Section 8-1 General Powers of Board of Finance
The Board of Finance shall have the powers, duties and responsibilities conferred upon it by this Charter and, except to the extent otherwise provided in this Charter, all powers, duties and responsibilities conferred upon Boards of Finance by the General Statutes and applicable Special Acts and ordinances, and shall perform all the functions of that Board. It shall prescribe the methods by which, and the place where, all records and books of accounts of the Town, or any department or subdivision thereof shall be kept. The Board shall further set the date and time of its meetings.
Section 8-2 Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the Town shall begin on the first day of July and shall end on the thirtieth day of June.
Section 8-3 Budget Preparation
A) On or before January fifteenth of each year, the Board of Selectmen shall provide budget guidelines for the upcoming fiscal year to all offices, boards, commissions and other agencies of the Town supported wholly or in part by Town funds, or for which a special Town appropriation is or may be made.
B) On or before February fifteenth of each year, all such offices, boards, commissions and agencies shall submit to the office of the First Selectman, on forms provided, an itemized estimate of revenues and expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year, together with the corresponding approved budget for the current fiscal year, together with estimates of any unexpended balances for the current fiscal year.
C) On or before February fifteenth of each year, the Board of Education shall furnish to the Board of Finance an itemized estimate of revenues and expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year, together with the corresponding approved budget for the current fiscal year, together with estimates of any unexpended balances for the current fiscal year.
D) On or before February fifteenth of each year, the Board of Selectmen shall submit a capital improvement plan to the Board of Finance, in accordance with Section 4-2 of this Charter, after considering the recommendations of the Capital Plan Advisory Committee.
E) On or before April first of each year, the Board of Selectmen shall submit to the Board of Finance their recommended budget.
F) The Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen may meet with the Chairman and members of offices, boards, commissions and other agencies for an explanation of budget requests. Any Chairman, and any member of an office, board, commission or other agency, shall be heard by the Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen with respect to the submitted budget proposal.
G) The Board of Finance will review the recommended budgets submitted to it and shall prepare a proposed Town budget for submission to a public hearing.
(Amended 11/98)
Section 8-4 Annual Budget Meeting
The Annual Budget Meeting, hereinafter called the Budget Meeting, shall be held on the third Tuesday of May. Not later than fourteen days prior to the scheduled Budget Meeting, the Board of Finance shall hold at least one public hearing, at which time any elector or taxpayer shall have the opportunity to be heard regarding appropriations for the ensuing year. Printed copies of the proposed budget shall be available at the office of the Town Clerk not less than forty-eight hours prior to said hearing, and the Board of Finance may make such copies available through distribution, as it may prescribe. Further, at least five days prior to said hearing, the Board of Finance will cause to be published, in a newspaper having general circulation within the Town, a notice of that hearing, an abbreviated summary of proposed budget
estimates and the estimated amount to be raised by taxation. Following the public hearing(s), the Board of Finance shall meet to act on suggestions and recommendations made at the public hearing(s) and shall thereafter recommend the proposed budget, as amended, if amended, to the Budget Meeting. The notice of the Budget Meeting shall be published at least five days prior to such meeting in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town and shall be accompanied by a copy of the proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year. Sufficient copies of the budget shall be made available for general distribution in the office of the Town Clerk both prior to the Budget Meeting and at the Budget Meeting. The Budget Meeting shall consider and discuss the budget as submitted by the Board of Finance and may take action as follows:
A) No appropriation shall be made exceeding that for the same purpose recommended by the Board of Finance, or for any other purpose not recommended by the Board of Finance.
B) Any individual appropriation may be reduced to a sum less than that recommended by the Board of Finance by an affirmative vote of a majority present and entitled to vote at such meeting. After due consideration of the proposed budget and action thereon has been completed, and action on any other item on the call of such meeting has been completed, the procedure for adopting the Annual Budget shall be by vote of the Annual Budget Meeting, by a majority of qualified voters present at such meeting. In the event the proposed budget is not adopted by the Annual Budget Meeting, the Town shall operate on a budget equal to that of the preceding fiscal year, until such time as a new budget shall be approved by an adjourned Budget Meeting or Referendum called for by petition signed by two hundred
persons entitled to vote at a Town Meeting. Such petitions shall be circulated, filed, and certified in the manner prescribed in Connecticut General Statutes '7-1 and '7-7, and such adjourned Special Meeting or Referendum shall be held within fourteen days thereafter, on a date set by the Special Meeting. The sum of the estimated expenditures, as amended by said Meeting, or, if not amended, as recommended by the Board of Finance, shall be submitted to the qualified voters for a AYES@ or ANO@ vote on the budget on the voting machines between the hours of 12:00 noon and 8:00 p.m. The voting machine labels shall be provided by the Town Clerk. The budget shall, if approved by a majority of those voting, be adopted. Should the referendum vote reject the budget, a second referendum shall be reconvened by the Moderator without additional signatures within fourteen days. However, a public hearing will be held within seven days of the referendum prior to the second
referendum. Prior to the second referendum, the Board of Finance may revise the rejected budget. A summary of any revisions made by the Board of Finance to the rejected budget shall be made available before the second referendum. In the event the budget is not adopted by June twentieth, the Board of Selectmen, with the approval of the Board of Finance, may call one or more Special Town Meetings, and appropriate funds by way of tax anticipation notes to meet necessary obligations at the budget levels then in effect, from July first to the approval of the budget, or with the approval of the Board of Finance, may make a rate bill upon its last completed list for the amount necessary to pay current expenses of the Town. Immediately upon approval of the budget, the Board of Finance shall set the tax rate and notify the Tax Collector forthwith. Official copies of the budget as finally approved shall be filed by the Board of Finance with the Town Clerk within
five days of the approval.
Section 8-5 Duties of the Board of Finance on Other Financial Matters
A) The estimate of expenditures submitted by the Board of Finance to the Budget Meeting shall include a recommendation for a contingency fund which shall not exceed three percent (3%) of the total expenditures for the proposed fiscal year. No expenditure or transfer may be made from this contingency fund without the approval of the Board of Finance, or as otherwise provided for in this Charter.
B) Supplementary Appropriation. Upon request of any office, board, commission or similar body that additional funds in excess of what had been provided in the budget or, if funds are required for which no provision was made in the budget, the Board of Finance, after inquiry into and review of the request, may approve one or more appropriations not to exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000). Said funds may be taken from any cash surplus available or from the contingency fund. The amount requested and approved shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for any one office, board, commission or similar body in any one year without Town Meeting approval.
Section 8-6 Emergency Appropriations
If a declaration of public emergency, in accordance with Section 4-6 of this Charter, is in effect, the Board of Finance may make an appropriation to meet the emergency in an amount not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).
Section 8-7 Purchasing
Purchases for the Town of East Windsor, with the exception of the Board of Education, shall be made under such rules and regulations as may be established by the Board of Sel0ectmen.
(Amended 11/93)
Section 8-8 Unexpended Appropriations
Any portion of an annual appropriation remaining unexpended or unencumbered at the close of the fiscal year shall lapse; provided, however, appropriations for construction or for other capital improvements, from whatever source derived, shall not lapse until the purpose for which the appropriation was made shall have been accomplished or abandoned; provided further that any such project shall be deemed to have been abandoned after one year shall elapse without any expenditure from, or encumbrances of, the appropriation therefore.
Section 8-9 Annual Audit
A) The Board of Finance shall annually designate an independent certified public accountant, or firm of independent certified public accountants, licensed in the State of Connecticut to audit the books and accounts of the Town as required by the General Statutes and may periodically designate such accountant to perform special audits of the books and accounts of any office, board, commission or other agency of the Town. The recommendations of the auditors shall be submitted to the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance and shall be included in the Annual Town Report for the current year. The Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance shall respond to the auditor=s recommendations in the following year=s Annual Town Report.
B) Any organization receiving funds from the Town not included in the Town audit shall cause an annual audit of its financial condition to be conducted by a certified public accountant licensed in the State of Connecticut and shall submit the results of said audit to the Board of Finance prior to submission of said organization=s budget request for the upcoming year.
(Amended 11/98)
Section 8-10 Annual Town Report
The Board of Finance shall prepare and publish an Annual Town Report. The report shall be available for distribution at least five days before the Annual Town Meeting. The report shall contain such information as is required by the General Statutes and such other matters as the Board of Finance may deem advisable to include.
Section 8-11 Treasurer
The Treasurer shall receive all monies belonging to the Town, pay it out on the order of the proper authority, keep accurately the records required by law and have such other powers and duties as are prescribed in the General Statutes. The Treasurer shall inform all departments that monies belonging to the Town shall be deposited within three working days from receipt of the same. All monies received belonging to the Town will either be deposited or turned over to the Treasurer within three working days.
Section 8-12 Tax Collector
The Tax Collector shall collect taxes and sewer assessments and deposit same within five working days. Taxes shall be due and payable in semi-annual installments on July first and January first of each year, unless otherwise fixed by ordinance. The Tax Collector shall issue monthly reports to the Town Treasurer. The Board of Selectmen shall have the power to request and secure additional, other than monthly, reports from the Tax Collector.
(Amended 11/93)
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