The fiscal year of the Town shall begin on the first day of July and shall end on the last day of June, unless another period is required by General Law.
The Triton Regional School District Committee and the Whittier Regional Vocational School District Committee shall create and submit their proposed budgets in accordance with their respective regional district agreements and state law.[1]
[1]
MGL Chapter 71 § 16-16I and 603 CMR 41.00
Within the time fixed by by-law, before the Town Meeting is to convene in its spring session, the Town Manager, after consultation with the Board of Selectmen, shall submit to the Warrant Advisory Committee a proposed budget message and supporting documents. The Town Manager shall simultaneously provide for publication in a local newspaper, a general summary of the proposed budget. The summary shall specifically indicate any major variations from the current operating budget and the reason for such changes. The notice shall further indicate the times and places at which complete copies of the proposed operating budget are available for examination by the public both electronically and in print.
The budget message of the Town Manager shall explain the budget for all Town departments, both in fiscal terms and in terms of work programs. It shall outline proposed financial policies of the Town for the ensuing fiscal year, describe important features of the budget, indicate any major variations from the current year in financial policies, expenditures and revenues, together with the reasons for such changes, summarize the Town's debt position and include other material as the Town Manager deems desirable, or the Selectmen may reasonably require.
The proposed operating budget shall provide a complete financial plan for all Town funds and activities for the ensuing fiscal year. Except as may otherwise be required by General Law or this Charter, it shall be in the form which the Town Manager deems desirable or the Selectmen may require. In the presentation of the budget, the Town Manager shall utilize modern concepts of fiscal presentation so as to furnish maximum information and the best financial control. The budget shall show in detail all estimated income from the proposed property tax levy and other sources and all proposed expenditures, including debt service, for the following year. The budget shall be arranged to show the actual and estimated income and expenditures for the previous, current and ensuing fiscal years, and shall indicate in separate sections:
(a) 
Proposed expenditures for current operations during the ensuing fiscal year, detailed by Town department and position in terms of work programs, and the method of financing such expenditures.
(b) 
Proposed capital expenditures during the ensuing fiscal year, detailed by Town department, and the proposed method of financing each such capital expenditure and a summary of the proposed capital improvements program.
(c) 
Estimated surplus revenue and free cash at the end of the current fiscal year, including estimated balances in any special accounts established for specific purposes.
(a) 
Public Hearing — Forthwith upon its receipt of the proposed operating budget, the Warrant Advisory Committee shall provide for publication in a local newspaper and posting electronically and in print, a notice stating the time and place, not less than ten days, nor more than fourteen days, following such publication, at which it will hold a public hearing on the proposed operating budget as submitted.
(b) 
Review — The Warrant Advisory Committee shall consider, in open public meeting, the detailed expenditures proposed for each Town department and may confer with representatives of each such agency in connection with its review and consideration. The Warrant Advisory Committee may require the Town Manager, or any other Town department or Town office, to furnish such additional information as the Warrant Advisory Committee may deem necessary to assist in its review and consideration of the proposed operating budget.
(c) 
Action by Town Meeting — The Warrant Advisory Committee shall file a report with the Town Clerk containing its recommendations for actions on the proposed operating budget, which report shall be published electronically and in print at least ten days before the date on which the Town Meeting acts on the proposed budget. When the budget proposed by the Town Manager is before the Town Meeting for action, it shall first be subject to amendments, if any, proposed by the Warrant Advisory Committee before any other amendments shall be proposed.
The Town Manager shall submit a capital improvement program to the Board of Selectmen and the Warrant Advisory Committee at least one hundred fifty days before the start of each fiscal year. It shall include:
(a) 
a clear and concise general summary of its contents;
(b) 
a list of all capital improvements proposed to be undertaken during the next ensuing five years, with supporting information as to the need for each capital improvement;
(c) 
cost estimates, methods of financing and recommended time schedules for each improvement;
(d) 
the estimated annual cost of operating and maintaining each facility and piece of major equipment involved.
The information is to be revised annually by the Town Manager with regard to the capital improvements still pending, or in the process of being acquired, improved, or constructed.
Warrants for the payment of Town funds prepared by the Town Accountant in accordance with the provisions of the General Laws, shall be submitted to the Town Manager for review prior to submission of same to the Board of Selectmen for approval.
Statements summarizing the budget and the capital improvement program and related warrant articles, as adopted by the Town Meeting, shall be made available electronically, and in print at the office of the Town Clerk, for examination by the public not more than ten days after their adoption.