There shall be a Department of Finance, the head of which shall be the Director of Finance, who shall report to the Town Manager. The Department shall be organized into as many divisions or offices consistent with the provisions of this Charter as may be deemed necessary by the Council on recommendation of the Town Manager. The Town Manager shall appoint the head of such divisions as may be created, except that the Chief Financial Officer of the School Department shall be appointed by the Superintendent of Schools. The Chief Financial Officer of the School Department shall provide all school department financial information as requested by the Director of Finance of the Town. The municipal Director of Finance shall be responsible for the integration of the Town's municipal budget with the School Department's budget in order to produce a combined comprehensive, unified and complete master budget to the Town Manager.
The Director of Finance shall have at minimum a bachelor's degree in business, finance or accounting and shall have a working knowledge of municipal and school accounting and taxation and shall have had experience in budgeting and financial control.
The Director of Finance shall receive such annual salary as may be set by a vote of the Council.
The Director of Finance shall be the Town Treasurer and shall have charge of the administration of the financial affairs of the Town. The Finance Director may perform the duties of any office under his or her supervision, except that of the Tax Collector, and may consolidate one or more such offices under one person.
The Office of the Finance Director shall:
(a) 
Maintain a general accounting system for the Town Government and each of its offices, departments and agencies.
(b) 
Supervise and be responsible for the disbursement of all monies and have control in all expenditures to ensure that budget allotments are not exceeded.
(c) 
Keep separate accounts for the various departments, including the Westerly School Department, offices and divisions for which a separate allocation is made in the Town Budget, each of which accounts shall show the amount of funds appropriated, the amounts paid therefrom, the unpaid obligations against it, and the unencumbered balance.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, both the Town Council and the School Committee shall at all times remain in control of their respective budgets. Additionally, in no way shall the Department of Finance or any provision of this Charter be deemed to abrogate the ability of the Town Council or the School Committee to maintain separate administrative oversight of its respective budget.
(d) 
Collect and receive all taxes and special assessments due and payable to the Town. He shall also receive all license fees, rents, funds, money receivable by the Town from the State and/or Federal Government, and from courts and from any department, office and agency of the Town, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(e) 
Prepare a Monthly Statement of all receipts and disbursements in sufficient detail to show the exact cash position and unencumbered position of the offices, departments, including the Westerly School Department, and agencies of the Town and to prepare as of the end of the fiscal year a complete financial statement and report, which report shall be deemed a public record.
(f) 
Have custody of all invested funds of the Town Government, or in possession of such government in a fiduciary capacity and have the safekeeping of all bonds and notes of the Town and the receipt and delivery of Town bonds and notes for transfer, registration or exchange.
(g) 
Prescribe uniform forms of receipts, vouchers, bills and claims to be used by all departments, offices and agencies of the Town, including the School Department and the Department of Public Works.
(h) 
Deposit all funds coming into his hands forthwith in such depositories as may be designated by resolution of the Council, subject to the requirements of law as to surety and payment of interest on deposits, but all such interest shall be the property of the Town and shall be accounted for and credited to the proper account.
(i) 
Receive delinquent installments, but no amount received by the Tax Collector for taxes shall be applied to any current installment until all previous installments of taxes have been paid.
(j) 
Upon being sworn into office, give bond to the Town Clerk with sufficient surety in such amount as the Council may prescribe for the faithful performance of the duties of his office.