[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Sterling 2-3-1930, approved 3-26-1930; amended 2-13-1950 ATM by Art. 40; 10-10-1972 STM by Art.
17, approved 1-31-1973; 4-24-1978
STM by Art. 33, approved 7-25-1978; 9-13-1982 STM by Art. 9, approved 1-3-1983; 5-17-1997 by Art. 42, approved 9-18-1997; readopted 5-14-2012 ATM by Art. 19, approved
10-11-2012. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.Â
There shall be a Finance Committee consisting of seven
registered voters of the Town. Members shall serve without compensation
and none of the seven members appointed hereunder shall be an elected
or appointed officer, a member of another board or committee (other
than Capital Budget Committee, Building Needs Committee, or Personnel
Board), or a municipal employee. The appointed members of the Committee
shall serve for terms of three years and be eligible to succeed themselves.
B.Â
Members of the Committee shall be appointed in the
following manner: within the month of June following the next Annual
Town Meeting, the Select Board, the presently constituted Finance
Committee and the Town Moderator shall meet and appoint by majority
vote (the Select Board as a whole and the Finance Committee as a whole
each having one vote for this purpose) one member to serve for one
year, two members to serve for two years and two members to serve
for three years. Members of the present Finance Committee whose terms
shall not expire in 1973 will be deemed to be appointed to the new
Finance Committee for the balance of their terms. Thereafter within
the month of June following each subsequent Annual Town Meeting, positions
on the Committee vacant by reason of the expiration of a member's
term shall be filled by appointments for a term of three years in
the same manner specified above with the exception that only members
of the Committee whose terms did not expire at said Annual Town Meeting
will be eligible to vote on such appointments.
C.Â
Thereafter, the provisions of this bylaw relating
to reappointment shall apply.
D.Â
Any member of said Committee who shall become a municipal
employee or who ceases to be a resident of the Town or who shall be
appointed or elected to Town office or a committee or board other
than the Personnel Board, Building Needs Committee, or Capital Budget
Committee shall cease to be a member of the Finance Committee.
E.Â
Members absent from 1/3 of the regular meetings in
any calendar year may be removed by a two-thirds-vote of the other
members present and voting. If a vacancy occurs in the membership
of the Committee due to a member's death, resignation, removal or
inability to act for any reason, a new member shall be appointed to
fill such vacancy for the unexpired term thereof in the same manner
specified above. Such vacancy shall be filled as soon as possible
but in any event no later than 30 days from its occurrence.
Within one month of the Annual Town Meeting,
the Committee shall meet for the purpose of electing a Chair and Secretary
and such other officers and subcommittees (from its own members) as
the Committee deems necessary and desirable to carry out its work
for the ensuing year. The Committee shall normally meet at least monthly
(except during the months of July and August) at the Town Hall and
may hold special meetings upon at least 24 hours' notice to each member.
The time of the regular meeting of the Committee will be established
at its organizational meeting and may subsequently be changed by majority
vote of its members.
The Finance Committee shall consider all matters
of business included within the articles of any warrant for a Town
Meeting for the purpose of making reports and recommendations thereon
to the Town. The recommendations shall be those of a majority of the
entire Committee, but this shall not be construed to prevent recommendations
by a minority as such. The report for the Annual Town Meeting shall
state the total amount of the appropriations recommended by the Committee
on the entire warrant and the approximate tax rate based on such recommendations.
The report shall contain a statement of the doings of the Committee
during the year, with such recommendations or suggestions as it may
deem advisable on any matters pertaining to the welfare of the Town.
It may issue recommendations on referenda and other matters on any
ballot other than the choices of individuals for office.
The Finance Committee shall have authority at
any time to investigate the books, accounts, and management of any
department of the Town, and to employ such expert and other assistants
as it may deem advisable for that purpose, and the books and accounts
of all departments and officers of the Town shall be open to the inspection
of the Committee and any person employed by it for that purpose.
A.Â
The various Town boards, officers, and committees
charged with the expenditure of the Town money shall, not later than
the 15th day of January of each year, prepare detailed estimates of
the amounts deemed by them necessary for the administration of their
respective offices or departments for the ensuing fiscal year with
explanatory statements of the reasons for any changes from the amounts
appropriated for the same purpose in the preceding year. They shall
also prepare estimates of all probable items of income which may be
received by them during the ensuing year in connection with the administration
of their departments or offices, and a statement of the amount of
appropriation requested by them for the ensuing fiscal year. They
shall also submit on or before January 10 in each year a breakdown
of all expenses of their office or department for the preceding year.
Such estimates and statements shall be filed with the Town Accountant
who shall at once transmit same to the Finance Committee.
B.Â
The Committee shall duly consider the estimates and
statements filed by the Town boards, officers, and committees, and
may confer with said boards, officers and committees, and hold hearings,
if they deem it advisable. The Finance and Advisory Committee shall
thereupon recommend to the Town such sums and in such division of
items as it considers necessary and practicable for each officer,
department and board.
The Committee shall consider and act upon all
emergency requests requiring transfer of funds from the Reserve Fund.
