[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Plymouth 4-16-1974 ATM by Art. 58; amended in its entirety 4-8-2013 ATM by Art. 20 (Ch. 38 of the 1999 Code).[1] Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter was previously amended 4-12-1995 ATM by Art. 38 and 11-15-1995 STM by Art. 12.
A. 
The Town shall establish a committee to be known as the "Capital Improvements Committee" to assist and advise the Town Manager in presenting a five-year capital improvements program as set forth in the Plymouth Home Rule Charter.
B. 
Said Committee shall be composed of seven citizens of the Town. The Committee shall consist of one member appointed annually by the Chairperson of the Select Board either from among the members of the Select Board or as their designee, one member who shall be appointed annually as a representative of the Advisory and Finance Committee by its Chairperson, one member who shall be appointed annually as a representative of the Plymouth School Committee by its Chairperson, and three at-large members who do not hold elective positions in the Town, two of whom shall be appointed by the Select Board and one of whom shall be appointed by the Town Meeting Moderator. A fourth at-large member shall be a Town Meeting member appointed annually by the Moderator. At-large members shall be from different precincts and their terms of office shall be four years. The Committee shall choose its own officers.
A. 
Capital projects and improvements involving major nonrecurring tangible assets and projects which are purchased or undertaken at intervals of not less than five years, have a useful life of at least five years, and cost over $25,000 shall be submitted by departments, boards, commissions, committees, and petitioners to the Committee for evaluation and review. Information concerning all anticipated capital projects requiring Town Meeting appropriation during the ensuing five years will be submitted to the Procurement Officer by November 1 of each year on forms provided.
[Amended 4-6-2024 STM by Art. 7]
B. 
The projects to be undertaken in the next fiscal year shall be prioritized by the Committee. During its evaluation, the Committee shall consider the relative need, impact, timing, and cost of these expenditures. Projects not funded in the next fiscal year will remain on the Five-Year Plan. The requestors shall also submit a six- to twenty-year plan of all capital items with a $2.5 million or higher cost. These short- and long-term projections will assist the Finance Director in fiscal planning.
C. 
All asset or project requests shall be submitted by November 1 for the Annual Town Meeting. Any emergencies that require Town Meeting appropriation at other times of year shall be processed in the same manner. Although demand and/or financing availability may cause these requests to have a more immediate need, the requests shall be evaluated in relation to the existing fiscal year Capital Improvement Plan.
The Committee shall rank all requests for assets and projects and prepare a prioritized Capital Improvement Plan for the next fiscal year. The report shall be submitted to the Town Manager for funding, consideration, approval, and recommendation as required by the Plymouth Home Rule Charter. The Town Manager shall submit the recommended capital improvement report to the Select Board for its consideration in accordance with the Plymouth Home Rule Charter. The recommended Capital Improvement Plan shall be presented in a single article separately listing the projects to be undertaken.
After its adoption, the capital improvement budget shall permit the expenditure of sums from departmental budgets on projects included therein for surveys, architectural or engineering advice, options or appraisals, but no such expenditure shall be incurred on projects which have not been so approved through the appropriation of sums in the current year or in prior years or for preliminary planning for projects to be undertaken more than five years in the future.
No appropriation shall be voted for a capital improvement unless the proposed capital improvement is considered in the Committee's annual report or unless the Committee shall first have submitted a special report to the Town Meeting. The Committee's report and the Select Board's recommended capital improvement budget shall be published and made available in a manner consistent with the distribution of the operating budget.