There shall be a Department of Finance which shall be responsible for the keeping of accounts and financial records, the head of which shall be the Director of Finance, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Town Manager. The Director of Finance shall have knowledge of municipal accounting and shall have experience in budgeting and financial control. Subject to the approval of the Town Manager, the Director of Finance may perform the duties of any office under his supervision except that of Treasurer and may consolidate one or more such offices under one person, provided the Town Treasurer shall not be the Tax Collector or the Purchasing Agent.
The Director of Finance shall have charge of the administration of the financial affairs of the Town and to that end shall — 
A. 
Compile the current expense estimates for the budget for the Manager;
B. 
Compile the capital estimates for the budget for the Manager;
C. 
Be an active participant in the planning, preparation and supervision of the budget in conjunction with the Manager;
D. 
Supervise the disbursement of all monies and control over all expenditures to insure that budget appropriations are not exceeded;
E. 
Maintain a general accounting system for the Town and each of its offices, departments and agencies; keep books for and exercise financial budgetary control over each office, department and agency; keep separate accounts for the items of appropriation contained in the Town Budget; require reports of receipts and disbursements from each receiving and spending agency of the Town to be made at such intervals as he may deem expedient;
F. 
Submit to the Board of Selectmen and the Manager, a monthly statement of all receipts and disbursements in sufficient detail to show exact financial condition of the Town;
G. 
Have prepared for the Manager, as of the end of each fiscal year, a complete, audited financial statement and report;
H. 
Supervise and be responsible for all special assessments for the Town as may be required by State Statute or local ordinance;
I. 
Receive all special assessments, license fees and other revenues of the Town, except tax revenue, or for whose collection the Town is responsible and receive all money receivable by the Town from the State or Federal government from any office, department or agency of the Town; and shall prescribe the time at which and the manner in which money received on account of the Town shall be paid to the Town Treasurer;
J. 
Supervise all public funds belonging to or under the control of the Town or any office, department or agency of the Town and turn over all funds coming into his hands to the Town Treasurer;
K. 
Supervise all investments and invested funds of the Town or in the Town's possession in a fiduciary capacity, and supervise 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 in a manner directed by the Town Treasurer;
L. 
Supervise and be responsible for the purchase, storage and distribution of all supplies, materials, equipment and other articles used by any office, department or agency of the Town, except as specifically provided otherwise in this Charter;
M. 
Approve all proposed expenditures, and unless he shall certify that there is an unencumbered balance of appropriation and available funds, no appropriation shall be encumbered and no expenditure shall be made; and
N. 
Purchase at the expense of the Town surety bonds for all officers and employees of the Town required by law or by ordinance to furnish bonds to the Town, and insurance of such types against liability, loss or damage on the part of the Town or its property as the Board of Selectmen, upon recommendation of the Manager, may authorize and be responsible for the collection of insurance benefits and other matters relating to the administration of the Town's insurance.
O. 
Notwithstanding anything contained herein, upon the affirmative vote of the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education, the finance director shall perform such duties in connection with the administration of the financial affairs of the Board of Education as may be determined and directed by the Board of Education, in addition to all other Town Finances.
The Finance Director shall, with approval of the Town Manager, appoint and remove the following financial officers who shall respectively have all the powers and duties conferred upon them by the Connecticut General Statutes, this Charter, and such other duties as may be assigned by the Board of Selectmen or by the Town Manager: Tax Collector, Assessor, Treasurer, and Purchasing Agent. The above officers shall be appointed in accordance with such rules and regulations as may be adopted pursuant to the merit system provisions contained in Article XII of this Charter.
Unless otherwise prescribed by law, the Director of Finance shall:
A. 
prescribe the forms of receipts, vouchers, bills or claims to be used by all the offices, departments and agencies of the Town;
B. 
examine and approve all contracts, orders and other documents by which the town incurs financial obligations having previously ascertained that monies have been appropriated and will be available when the obligations shall become due and payable;
C. 
audit and approve before payment all bills, invoices, payrolls and other evidence of claims, demands or charges against the Town and, with the advice of the Town Attorney, determine the regularity, legality and correctness of such claims, demands or charges;
D. 
inspect and audit any accounts of record of financial transactions which may be maintained in any office, department or agency of the Town apart from or subsidiary to the accounts kept in his office; and
E. 
draw all checks for the payment of approved claims which shall be valid only when countersigned by the Treasurer, except in the absence or inability to act of either the Director of Finance or Treasurer with respect to the above duty, the Town Manager may be authorized to substitute temporarily for either but not for both of them.
No individual, office, department, board, commission, or agency shall expend or contract any money or incur any liability, or enter into any contract which by its terms involves the expenditures of money, for any purpose, in excess of the amounts appropriated therefore. Any contract, verbal or written, made in violation of this Charter shall be null and void. Any officer or employee of the Town who violates this section shall be fined such amount as shall be determined by the Board of Selectmen, by ordinance, and shall cease to hold his office or employment. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the making of contracts or the spending of money for capital improvements to be financed in whole or part by the issuance of bonds, nor the making of contracts of lease or for services for a period exceeding the budget year in which such contract is made, when such contract is permitted by law.
Except for appropriations for capital improvements, or for departmental capital sinking funds, all appropriations whether financed from current revenues or from bond issues, shall lapse at the end of the budget year to the extent that they shall not have been expended or lawfully encumbered. Appropriations for capital improvements shall lapse only when the project for which the funds were appropriated has been completed, or "removed" by the Town acting by referendum.
All fees received by any officer or employee shall belong to the Town and shall be paid to the Department of Finance at such intervals as shall be determined by the Director of Finance.
The Purchasing Agent of the Town shall purchase all supplies, materials, equipment and other commodities required by any department, agency, board or commission of the town except the Board of Education, and Probate Court, on requisitions signed by the head of the department, office or agency, chairman of the board or commission, or a responsible representative appointed by him. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the Town Purchasing Agent from serving to the extent requested as the Purchasing Agent for the Board of Education, or Probate Court upon request of the Chairman of the Board or the Judge of such Court. Purchases shall be made under such rules and regulations as may be established by the Board of Selectmen.
The Purchasing Agent of the Town, pursuant to such rules and regulations as are established by ordinance shall contract for and purchase all supplies, materials, equipment, other commodities, and contractual services required by any department, office, agency, board or commission of the town except that he shall not purchase books, equipment and materials for instructional purposes for the use of the Board of Education unless specifically requested to do so by said Board. He shall have the following powers and duties, in addition to such other powers and duties as may be delegated to him by ordinance:
A. 
To establish, with the approval of the Finance Director and after consultation with the heads of the departments concerned, and enforce standard specifications for all supplies, materials and equipment required by the several departments, offices and agencies of the Town, except as to the purchases for the Board of Education exempted above;
B. 
To prescribe the time of making requisitions from such supplies, materials and equipment and the future period which said requisitions are to cover;
C. 
To inspect all deliveries of such supplies, materials and equipment, and to cause tests to be made when necessary in order to determine their quality, quantity and conformance with specifications;
D. 
To supervise and monitor such storerooms as the Board of Selectmen may provide by ordinance to serve the several departments, offices and agencies;
E. 
with the approval of the Manager and Finance Director, and as allowed by law, to transfer or sell to or between departments, offices and agencies supplies, materials and equipment, determined after consultation with the head of the department, office or agency concerned, to be surplus, obsolete or unused; and
F. 
To maintain an inventory of all moveable equipment belonging to the town.
All purchases made and contracts executed by the Purchasing Agent shall be pursuant to a written requisition from the head of the office, department or agency whose appropriation will be charged, and no contract or order shall be issued to any vendor unless and until the Director of Finance certifies that there is to the credit of such office, department, or agency a sufficient unencumbered appropriation for which the contract or order is to be issued.
No voucher, claim or charge against the Town shall be paid until the same has been audited by the Director of Finance or his agent, and approved by him for correctness and legality. Checks shall be drawn by the Director of Finance for the payment of approved claims which shall be valid only when countersigned by the Treasurer. In the absence or inability to act of either the Director of Finance or Treasurer with respect to the above duty, the Manager may be authorized to substitute temporarily for either, but not both of them.
If any purchase or contract for purchasing, including a continuing order or contract for the purchase of the same commodity over a period of time, involves the expenditure of three one hundredths of one percent (0.03%) or more of "Total Expenditures" in the latest approved town budget, the Purchasing Agent, unless it shall be determined by the Board of Selectmen to be against the best interest of the town, shall invite sealed bids or proposals giving ten (10) days public notice thereof by publication on the Town's website. The notice shall be simultaneously filed with the Town Clerk who shall make the notice available for public inspection. All such sealed bids or proposals shall be opened publicly. The Purchasing Agent may in his sole discretion waive any informalities, divide the award, accept any bonafide bid seemed in the best interest of the town, regardless of cost, or reject all bids.
Emergency Appropriations not exceeding Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) in any one fiscal year may be made upon the recommendation of the Manager and by a vote of not less than five (5) members of the Board of Selectmen for the purpose of meeting a public emergency threatening the lives, health or property of citizens, provided a public hearing, at which any elector or taxpayer of the Town shall have an opportunity to be heard, shall be held prior to making such appropriation, notice of such hearing shall be given on the Town's website not more than ten (10) nor less than three (3) days prior to such hearing. The notice shall be simultaneously filed with the Town Clerk who shall make the notice available for public inspection. Such hearing and notice of hearing may be waived if the Board of Selectmen, by unanimous vote of its members, shall decide that a delay in making the emergency appropriation would jeopardize the lives, health or property of citizens. In the absence of an available unappropriated and unencumbered general fund cash balance to meet such appropriation, additional means of financing shall be provided in such manner, consistent with the provisions of the General Statutes and of this Charter, as may be determined by the Board of Selectmen.
In the absence of unappropriated available funds to meet emergency appropriations under the provisions of Section 912 of this Charter, the Board of Selectmen may by resolution, upon recommendation of the Town Manager, authorize upon the full faith and credit of the town, the issuance of notes, each of which shall be designated "Emergency Note" and may be renewed from time to time, but all such notes of any fiscal year and any renewals thereof shall be paid not later than the last day of the fiscal year next succeeding the budget year in which the emergency appropriation was made, and the town shall levy sufficient taxes to pay the principal and interest thereon.
When any department, commission, board or officer shall desire to secure a transfer of funds in its or his appropriation from funds set apart for one specific purpose to another, before incurring any expenditure therefore, such department, commission, board or officers shall make application to the Town Manager, whose duty it shall be to examine the matter, and upon approval of the Board of Selectmen such transfer may be made. But not otherwise.
Notwithstanding the above, no transfer shall be made from any appropriations for an uncompleted capital improvement or from a departmental capital sinking fund without approval from the Town acting by referendum.
Upon the request of the Manager, but only within the last three (3) months of the fiscal year, the Board of Selectmen may, by resolution, transfer any unencumbered appropriation, balance or portion thereof, from one department, commission, board or office to another. No transfer shall be made from any appropriations for debt service and other statutory charges. Notwithstanding the above, no transfer shall be made from any appropriation for an uncompleted capital improvement or from a department capital sinking fund without approval of the Town acting by referendum.
Additional appropriations over and above the total budget may be made from time to time by resolution of the Board of Selectmen, upon recommendation of the Manager and certification from the Director of Finance that there is available an unappropriated and unencumbered general fund cash balance to meet such appropriations. Additional appropriations to be funded by borrowing may be made only by the town acting by referendum upon both such appropriations and the means of funding it in the manner herein provided.
The Board of Selectmen shall have power to adjust the fiscal year of the Town to coincide with the tax year or to adjust either or both to the end that they may coincide.
The Board of Selectmen shall annually designate an independent public accountant or firm of independent accountants to audit the books and accounts of the Town as provided in the General Statutes of the State of Connecticut.
If permitted by Special Act or by the Connecticut General Statutes, the Board of Selectmen may contract to have all powers and duties conferred upon the Tax Collector by the Connecticut General Statutes assigned to a private individual or firm. Such assignment shall be upon terms and conditions as determined by the Board of Selectmen with consent of the Town Manager.