ARTICLE IV OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Section 1
The Town Administrator shall supervise the Office of Financial Management, which shall encompass and include the responsibilities and activities of the Treasurer/Tax Collector, Assessors and Town Accountant.
Section 2
The Treasurer shall, in addition to such matters as required by law, pay money from the Town treasury only by bank check and by authority of a warrant approved by the Board of Selectmen.
He/she shall furnish to the Town Administrator such statements regarding Town funds as requested by the Town Administrator; and shall prepare and submit to the Town Administrator, for publication in the Annual Town Report, a statement of all the Treasurer’s receipts and expenditures, of any balance on hand and a detail of the Town debt.
Section 3
The depreciation and trust funds of the Town, unless otherwise specified in the General Laws, shall be deposited at interest by the Treasurer, with the approval of the Town Administrator, in one or more banking institutions under the supervision of the State Bank Commissioner or whose deposits are insured by a federal agency. These funds or portion thereof may be transferred from Treasurer with the approval of the Town Administrator.
Section 4
The records of the Office of Financial Management shall be audited by an independent agency or firm at least once every three (3) years.
Section 5
The Board of Assessors shall, in addition to such matters as required by law, provide the public by December 31st annually with a comprehensive report containing all the statistics and available data used by the Board of Assessors in the assessment of real property value used in the establishment of a municipal real estate and personal property tax rate for the municipal fiscal year commencing on the July 1st of the same calendar year. The report and related mapping information shall be made available to the public during the hours of operation of the Office of the Board of Assessors. The Board of Assessors shall file copies of the report with the Town Clerk and Board of Selectmen, and further, shall make it available to the public in printed or electronic format. The contents of the report, for each property listed, shall include the
last name of the property owner, street number, street name, assessors map number, lot number, parcel number, land value, building value and total assessed value. It shall also include, if available, the book and page of the deed as recorded at the Worcester District Registry of Deeds.
Section 6
The Town Accountant shall, in addition to such matters as required by law, furnish in his/her annual report a balance sheet showing the assets and liabilities of the Town and an analysis of the expenditures under each appropriation, and a listing of the total amounts paid to each person and business organization. He/shall shall furnish such statements and reports regarding financial transactions of the Town as the Town Administrator may request.
Section 7
The Town Administrator shall develop a comprehensive set of written financial management and fiscal policies for review and approval by the Board of Selectmen. The Town Administrator shall develop said policies after receiving the advice and recommendations of the Finance Committee.
Section 8 - Capital Investment Board
(A) Section 2 of Chapter 117 of the Acts of 1995 established a board to be known as the Capital Investment Board comprised of seven (7) voters of West Boylston, of whom at least four shall be members of the Finance Committee. Said Board shall choose its own officers, set its own rules and shall serve without pay, except the clerk who may receive reasonable compensation for his/her services. The Clerk of this Board may or may not be a member of the Board. The Moderator shall appoint the members of this Board for a term of three years. The Moderator shall forthwith fill by appointment any vacancies that occur in this membership and said appointee shall serve for the remainder of his predecessor’s term of office.
(B) The Board shall consider matters relating to appropriations from the Capital Investment Fund, and may, but is not required to, make recommendations to the Town or any board, committee, or official thereof, relative to matters and establish policies relative to the funding of capital projects of the Town and set priorities and schedules for such capital projects. The Board may study proposed capital outlays involving the acquisition of land or an expenditure of $20,000 or greater having a useful life of at least five years. All officers, boards, and committees, including the Selectmen and the School Committee, shall by September 1st each year give to such Board, on forms prepared by it, information concerning all projects anticipated by them to need Town Meeting action during the ensuing six years. The
Board shall consider the relative need, timing, and cost of these expenditures and the effect each will have on the financial position of the Town.
(C) The Board shall transmit its recommendations to the Town Administrator, as well as the appropriate officer, board, agency or department involved in proposed capital improvement. These shall constitute a Capital Improvement Program. The report of this program shall, as to items planned for the ensuing fiscal year, be given to the Town Administrator and Finance Committee for their review and possible inclusion in the budget. The text and tables of a capital program for the following five years shall be published with the Town Administrator’s report. Such capital program after its adoption shall permit the expenditure on projects included therein of sums from departmental budgets for surveys, architectural or engineering advice, options, or appraisals; but no such expenditure shall be incurred on
projects which have not been approved by the Town through the appropriations of sums in the current year or in prior years.
(D) In accordance with Chapter 117 of the Acts of 1995, the Town of West Boylston hereby establishes and shall maintain a special fund to be known as the Capital Investment Fund. The Town may appropriate to the Capital Investment Fund by a majority vote at an annual or special town Meeting in any year an amount not exceeding ten percent of the amount raised in the preceding fiscal year by taxation of real estate and tangible personal property. The aggregate amount of said fund at any time shall not exceed ten percent of the equalized valuation of the Town, as defined in section one of Chapter 44 of the General Laws. Any interest shall be added to and become part of the Capital Investment Fund. The Treasurer of the Town shall be the custodian of the fund and may deposit proceeds in national banks or
invest the proceeds by deposit in savings banks, cooperative banks or trust companies organized under the laws of the Commonwealth or invest the same in such securities as are legal for the investment of funds of savings banks under the laws of the Commonwealth or in federal savings and loan associations situated in the Commonwealth. The Capital Investment Fund may be appropriated at Semi-Annual Town Meetings by a two-thirds vote. Said fund may be appropriated for any purpose for which the Town would be authorized to borrow money under sections seven and eight of Chapter 44 of the General Laws, other than clauses (1) and (2) of Chapter 44 Section 8, and to pay the debt service on said projects, which are approved by the by the Capital Investment Board.
Section 9
The Town Administrator shall develop and maintain a ten (10) year Capital Improvement Plan for all of the town’s assets with a replacement value of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) or more, and submit the Capital Improvement Plan with appropriate and prudent borrowing and debt management to the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee as part of the annual plan and recommendation prepared by the Town Administrator.
The Capital Improvement Plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
· Department Capital Project or Acquisition Request and Cost Justification Statement
· Estimated life-cycle costs and impact on annual operating budget of new facility, project or equipment
· Methodology and Criteria used to establish funding priority, and
· Financing Plan, including, but not limited to, recommendations on:
(a) type and source of funding,
(b) projected debt service schedule,
(c) tax rate impact analysis, including Proposition 2 ½ Override, Debt Exclusion or Capital Exclusion recommendations, as appropriate.
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