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.