A Finance Committee of five members shall be
appointed by the Moderator for three-year overlapping terms.
A. No person holding an elective or appointive town office
shall be eligible to serve on said Committee.
B. At the close of each Annual Town Meeting, there shall
be appointed a member or members of the Finance Committee for terms
of three years to succeed the member or members whose terms expire
that year. The term of office shall begin on July 1 of each year.
To this Committee shall be referred all articles
in any warrant for a town meeting hereafter issued. The Select Board,
after drawing up any warrant for a town meeting, shall transmit immediately
a copy thereof to each member of the Finance Committee, and said Committee
shall consider all such articles. A public hearing may be held upon
any article, unless a public hearing by some other tribunal is required
by law, and a notice of such hearing shall be given by posting a copy
thereof at the main entrance to the Town Hall. After due consideration
of the subject matter in such articles, said Committee shall report
thereon to the town meeting, in print or otherwise, such recommendations
as it deems best for the interest of the town.
It shall be the duty of the Finance Committee to consider the annual estimates and expenditures as prepared by the Town Accountant and to add another column to his prepared statement giving the amounts which, in its opinion, should be appropriated for the ensuing year, and the Committee shall add thereto such explanations and suggestions in relation to the proposed appropriations as it may deem expedient and report thereon as provided in §
42-2.
Whenever any vacancy shall occur in said Committee
by resignation, removal from town, death, failure to qualify or otherwise,
said vacancy shall be filled by the Moderator, and if any member is
absent from five consecutive meetings of said Committee, except in
case of illness, said Committee shall consider his position vacant
and so advise the Moderator, who shall proceed to fill the same. The
term of office of all persons chosen as aforesaid to fill vacancies
shall expire at the close or final adjournment of the Annual Town
Meeting next succeeding said vacancy, and at said Annual Town Meeting
a successor shall be appointed to fill out the unexpired term of each
member whose office has been so vacated, in the same manner as the
original appointment.
It shall be the duty of said Committee to make
an annual report, in print, of its doings, with recommendations relative
to financial matters.