The Select Board shall be responsible for the submission of the annual and special budgets to be voted at Annual and Special Town Meetings.
The fiscal year of the Town shall begin on the first day of July and terminate on the last day of June of each year. The Town fiscal year shall constitute the budget and accounting year as specified in this Charter.
502.1
The Town shall collect real estate taxes on a semiannual basis.
503.1
The Town Manager, assisted by input from each department head and Chair of Town Boards, shall submit a five-year capital improvement plan, the annual budget, and any special funding requests to the Select Board.
503.2
The Select Board will then, with the collaboration and advice of the Budget Review Committee, review, revise, if necessary, and finalize the budget for presentation at the Annual Town Meeting.
503.3
Prior to finalizing the budget, the Select Board shall hold a public hearing on its proposed budget at least 30 days prior to the Annual Town Meeting vote.
503.4
The budget shall be presented to the voters by the Select Board in the form of warrant articles for an appropriation.
503.5
Each budget article presented shall be accompanied by recommendations from the Select Board and the Budget Review Committee, which shall be printed in the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting and on the Annual Budget Referendum ballot. If any item fails to pass, it shall be funded at the previous year's approved amount. A notation stating the prior year's appropriation shall be included on the warrant article.
503.6
In the event a budget item appearing on the ballot for the first time or a petitioned article is not approved by a plurality vote, the item shall receive no funding.
503.7
In the case of petitioned warrant articles or special funding requests for budgetary items to be voted at a Special Town Meeting, the procedures required and the only public hearing shall be as otherwise set forth in Title 30-A M.R.S.A. § 2528.5.
503.8
No defeated warrant article shall be reconsidered until the next Annual Town Meeting.
The budget process for all departments shall include all proposed expenditures, revenues and other funding sources.
Total expenditures shall not exceed total revenues and other funding sources.
The gross appropriation for each department shall not be exceeded except by vote at a Special Town Meeting or as provided for herein.
504.1
The Select Board shall have the authority to transfer appropriations between departments without exceeding the Town Meeting approved total budget. Such authority may be exercised during the fiscal year or at the end of the fiscal year, subject to a public hearing before taking such a vote if the amount to be transferred exceeds $10,000. This authority is limited to an aggregate of $25,000 transfer or 2% of the department's overall budget, whichever is larger to any one department. Total transfers between departments shall not exceed 2% of the Town Meeting approved total budget for the departments overall.
504.2
The Select Board shall have the authority to determine that a capital improvement project is completed or abandoned, and to close-out the project and transfer excess funds to the General Fund as an increase to unassigned fund balance. Such project close-out(s) and transfer(s) can occur as a group or by individual project, resulting in a net deposit to the unassigned fund balance subject to a public hearing before taking such a vote.
505.1
The Town Treasurer, with approval from the Town Meeting or Special Town Meeting is authorized to borrow money in the form of General Obligation Bonds.
505.2
The Town Treasurer, with approval from the Select Board, is authorized to borrow money for approved expenditures in anticipation of revenue and taxation collection.
Such borrowings shall include, but not be limited to:
The Select Board shall designate a private firm of certified public accountants to perform an annual independent audit of accounts and other financial transactions of the Town government and to submit its report and a management letter to the Select Board.
This information shall be published in the Annual Report (as required by Title 30-A M.R.S.A. § 2801) which shall be made available to the voters no less than 90 days prior to the Annual Town Meeting.
Upon receipt of the audited financial statements by the Select Board, the audited financial statement and management letter shall be made available to the public on the Town's website.