There shall be a Finance Committee, appointed by the Moderator, consisting of seven voters appointed for terms of three years each, which terms shall expire on June 30 and shall be so arranged that the terms of as nearly an equal number of members as is possible shall expire each year. No person shall be eligible to membership who shall have the care, custody or expenditure of Town funds, or the care, custody or disposal of Town property, either as a Town officer or member of any other committee, or an agent of such officer or committee.
[Adopted as Art. 3 of the Bylaws]
It shall be the duty of the Committee to investigate the financial affairs of the Town, including receipts of and expenditures by the different departments, or any Town officer; the methods in which the Town business is conducted; the general conduct of the Town affairs; and all the articles in Town warrants for Town Meetings referred to it; and, in the discharge of its duties, shall have free access to all books of accounts, books of record and all accounts, bills, and vouchers on which money has been or may be paid from the Town treasury. All articles that may hereafter be inserted in warrants for any Town Meetings, excepting articles for the choice of officers, are hereby referred to the Finance Committee.
[Amended 5-17-2021 ATM by Art. 22]
The Committee shall hold at least one public hearing to consider the articles in the warrant for each Town Meeting. The Selectmen shall, upon the closing of the warrant, notify the Finance Committee of its intention and the date thereof by letter; and the citizens of the Town by a posting on the Town Hall bulletin board and the Town website of the subject matter of each of the articles that may be included therein, even if such is not yet in final form. A copy thereof shall be provided to any citizen on request. The Finance Committee, upon receiving notice of the Town Meeting and after consultation with the Town Manager, shall give at least five days' notice of the required hearing by publication in a local newspaper. The required hearing shall be held no sooner than the fifth day following the closing of the warrant and no later than the day preceding the Town Meeting. Failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall not invalidate a Special or Annual Town Meeting called in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 62, Town Meetings, § 62-1, and MGL c. 39, § 10.
The Committee shall report its recommendations on the articles in the warrant by including them in the mailed warrant for the Town Meeting or by a written document given to the voters at Town Meeting or verbally at the beginning of the consideration of each article. It may also report to the Town Meeting on any matters that it deems appropriate under an article for committee reports or a special article, if such is included in the warrant.