The fiscal year of the Town shall begin on July 1 and shall
end on June 30, unless another period is required by Massachusetts
General Laws.
Within the time fixed by bylaw, but not later than December
31, the Select Board shall submit to the Finance Committee for its
analysis, comments, and recommended funding, a proposed balanced operating
budget for the ensuing fiscal year with an accompanying budget message
and supporting documents.
The proposed operating budget shall provide a complete financial
plan for all Town funds and activities for the ensuing fiscal year
except as may otherwise be required by Massachusetts General Laws,
this Charter, or bylaw; it shall be in the form that the Select Board
deems desirable. In the presentation of the budget, the Select Board
shall use modern concepts of fiscal presentation to furnish information
in a complete, clear, and concise manner and in accordance with best
practices of financial reporting and control. The budget shall show
in detail all estimated income from the proposed property tax levy
and all other sources and all proposed expenditures including debt
service, for the following year. The budget shall be arranged to show
the actual and estimated income and expenditures for the previous,
current, and ensuing fiscal years and shall indicate in separate sections
the following:
(a) Proposed expenditures for current operations during the ensuing fiscal
year, detailed by Town agency and the method of financing such expenditures;
and
(b) Proposed capital expenditures during the ensuing fiscal year, detailed
by Town agency as developed by the Capital Planning and Investment
Committee and the proposed method of financing each such capital expenditure.
The Select Board shall provide for an independent audit of all
financial books and records of the Town annually and whenever it deems
an audit of the whole Town or of any particular Town agency to be
necessary. Audits of the Town's financial books and records shall
be conducted by a certified public accountant, or a firm of such accountants,
having no direct or indirect interest in the affairs of the Town.