The fiscal year of the Town of Bethel shall
run from July 1 through June 30 and shall be designated by the year
in which June 30 falls. This fiscal year shall apply to all funds
operated by the Town.
A.
There shall be three permanent funds operated by the
Town, the general fund, airport fund and wastewater fund. However,
only the general fund shall be permitted to receive and disburse moneys
from property taxation, unless otherwise approved at a Town Meeting.
Other permanent funds may be established through action of Town Meeting.
C.
All revenues and appropriations of the general fund
(or municipal budget) shall be subject to Town Meeting approval. The
revenues and appropriations, as stated in separate budgets, of the
airport and wastewater funds shall only be subject to approval of
the Selectmen, unless otherwise directed by this chapter.
D.
Without Town Meeting approval, the Selectmen shall
also be authorized to establish, and make disbursements from, separate
accounts for specific, community-oriented purposes when said moneys
are derived entirely from private donations. The total aggregate disbursement
in any fiscal year shall not exceed $25,000. Said accounts shall lapse
to the Town's general fund after a period of five years from the date
of establishment unless otherwise approved by the Selectmen.
A.
The Town Manager shall be responsible for the initial
preparation and proposal of a comprehensive, annual municipal budget
and capital plan for the coming fiscal year. The budget and capital
plan shall be due to the Selectmen and Budget Committee not later
than March 1 of each year. The budget document shall contain balancing
revenue and expenditure statements and a letter of transmittal. Other
information deemed necessary to conduct proper review of the document
may also be included directly within the budget.
[Amended 6-11-2003]
B.
Revenues shall be clearly identified and presented
in separate categories, to the greatest practical extent. With the
exception of revenue sources created by statute, all general fund
revenues received by the Town shall be determined solely by policies
authorized by the Selectmen and reflected in the Town of Bethel Fee
Schedule.
[Amended 6-13-2001]
C.
Expenditures shall be summarized by department. Subdepartment
expenditures shall be further broken down and presented in a line-item
format, with categorical consistency and uniformity across all departments,
to the extent it is practical. Those expenditures which cannot be
classified within a department summary shall nevertheless be grouped
with expenditures of generally common purpose, or identified separately,
as determined by the Town Manager. In all cases, the presentation
of expenditures within the budget shall be clear and concise.
A.
All direct and indirect personnel costs (to include
wages, salaries, stipends, rates of pay, mandatory and discretionary
benefits, etc.) which are contained within the Town Manager's proposed
municipal budget shall be subject only to the approval of the Selectmen
prior to these amounts being incorporated into articles of a Town
Meeting warrant.
B.
The Budget Committee shall be prohibited from formally
reviewing these expenditures within the budget, with the exception
of establishment of new positions, or programs, and their associated
personnel costs.
A.
In conjunction with the annual budget, the Town Manager
shall prepare and propose a capital plan which projects capital expenditures
and related revenue sources for a minimum of five years into the future.
Actions contained within the initial year of said plan shall also
be reflected in a specifically designated portion of the budget being
proposed for the coming fiscal year.
B.
A capital expenditure shall generally be classified
as the cost of any land parcel, land development, building, building
modification, road construction, road rehabilitation, equipment, project,
or other effort whose benefit or utility is expected to exceed one
year in duration and whose cost exceeds $5,000.
A.
Town Meetings may be called at any time, for the consideration
of any appropriation or other lawful purpose, in accordance with statutory
procedures. The Annual Town Meeting for consideration of the municipal
budget for the coming fiscal year shall be held in June on a date(s)
determined by the Selectmen.
B.
The warrant of the Annual Town Meeting referenced
above shall, at a minimum, be prepared to include at least three separate
articles which address each of the following actions:
[Amended 6-13-2001]
(1)
Ratification of overdrafts in the current fiscal year
itemized by department.
(2)
An acceptance of estimated state/federal revenues
to reduce the tax commitment, local non-property tax revenues created
by statute or Selectmen's policy to reduce the tax commitment, and
an acceptance of funds voluntarily offered to the Town to reduce the
tax commitment.
(3)
An appropriation of existing undesignated funds to
reduce the tax commitment.
C.
The warrant of the Annual Town Meeting shall also
be prepared to include separate articles for each departmental appropriation.
Nondepartmental appropriations of similar purpose may be grouped into
a single warrant article, at the discretion of the Selectmen. However,
at no time shall the appropriations of multiple departments be included
in a single article.
D.
The warrant of the Annual Town Meeting may contain
an article establishing an appropriation for contingency expenses
which may be encountered during the fiscal year. If approved, expenditures
against this appropriation shall be approved by the Selectmen regardless
of the amount.
E.
Appropriations which are designated in the capital
portion of the budget shall be presented on the Town Meeting warrant
in one or more separate articles, as determined by the Selectmen.
F.
Appropriations for payment of the Town's existing
debt obligations shall be presented in one or more separate articles,
as determined by the Selectmen.
G.
Authorization of the Town to incur additional debt
shall be presented in one or more separate articles, as determined
by the Selectmen.
H.
All other appropriations, authorizations, ordinance
enactments, ordinance repeals and ordinance amendments shall be presented
in separate articles such that each article contains only one general
subject for consideration.
[Amended 6-15-2005]
A.
All disbursements from all funds of the Town shall
be subject to approval of the Selectmen. No disbursement shall be
made if said payment will overdraft the account from which the funds
are drawn, unless by specific order of the Selectmen.
B.
The Selectmen shall be authorized to overdraft subdepartmental
accounts contained within a single department, so long as the overall
expenditure of the department does not exceed the corresponding Town
Meeting appropriation.
C.
In the event an overdraft of a departmental appropriation
is anticipated and the Selectmen make formal determination that the
interest of the public health, safety and welfare is best served by
such overdraft, then the Selectmen shall order such overdraft in the
estimated amount prior to disbursement of funds.
D.
All purchases, contracts, agreements and so forth
which obligate the Town to an aggregate expense for a singular purpose
exceeding $10,000 shall be subject to approval of the Selectmen prior
to execution. The Selectmen shall not obligate the Town for any general
fund purchase, contract or agreement without previous appropriation
at Town Meeting.
E.
Debt to be incurred by the Town shall be subject to
approval of the Selectmen prior to incurrence. This approval shall
be in addition to any requisite Town Meeting approval.
[Amended 6-15-2005]
A.
The Town Manager and Finance Officer shall approve
all disbursements from all funds of the Town, prior to review by the
Selectmen.
B.
All purchases, contracts, agreements and so forth
which obligate the Town to an aggregate expense for a singular purpose
exceeding $100, and to a maximum of $10,000, shall be subject to approval
of the Town Manager prior to execution. The Town Manager shall not
obligate the Town for any general fund purchase, contract or agreement
without previous appropriation at Town Meeting.
[Amended 6-15-2005]
A.
All purchases, contracts, agreements and so forth
which obligate the Town to an aggregate expense for a singular purpose
exceeding $10,000 in any given fiscal year shall be subject to a competitive
quote, bid or proposal process with final selection subject to approval
of the Selectmen. The specific nature of said competitive process
shall be determined by the Selectmen, or Town Manager, dependent on
circumstances.
B.
The Selectmen shall not be bound to accept the lowest
cost quote, bid or proposal.
C.
If approved by the Selectmen, the conduct and results
of a single competitive quote, bid or proposal process shall be sufficient
for any agreement whose terms do not exceed three years in length
from date of execution.
D.
In any transaction subject to this section, and by order of the Selectmen and with specific cause so stated in the order, provisions of Subsection A may be waived.
E.
The procurement of legal, assessing, or insurance
services shall not be subject to this section.
The balances of certain accounts, previously
appropriated, may be carried forward into the following fiscal year
when, in the judgment of the Selectmen, any of the conditions described
in Subsection A, B or C herein exist:
A.
The intended expenditure did not occur because of
operational delays which were beyond the control of the management
of the Town.
B.
The intended purpose of the expenditure is met seasonally
and the termination date of the fiscal year arbitrarily places said
purpose within two fiscal years.
C.
The Town has encumbered funds necessary for payment
but disbursement of funds has not yet occurred.
[Amended 6-13-2001]
The Town shall be authorized to collect and
receive taxes which have not yet been assessed.
On an annual basis, the Selectmen shall determine
tax due dates and the interest rate to be charged on delinquent taxes.
A.
Any real property which the Town may acquire for nonpayment
of taxes or sewer fees shall be sold through a sealed bid process,
conducted at the discretion of the Selectmen. The Selectmen shall
have the right to retain for any purpose and on behalf of the Town
any property deemed to be in the Town's interest.
B.
In lieu of the bid sale of tax- or sewer-acquired
properties, the Selectmen shall be authorized to enter into a payment
plan with the former owner(s) on terms deemed acceptable to the Town.
C.
Upon order of the Selectmen that a bid process shall
be conducted, the former owner, according to tax records, shall be
notified by certified mail that said process has been ordered and
that the owner has 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the
notice to pay all back taxes, sewer fees, accrued interest, lien fees,
mailing fees and administrative fees and a penalty of $300 in order
to receive quitclaim title from the Town. Full payment must be made
to the Town in cash or certified check.
D.
In the event full payment is not received after the
passage of 30 days, a notice of tax- and sewer-acquired properties
for sealed bid sale shall be advertised in a minimum of two consecutive
editions each in the Bethel Citizen and Lewiston Sun-Journal. Bids
shall be publicly received and opened not less than 25 nor more than
35 days after initial advertisement.
E.
The Selectmen, at their next regular meeting after
bid opening, shall consider bids and take whatever action is deemed
in the Town's interest. In the event a bid is accepted, the Town shall
issue a quitclaim deed upon receipt of the bid amount in cash or certified
check.
A.
Any real property held by the Town, or tax/sewer-acquired
property held by the Town for a period exceeding 10 years from original
foreclosure date, may only be sold after Town Meeting authorization.
B.
Sale of this property shall be accomplished by the
Selectmen in accordance with terms or process that was determined
at the Town Meeting which authorized its sale.
C.
With the exception of easements granted for normal
utility activity within Town rights-of-way to Central Maine Power,
Oxford West Telephone, or Adelphia Communications, the sale and/or
conveyance of any easement or right-of-way encumbering Town property
shall be subject to Town Meeting approval.
D.
The Selectmen shall have the authority to grant normal
utility easements within Town rights-of-way to Central Maine Power,
Oxford West Telephone, or Adelphia Communications.
A.
By order of the Selectmen, any item of Town-owned
equipment or other personal property which is no longer useful to
municipal service and whose estimated value exceeds $2,500 shall be
sold by sealed bid process.
B.
By order of the Selectmen, any item of Town-owned
equipment or other personal property whose estimated value does not
exceed $2,500 may be sold, bartered, or disposed of in a manner deemed
to be in the Town's best interest.
Copies of Town financial audits shall be permanently
secured and available at the Town office for public inspection during
normal business hours.
