The Capital Outlay Committee shall review all requests and annually make a recommendation to the Select Board and Finance Committee for proposed capital expenditures and methods for financing the same. Capital budgeting requires significant advanced planning and review to ensure that projects/purchases are:
[Amended 4-11-2023 ATM by Art. 24]
A.
There shall be a Capital Outlay Committee consisting of five members.
(1)
One member shall be selected by the Select Board as its representative; such person may be from its own membership.
(2)
One member shall be selected by the School Committee as its representative; such person may be from its own membership.
(3)
One member shall be selected from the Finance Committee as its representative; such person shall be from its own membership; provided, however, that the Chair of the Finance Committee shall not be eligible for appointment to the Capital Outlay Committee.
(4)
Two members shall be selected by the Town Administrator, who shall be registered voters of the Town.
B.
The term of office shall be three years; provided, however, that term of the Select Board, School Committee and Finance Committee representatives shall automatically terminate when they are no longer members of the Board or Committee that appointed them. In that case, the appointing Board or Committee may fill the remaining term of the vacated seat with another of its members.
C.
The Capital Outlay Committee shall designate a Chair annually at a public meeting held after July 1.
D.
The Capital Outlay Committee shall provide a report of all matters presented to it for recommendation at least once per calendar year and whenever requested by the Chair of the Finance Committee or when requested by either Committee.
Purpose: To provide guidelines for the approval, review and prioritization of capital expenditures within the Town of Carver's ten-year budget plan and ensure that all capital expenditures are properly planned, funded, monitored and accounted for.
A.
The Capital Outlay Committee shall review all requests for capital expenditures of $20,000 or more and has a useful life greater than one year. For all the smaller projects or equipment, requests should be included in the department's operating budget. This includes projects that are fully or partially funded by outside funding sources, such as a grant. This shall not apply to reserve fund transfer requests made to the Finance Committee that falls within their available reserve fund account or emergency expenditures. All requests shall be submitted in a format approved by the Capital Outlay Committee prior to insertion of the request on a Town Meeting warrant or, if the request is made by citizen petition, before the Town Meeting is convened.
B.
It is further understood that the Capital Outlay Committee is an advisory committee to the Select Board and does not have the authority to override any decision made by the Select Board should said Board disagree with the recommendations of the Capital Outlay Committee.
A.
All officers, boards, committees and departments requesting capital improvements for the following fiscal year shall transmit in writing to the Select Board their request at least 75 days prior to the date of the Annual Town Meeting. At least 60 days prior to the date of the Annual Town Meeting, the Select Board shall assemble these requests and submit them to the Capital Outlay Committee. At least 30 days prior to the date of the Annual Town Meeting, the Select Board, Finance Committee and Capital Planning Committee shall vote on their capital budget recommendations for the following fiscal year. Said votes shall be final and shall not be subject to change except by vote at the Annual Town Meeting.
B.
Capital examples:
(1)
New constructions (new building or major addition).
(2)
Building improvements, renovations, remodeling or demolition.
(3)
Equipment purchases.
(4)
Architectural or interior design work.
(5)
HVAC projects or energy consumption.
(6)
Land improvements.
(7)
Real estate acquisition or leasing.
(8)
Vehicle leasing and purchasing.
(9)
Information technology and telecom (software and hardware).
(10)
New or replacement of furniture and fixtures.
This by-law shall supersede all previous votes of Town Meeting pertaining to the Capital Outlay Committee.