly interested in a private capacity, shall be made and concluded by any person or persons in behalf of the City, unless such contract or agreement shall have been authorized or ratified by the City Council, and no account or claims against the City arising out of such contract or agreement shall be allowed or certified by any committees, nor shall any order therefor be drawn upon or paid by the City; provided, however, that such restriction shall not be construed to prevent the purchase of ordinary supplies from members of the City Council who may be engaged in trade, nor the employment of the members of the City Council in their ordinary vocation, by duly authorized heads of departments.
[Amended 10-1-2019]
A. 
Purpose. The Rochester City Council recognizes that the establishment and maintenance of fiscal responsibility and the promotion of property tax stabilization are goals which promote the public health, safety and welfare of the City of Rochester and its inhabitants. Therefore, it is the purpose of the Rochester City Council in adopting this section to establish a mechanism whereby the fiscal integrity of the City is strengthened and maintained, and the long-term stability of the City's property tax rate is promoted, through the establishment of a systemic and disciplined process for the prudent and planned utilization of revenues. In adopting this section, the Rochester City Council recognized that it is prudent financial practice for municipalities such as Rochester to establish and maintain a minimum General Fund unassigned fund balance (as hereinafter more particularly defined) of between 8% and 17% of total General Fund expenditures. General Fund expenditures include City, county, and school collectively.
B. 
Minimum General Fund unassigned fund balance requirement. The General Fund unassigned fund balance of the City, at the end of any fiscal year, as established and reported to the State of New Hampshire on form MS-535, “Financial Report of the Budget,” and confirmed within the notes of the City’s annual audited financial statements, shall for the purposes of this section be designated as the "unassigned fund balance" of the General Fund of the City of Rochester, and shall be referred to throughout this section as the "unassigned fund balance." The unassigned fund balance for any fiscal year shall be maintained at a minimum level of between 8% and 17% of total General Fund expenditures for the City for that fiscal year.
C. 
Use of General Fund unassigned fund balance—non-recurring. In any subsequent fiscal year, the City Council may, upon adoption of a written resolution, by a two-thirds majority vote, after notice and public hearing, utilize the excess of the actual unassigned fund balance of the General Fund (as determined by the annual audit of the City) over the prescribed unassigned fund balance level established in Subsection B of this section from the prior fiscal year for capital projects, transfers to capital projects, transfers to capital reserve, or for any other appropriation of a non-recurring nature.
D. 
Use of General Fund unassigned fund balance—recurring. At any time in a budget year, the City Council may, upon adoption of a written resolution by a two-thirds majority vote, after notice and public hearing, make appropriations from the General Fund unassigned fund balance of the City of Rochester to meet an essential need for public expenditure. If such appropriation reduces the unassigned fund balance to a level below the minimum prescribed by Subsection B of this section, the resolution authorizing such appropriation shall include a plan to restore the unassigned fund balance to the minimum level established in Subsection B of this section within a period not to exceed two years.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 11.20, City of Rochester Economic Development Special Reserve Fund, added 6-22-2004, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 4-5-2016.
[Added 11-8-2023]
A. 
By resolution adopted on July 5, 2022, the City Council established a non-capital reserve fund pursuant to RSA 34:1-a for the purpose of encouraging economic development within the City, encouraging the development of industrial and commercial sites, promoting the City as an attractive location for businesses and residents, and acquisition of land related to the same. The name of the fund is the Economic Development Reserve Fund.
B. 
The City Council, at its sole discretion, may appropriate funds into said Economic Development Reserve Fund through supplemental appropriations or the annual budgeting process, however, in no case shall said annual appropriation be less than $100,000. Revenue sources can be waste management host fee revenues, or General Fund unassigned fund balance. In addition, other unanticipated revenue sources, and proceeds from transactions that were originally derived from the Economic Development Reserve Fund, may also be appropriated into the fund upon a majority vote of the City Council.
C. 
Pursuant to RSA 34:6, the Trustees of trust funds shall have custody of all noncapital reserves transferred to the Economic Development Reserve Fund. The Trustees of the trust fund will hold the monies appropriated to the Economic Development Reserve Fund in a separate liquid investment account. Appropriations made to the Economic Development Reserve Fund will be submitted to the Trustees of the trust fund within the same fiscal year of the appropriation.
D. 
Pursuant to RSA 34:10, the City Council names the Economic Development Commission as its agent to carry out the objects of the Economic Development Reserve Fund. All expenditures made by the Economic Development Commission shall be made only for or in connection with the purposes for which said Fund was established and only in accordance with §§ 7-38 through 7-40 of the City Code. All requests for expenditures shall be approved by the 2/3 vote of the Economic Development Commission prior to being presented to City Council for final approval. Upon said 2/3 vote expenditure requests may then be presented to City Council. Expenditure requests shall identify expense categories, or specific project scope detail. General administrative, travel and conference activities shall be ineligible expense activities. Expenditure requests can be presented as part of the annual budget process, or through supplemental appropriations. All approved expenditures shall follow the City's Purchasing Policy.
E. 
The City Council may dissolve the Economic Development Reserve Fund at its sole discretion. Upon dissolution of any portion of said fund appropriated from the General Fund said funds will lapse to surplus (General Fund unassigned fund balance) and cannot be repurposed directly to a different capital fund or project.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 7-63, Economic Development Special Reserve Fund, added 9-6-2016, was repealed 10-4-2022.
A. 
Purpose. The Rochester City Council recognizes that the proper utilization and protection of the City's natural resources and the protection of its watershed resources are important to the well-being of the City of Rochester and it inhabitants, and to that end the City has adopted the provisions of Chapter 36-A of the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated providing for the establishment of a Conservation Commission. The Rochester City Council further recognizes that realizing the goals of properly utilizing and protecting its natural resources and protecting its watershed resources requires the development and implementation of a systematic program designed to maintain and care for such resources, which program implementation is enhanced when the Conversation Commission is provided with a regular source of revenue. Therefore, it is the purpose of the Rochester City Council in adopting this section to establish a mechanism whereby the Conservation Commission is provided with a source of funding which can be utilized to aid in the accomplishment of the goals of properly utilizing and protecting the City of Rochester's natural resources and protecting its watershed resources.
[Added 5-4-1999]
B. 
Establishment of Conservation Fund. Pursuant to the provisions of RSA 36-A:5, I, a Conservation Fund is established by the City of Rochester. Funds appropriated to said Conservation Fund by the Rochester City Council, and any gifts received pursuant to the provisions of RSA 36-A:4, shall be placed in said fund and allowed to accumulate from year to year. The City Treasurer shall have custody of all moneys in the Conservation Fund and shall pay out the same only upon the order of the Conservation Commission. Money may be expended from the Conservation Fund by the Conservation Commission for the purposes specified in Chapter 36-A of the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated without further approval of the City Council. The disbursement of Conservation Fund moneys shall be authorized by a majority of the Conservation Commission. Prior to the use of such funds for the purchase of any interest in real property, the Conservation Commission shall hold a public hearing with notice in accordance with RSA 675:7.
C. 
All revenues collected related to Current Use Tax Warrants provided by RSA 79-A:7 shall be recorded in the Conservation Fund pursuant to RSA 79-A:25, Disposition of Revenues. The Finance Department shall provide to City Council by July 31 of each year the fund balance status of Conservation Fund, and prior fiscal year activity. City Council reserves the right to adjust percentages of future collected revenues placed in the Conservation Fund, or establish a not-to-exceed fund balance amount.
[Amended 8-6-2002; 4-5-2022]
[Added 6-1-2004]
A. 
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to implement the authority of the Mayor and City Council to take proper care that no money shall be paid from the City treasury unless previously granted and appropriated, and to secure a just and prompt accounting for expenditures made pursuant to appropriations as provided for in RSA 47:6, as well as to promote the well-being of the City in accordance with the provisions of RSA 47:17, and to implement the power of the Mayor and City Council over the City budget as specified in Sections 38 through 46 of the Rochester City Charter. The provisions of this section shall apply solely to annual budget line items dealing with salaries and benefits payable to City of Rochester employees subject to the so-called Merit Plan provided for in Sections 59 through 64 of the Rochester City Charter.
B. 
Establishment of annual budget line item(s) for the purpose of estimating the amount of, and appropriating funds to pay for, a merit salary increase and/or a merit pay adjustment. The annual proposed budget submitted to the City Council each year, pursuant to the provisions of Section 40 of the Rochester City Charter, and the annual budget adopted by the City Council pursuant to the provisions of Section 43 of the Rochester City Charter shall contain for each City department, except for the School Department, one or more separate line items, which line item(s) shall contain the estimated amount of expenditures for a merit salary increase and/or a merit pay adjustment to be made during the fiscal year covered by such budget under, and pursuant to, the so-called Merit Plan embodied in Sections 59 through 64 of the Rochester City Charter, and the provisions of Article VI, Section 3 and Section 3a, of the Employment Policy Handbook, City of Rochester, New Hampshire.
C. 
Prohibition against payment of a merit salary increase and/or a merit pay adjustment made pursuant to Article VI, Section 3 and Section 3a, of the Employment Policy Handbook, City of Rochester, New Hampshire. No payment of any merit salary increase and/or merit pay adjustment authorized pursuant to the provisions of Article VI, Section 3 and Section 3a, of the Employment Policy Handbook, City of Rochester, New Hampshire, shall be paid to any employee of any department except from the budgetary line item(s) established pursuant to the provisions of Subparagraph B of this section for the department in question.
D. 
This section shall become effective on July 1, 2004.
[Amended 1-6-2009]
A. 
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to implement the provisions of Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter, adopted on November 4, 2008, and known as the so-called "tax cap" Charter amendment.
B. 
The word "budget" as used throughout Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter, as well as in the phrases "The City Manager shall submit the proposed budget to the City Council" in Section 40 of the Rochester City Charter and "The budget shall be finally adopted" in Section 43 of the Rochester City Charter, shall include the county expenditures and the state school tax apportionment. The word "budget" as used in the aforesaid circumstances shall not include enterprise and special revenue funds that do not impact the tax commitment for the City.
C. 
The phrase in the "Override provision" of Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter which provides "Budgetary restrictions described in any part of Section 43-a may be overridden upon a vote of 2/3 of all elected members of the City Council" shall refer to both capital and operating budgets.
D. 
The phrase in the "Override provision" of Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter which provides that "may be overridden upon a vote of 2/3 of all elected members of the City Council" shall mean 2/3 of the total number of City Councilors in office at the time of the vote, whether or not all of the Councilors are present. If, for example, the office of Mayor and all 12 Council seats are filled at the time of a vote, nine votes are needed, even if not all 13 members of the City Council are present.
E. 
The provisions of Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter which provide "Such override expires following adoption of the annual budget" and "Subsequent budgets or supplemental appropriations require additional two-thirds override votes, or the limitations expressed in this section will apply" shall mean that once a budget is adopted, and throughout the fiscal year for which it is adopted, any subsequent supplemental appropriation to the general fund budget for which the amount that needs to be raised by taxes exceeds the limitation of Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter shall require a new two-thirds override vote. The "limitation on budget increase" as provided for in Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter for a subsequent fiscal year budget shall be calculated using the official Department of Revenue Administration tax setting documents for the immediately preceding year. The "amount to be raised by taxes" as set forth on such document shall be adjusted as provided for in Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter.
[Amended 3-5-2019]
F. 
If there is a decrease in revenue after adoption of the budget and before the setting of the tax rate, which causes the tax levy to exceed the limitations of Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter, the Council shall reconsider the adopted budget.
G. 
The phrase "National Consumer Price Index – Urban as published by the United States Department of Labor for the calendar year immediately preceding budget adoption" shall mean the "percent change Avg.-Avg." and not "percent change Dec.- Dec." for the calendar year preceding the year of budget adoption of the Consumer Price Index – All Urban Consumer (Current Series), U.S. All items, 1982-84=100, Series CUUROOOOSAO, not seasonally adjusted, as published by the United States Department of Labor available on the federal government website found at www.bls.gov.
H. 
The phrase "revaluation year" in Subsection C shall not apply to the annual assessment updates implemented by the City of Rochester Assessor, and such phrase shall only refer to a full City-wide revaluation that physically reinspects every property in that year and develops new formulas for value calculation.
I. 
The phrase "budget limitation with annual changes in assessments" as contained in Subsection D of Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter shall refer to the annual updates and phased physical property examination that are part of the requirements to keep the City within the parameters recommended by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (DRA). It does not require that all properties be changed, but that some are reviewed and/or changed as part of a planned process to keep assessed values within DRA guidelines.
[Amended 3-5-2019]
J. 
The phrase "plus real estate taxes calculated by applying the prior year real estate tax rate to the net increase in new construction" as contained in Subsection D of Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter shall mean the taxes that apply to the budget as defined in Subsection B above, namely the municipal and school tax rate and shall include the county and state school tax rate.
K. 
The phrase "total dollar value of building permits less total dollar value of demolition permits issued for the period of April 1 – March 31 preceding budget adoption" as contained in Subsection D of Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter shall mean the construction/demolition value estimate on which the building/demolition permit fee is calculated, namely the values used by the Department of Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services in calculating the fee to be charged in connection with the issuance of building permits.
[Amended 10-15-2013]
L. 
The phrase "increased by the other revenues generated by the municipality" as contained in Subsection E of Section 43-a of the Rochester City Charter shall include the funds derived from the use of fund balance, transfers from other funds and all other anticipated revenues.
M. 
The amount of money raised by taxes for the municipal, county, state school tax and local school tax rates shall be derived from the DRA's tax rate setting documents. Each of the tax rates shall separately be multiplied by the National CPI. If the City is operating under Subsection D of Section 43-a, the total of net new construction shall be multiplied by the state and local school tax rate and that number added to the school amount to be raised by taxes. The total of net new construction shall be multiplied by the municipal and county tax rate and that number added to the municipal amount to be raised by taxes. By February 1 of each year, the City Manager shall inform the School Board and the City Council of these amounts, noting they are preliminary pending the final new net construction numbers as of April 1 of each year.
N. 
The School Board shall adjust its budget for the increases and decreases in the state tax and the City shall adjust its budget for the increases and decreases in the county tax.
O. 
The School Board will submit to the City Manager by March 25 of each year its recommended budget within its cap amount, including detailed revenue projections. The City Manager, in his/her budget presentation to the City Council, may adjust the school budget to meet the overall spending limitation for the City.
P. 
If any provision of this section shall be declared illegal, void or unenforceable, the other provisions shall not be affected but shall remain in full force and effect.
[Added 10-4-2016]
A. 
By adoption of a resolution on December 15, 2015, the City Council established a capital reserve fund pursuant to RSA 34:1 for the purpose of rehabilitating, enlarging, replacing, and/or constructing new school facilities and/or the purchase of land for the enlargement of existing school facilities and/or siting of new school facilities. The name of such fund shall be the School Building Fund.
B. 
The City Council, at its sole discretion, may appropriate moneys to said School Building Fund through the annual budgeting process. The City Council may also, by favorable vote of 3/4 of its members, transfer to such fund, after a public hearing with notice as provided in RSA 34:2, not more than 1/2 of its unencumbered surplus funds remaining on hand at the end of the fiscal year, within limits as provided in RSA 34:4. No transfer from the City's unencumbered surplus funds to the School Building Fund shall be considered until after the annual audit presentation by the independent auditor and confirmation of the stated surplus. The City Council may also accept and appropriate gifts, legacies and trusts to the School Building Fund by majority vote.
C. 
Expenditure of funds from the School Building Fund is at the sole discretion of the City Council.
D. 
Pursuant to RSA 34:6, the Trustees of Trust Funds shall have custody of all capital reserves transferred to the School Building Fund. The Trustees of Trust Funds will hold the moneys appropriated to the School Building Fund in a separate account. Appropriations made to the School Building Fund will be paid over to the Trustees of Trust Funds after July 1 but prior to June 30 of the fiscal year of the appropriation.
E. 
The City Council may dissolve the School Building Fund at its sole discretion. Upon dissolution of any portion of said fund appropriated from the general fund said funds will lapse to surplus (unassigned general fund fund balance) and cannot be repurposed directly to a different capital fund or project. Any funds contained in the School Building Fund accepted and appropriated from gifts, legacies or trusts may be redirected at the discretion of the City Council.