[Amended 11-2-2010]
There shall be a Department of Finance, the head of which shall
be the Director of Finance, who shall be a person appointed by the
Town Administrator. Further organization of this department shall
be as stated in this Charter and by ordinances enacted by the Town
Council, to the end that the essential processes in the finances of
the Town, namely, control and accounts, purchasing, assessment of
property, collection of taxes and other revenues and payments may
be properly administered.
[Amended 11-2-2010]
The Director of Finance shall be the Town Treasurer, the tax
collector and the Town auditor and, subject to the provisions of this
Charter and of ordinances enacted by the Town Council, he/she is hereby
vested and shall have and exercise all the powers and duties now and
hereafter vested by law in town treasurers, in tax collectors and
in town auditors, and he/she shall have and exercise all the powers
and duties vested by this Charter in the office of Director of Finance
and in the Department of Finance or that may be vested hereafter in
said office of Director of Finance and said Department of Finance
by resolution, ordinance or law and he/she shall have charge of the
administration of the financial affairs of the Town.
[Amended 11-10-2002]
The Director of Finance shall have professional
experience in accounting and taxation and shall have had experience
in professional, municipal or corporate budgeting and financial control.
The Director of Finance shall receive such annual
salary as may be set by a vote of the Town Council, unless the duties
of said office shall be performed by the Town Administrator.
[Amended 11-10-2002; 11-2-2010]
The Director of Finance shall:
(1)
Cooperate with the Town Administrator and the Budget
Board in compiling the expenditure and revenue estimates for the budget;
(2)
Collect and receive all taxes and special assessments
for the collection of which the Town is responsible. He/she shall
have all the powers, rights and duties prescribed under the general
laws for tax collectors;
(3)
Receive all license fees, rents, funds, moneys receivable
by the Town from the state and/or the federal government, and from
the court and from any department, office and agency of the Town,
except as otherwise provided in this Charter;
(4)
Have custody of all public funds belonging to or under
the control of the Town, or any department, office and agency of the
Town government including the School Department and the Board of Water
Commissioners and deposit all funds coming into his/her hands in such
depositories as may be designated by resolution of the Town Council,
or, if no such resolution be adopted by the Town Council, in such
depositories as he/she may choose, subject to the requirements of
law as to surety and the payment of interest on deposits, but all
such interest shall be the property of the Town and shall be accounted
for and credited to the proper accounts;
(5)
Have custody of all investments and invested funds
of the Town or in the possession of the Town in a fiduciary capacity,
and have the safekeeping of all bonds and notes of the Town and the
receipt and delivery of Town bonds and notes for transfer, registration
or exchange;
(6)
Exercise control over all expenditures by preauditing
all bills, invoices, payrolls or other evidences of claims or charges
against the Town, and seeing that budget appropriations are not exceeded
by disbursements in any department, office or agency of the Town including
the School Department and the Board of Water Commissioners;
(7)
Pay out the funds by check such payments being made only after compliance with provisions of Subsection (6) above, and authorization by the Town Council;
(8)
Prescribe and maintain an accounting system for the
Town government, and adopt and require standard accounting procedures
for all departments, offices and agencies of the Town, including the
School Department and the Board of Water Commissioners whose business
managers would have access to the same, which accounts shall include
the amounts of all appropriations, and the amounts paid from each,
and show in reasonable detail the persons to whom and the purposes
for which the payments were made, the unpaid obligations against each
and the unencumbered balances and require reports of receipts and
disbursements from each receiving and spending agency of the Town
government including the School Department and the Board of Water
Commissioners, to be made monthly or at such more frequent intervals
as the Town Council may ordain;
(9)
Prescribe uniform forms of receipts, vouchers, bills
and claims to be used by all departments, offices and agencies of
the Town, including the School Department and Board of Water Commissioners;
(10)
Prepare a monthly statement of all receipts and disbursements
in sufficient detail to show the financial condition of the Town for
submission to the Town Administrator and the Town Council; it being
the duty of the Town Clerk to make sufficient copies for all departments;
(11)
Prepare as soon as possible and as of the end of each
fiscal year, a complete financial statement and report, in accordance
with state law, for submission to the Town Administrator, the Town
Council and the taxpayers of the Town;
(12)
Perform the work of buying for the Town pursuant to
rules and regulations established by ordinance according to which
he/she, or an officer appointed or designated by him/her, shall purchase
or contract for all supplies, materials and equipment required by
any department, office or agency of the Town, including the School
Department and the Water Commission; establish and enforce specifications
with respect to supplies, materials and equipment; be responsible
for the inspection of deliveries of supplies, materials and equipment
to determine their quality, quantity and conformance with specifications;
cause to be made and kept current an inventory of all supplies, materials
and equipment belonging to the Town; store, if necessary, and distribute
all supplies, materials and equipment required by any department,
office and agency; transfer to or between departments, offices and
agencies surplus, obsolete and unused supplies, materials and equipment,
and subject to the approval of the Town Council, dispose of any such,
by sale if possible.
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Whenever any department, office or agency of
the Town shall purchase or contract for any supplies, materials, equipment
or contractual services, independently and contrary to the provisions
of this Charter or the rules and regulations made thereunder, such
order or contract shall be voidable by the Town.
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[Amended 7-1-1971; 11-6-1990; 11-5-1996]
All municipal contracts shall be awarded by
either: (a) competitive sealed bidding; (b) competitive negotiations;
(c) noncompetitive negotiations; or (d) small purchase procedures,
as those terms are defined by state law or under such rules, regulations,
constraints and exceptions as the Town Council may prescribe by ordinance.
[Amended 11-5-1996; 11-2-2010]
(1)
Organization. There may be within the Department of
Finance the office of Tax Assessor. The Tax Assessor shall be appointed
by the Town Administrator with the approval of the Town Council for
a term of two years beginning on the first Tuesday of January of each
odd-numbered year. The Tax Assessor shall hold no other paid public
office or employment in the service of the Town, or of the state or
federal government, except that of notary public, Justice of the Peace,
auctioneer, call fireman or member of the national guard or air, military
or naval reserve. If the Tax Assessor ceases to have said qualifications
or neglects to perform the duties of his/her office properly, he/she
may be removed by the Town Administrator with the approval of the
Town Council.
(2)
Powers and duties. The Tax Assessor shall have power
and shall be required:
(a)
To supervise and to be responsible for the fixing
of an assessed valuation for purposes of taxation upon all real estate
and all taxable personal property;
(b)
To apply to or apportion upon the assessed valuation
of real estate and personal property the amount of tax ordered to
be levied or imposed thereon;
(c)
To make and prepare all regular and special assessment
rolls and a tax roll for the Town in the manner provided by law;
(d)
To establish a uniform and equitable system for assessing
all classes and kinds of property;
(e)
To prepare tax maps and land value maps;
(f)
To give such notices of assessments and taxes and
to perform such other duties as may be required by law.
(3)
Compensation.
The Tax Assessor shall receive such compensation as may be fixed from
time to time by the Town Council.
[Amended 11-2-2010]
(1)
There shall be a Board of Assessment Review which
shall consist of three members appointed by the Town Council. The
members first appointed shall serve for terms of two, four and six
years respectively, and thereafter one member shall be appointed in
each second year for a term of six years. The Town Council shall make
its appointments to the Board each time within one month after the
members of the Town Council assume office and shall fill vacancies
that may occur on said Board without delay.
(2)
The Town Council shall provide by ordinance for the organization and procedure of the Board of Assessment Review and for the manner of receiving, considering, and disposing of appeals, provided that the procedure before the Board shall be informal and of a nature calculated to effect justice in as simple a manner as possible, and provided that the requirements stated in Subsection (3), following, are observed.
(3)
The Board of Assessment Review shall hear and consider
the appeal of any property owner concerning the amount of his/her
assessed valuation as determined by the Tax Assessor. The Assessor
shall attend all hearings of the Board in order to explain his/her
valuations, but shall have no vote. The Board shall keep an accurate
record of its proceedings which shall be available for public inspection.
The Board shall meet on the first business day of the month after
the expiration of 20 days subsequent to the date on which taxes become
due and payable, and at such times thereafter as may be necessary
to hear appeals. No appeal shall be considered unless it is made in
writing and is received by the Board not later than the time of its
first meeting on an adjourned meeting thereof. No appeal shall be
considered by the Board unless the tax levied on the valuation appealed
or such portion of the tax as is due and payable, has been paid under
protest. If it shall appear that the valuation of any property has
been incorrectly or inequitably assessed, the Board shall have power
to change the assessment, and shall determine the correct valuation
of such property. It shall be the duty of the Director of Finance
to make payment of any refund that may be due to the property owner.
(4)
The taking of an appeal to the Board of Assessment
Review, or any action thereon shall not be construed to limit or restrict
the right of any taxpayer to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction
for relief from any assessed valuation as tax originally determined
by the Tax Assessor or subsequently by the Board of Assessment Review.
