[Adopted 3-23-1998 STM by Art. 7, approved 4-28-1998 (Bylaw 61)]
The Board of Selectmen shall establish and appoint a committee to be known as the “Capital Improvement Planning Committee,” composed of one member of the Board of Selectmen, appointed by the Selectmen, one member of the Finance Committee, appointed by the Chairman thereof, and three members at large for initial one-, two- and three-year terms; thereafter the terms shall be for three years. The Town Administrator shall be and the Town Accountant may be Committee staff members without the right to vote. A sixth member from the general public shall be appointed annually to serve as an alternate and will vote in this capacity when needed. Annually, after July 1, the Committee shall reorganize by electing its own officers, consisting of a Chair, Vice Chair and Clerk. If a vacancy occurs, it shall be filled by the appointing authority that appointed the member whose position has become vacant.
The Committee shall study proposed capital expenditures that are made in order to provide, replace, or improve the facilities that furnish services to the public. For the purpose of this article, a capital improvement or project is a physical betterment or item of equipment or project having a useful life of at least one year and a total cost that exceeds $5,000. All department heads, boards and committees, including the Selectmen, shall, by October 1 of each year, give to the Committee, on forms prepared by it, information concerning all anticipated projects requiring Town Meeting action during the ensuing five years. The Committee shall consider the relative need, impact, timing and cost of these expenditures and the effect each will have on the financial position of the Town. No appropriation shall be voted for a capital expenditure requested by a department, board or committee unless the proposed capital improvement is considered in the Committee's report, or the Committee shall first have submitted a report to the Board of Selectmen explaining the omission.
The Committee shall prepare an annual report recommending a capital improvement budget for the next fiscal year and a capital improvement program, including a forecast of capital improvements for the following four fiscal years. The report shall be submitted to the Board of Selectmen for its consideration and approval. The Committee shall submit its approved capital budget to the Annual Town Meeting for adoption by the Town.
The Committee's report and the recommended capital budget shall be published and made available in a manner consistent with the distribution of the Finance Committee report.