There shall be a Finance Committee consisting of nine legal
voters of the Town, who shall be appointed by the Moderator as hereinafter
provided. No elective or appointive Town officer or Town employee
shall be eligible to serve on said committee.
The Moderator shall, at the Annual Town Meeting, appoint sufficient
members to the Finance Committee for such terms of office as will
result in a total membership of nine, with the terms of three of the
total membership expiring each year. The terms of office of said members
shall commence immediately upon qualification and shall expire at
the close of final adjournment of the Annual Town Meeting at which
their successors are appointed. Said committee shall choose its own
officers and shall serve without pay. Said committee shall cause to
be kept a true record of its proceedings.
The said Committee shall fill any vacancy which may occur in
its membership, by vote, attested copy of which shall be sent by the
Secretary to the Town Clerk. If any member is absent from five consecutive
meetings of said committee, except in case of illness, their position
shall be deemed to be vacant and shall be filled as herein provided.
The term of office of any person so chosen to fill a vacancy shall
expire at the final adjournment of the next succeeding Annual Town
Meeting, and the Moderator thereof shall appoint their successor to
complete the unexpired term of the member in whose office such vacancy
originally occurred.
It shall be the duty of this Committee to consider all articles
of any Town Meeting Warrant which have any direct or indirect financial
impact on the Town and to report its recommendations, in writing,
to the Select Board. The Committee may also make recommendations on
those articles which do not have financial impact on the Town as it
chooses, and such recommendations shall likewise be reported to the
Select Board. The Select Board shall cause the report for the annual
meeting to be printed in the Town Report and the Finance Committee's
reason for approval or disapproval printed directly beneath the article
considered in the Town Warrant.
[Amended 4-6-2010 ATM
by Art. 6]
A. Each
Town department shall annually submit to the Finance Committee, not
later than January 31, an estimate of its requirements for the ensuing
year, and the Select Board shall report all other requests for appropriations
on or before February 5.
B. The
Finance Committee shall, not later than March 31, submit to the Select
Board its written report with its recommendations, including the amounts
requested by those originating the above estimates. The Select Board
shall cause the Finance Committee's budget submittal, including requested
amounts, recommendations and the Finance Committee's report of reasons
for differences, to be printed in the warrant for the Annual Town
Meeting.
For Special Town Meeting, the Select Board shall immediately
furnish the Finance Committee with a copy of the Warrant. The Finance
Committee shall hold such hearings as may in its judgment be required,
and report in writing to the Select Board at the meeting.