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.
(a)
Public hearing — At least 21 days before the meeting at which
the school committee is scheduled to vote on its final budget request,
the school committee shall cause to be published in a local newspaper
a general summary of its proposed budget. The summary shall specifically
indicate any major variations from the current budget and the reasons
for those changes. It shall further indicate the times and places
at which complete copies of its draft proposed budget are available
for examination by the public, and the date, time and place, not less
than 7 nor more than 14 days following such publication, when a public
hearing will be held by the school committee on the proposed budget.
The school committee shall not take its final vote on its proposed
budget until all persons who desire to be heard concerning the budget
proposal have had a reasonable opportunity to be heard.
(b)
Submission to Mayor — The proposed budget adopted by the school
committee shall be submitted to the mayor at least 21 days before
the date the mayor is required to submit a proposed town budget to
the town council, to allow the mayor sufficient time within which
to consider the effect the school department's requested appropriation
will have upon the total town operating budget the mayor is required
to submit to the town council under this article. The action of the
school committee in adopting the proposed budget; following the public
hearing, shall be summarized and the results of a roll call vote taken
on each amendment to the proposed budget as may be offered shall be
recorded.
Not later than 60 days before the start of the town's fiscal
year, the mayor shall submit to the town council a proposed operating
budget for the ensuing fiscal year with an accompanying budget message
and supporting documents. The mayor shall simultaneously provide for
the publication in a local newspaper of a notice and a general summary
of the proposed budget. The summary shall specifically indicate any
major variations from the current operating budget and the reason
for these changes. The notice shall further indicate the times and
places at which complete copies of the proposed operating budget for
the town are available for examination by the public.
The budget message of the mayor shall explain the budget for
all town agencies 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 fiscal year in financial policies,
expenditures and revenues together with the reasons for these changes,
summarize the town's debt position and include other material that
the mayor considers desirable, or that may be required by the provisions
of a town ordinance.
The proposed operating budget shall provide a complete financial
plan for all town funds and town activities for the ensuing fiscal
year. Except as may otherwise be required by general law, or this
charter, it shall be in the form that the mayor considers desirable
or that a town ordinance may require. In the presentation of the budget,
the mayor shall use modern concepts of fiscal presentation so as to
furnish an optimum level of information and the best financial control.
The budget shall show in detail all estimated income from the proposed
property tax levy and from all other sources and all proposed expenditures,
including debt service, for the fiscal year. The budget shall be arranged
to show the actual income and expenditures for the previous fiscal
year and the estimated income and expenditures for the current and
ensuing fiscal years and shall indicate in separate sections:
(1)
Proposed expenditures for current operations during the ensuing fiscal
year, detailed by town agency and position, in terms of work programs,
and the method of financing such expenditures;
(2)
Proposed capital expenditures during the ensuing fiscal year, detailed
by town agency, and the proposed method of financing each capital
expenditure;
(3)
The relationship of each proposed capital expenditure to the capital improvement program required to be submitted under section 6-10; and
(4)
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 — Immediately upon its receipt of the proposed
operating budget, the town council shall provide for the publication
in a local newspaper of a notice stating the time and place, not less
than 7 nor more than 14 days following the publication, at which it
will hold a public hearing on the proposed operating budget as submitted
by the mayor. To enable the voters of Braintree to be as fully informed
as possible on the items contained in the proposed budget and on the
legislative activities of the town council, the public hearing on
the mayor's proposed budget shall be held in the form of a town meeting.
The council president shall preside at each such meeting.
(b)
Review — The town council shall consider, in open public meetings,
the detailed expenditures proposed for each town agency and may confer
with representatives of each agency in connection with its review
and consideration. The town council may require the mayor, or any
other town agency, to furnish such additional information as it may
consider necessary to assist in its review and consideration of the
proposed operating budget.
(c)
Action by Town Council — The town council shall adopt the budget,
with or without amendments, within 45 days after the day the proposed
budget was received. In amending the budget, the town council may
delete or decrease any programs or amounts except expenditures required
by law, or for debt service, but, the town council shall have no authority
to add programs or increase amounts. If the town council fails to
take any action with respect to any item in the proposed budget within
45 days after the date of its receipt of the proposed budget, that
amount shall, without any action by the town council, become a part
of the appropriations for the ensuing fiscal year and shall be available
for the purposes specified.
Whenever the mayor shall submit to the town council a request for a new appropriation of any sum of money, either as a supplement to some item in the annual operating budget or for an item, or items, not included in the annual operating budget as adopted, the town council shall not act upon the request until it has (1) given notice by publication in a local newspaper of the request, and (2) held a public hearing concerning the request. The publication of the notice and the public hearing shall be in conformity with section 6-6 concerning the proposed annual operating budget.
On or before August first of each year, or within 10 days after
the approval by the town council and the mayor of the annual appropriation
order for the fiscal year, whichever shall occur later, the town officials
in charge of departments or agencies including the superintendent
of schools for the school department, shall submit to the director
of municipal finance, with a copy to the town clerk, in a form that
the director of municipal finance may prescribe, an allotment schedule
of the appropriations of all personnel categories included in the
budget, indicating the amounts to be expended by the department or
agency for those purposes during each of the fiscal quarters of the
fiscal year, or such shorter time periods as the mayor or director
of municipal finance, may prescribe. Whenever the director of municipal
finance determines that any department or agency including the school
department, will exhaust or has exhausted its quarterly or shorter
time period allotment and any amounts unexpended in previous periods,
he shall give notice in writing to this effect to the department director,
the mayor, the town solicitor, and the town clerk who shall immediately
transmit the notice to the town council. Upon this determination and
notice of it, the director of municipal finance shall provide these
officers with additional reports on at least a monthly basis indicating
the status of these accounts.
The mayor, within 7 days after receiving this notice, shall
determine whether to waive or enforce the allotment. If the allotment
for the period is waived or is not enforced, as provided above, the
department or agency head shall reduce the subsequent period allotments
appropriately. If the allotment for the period is enforced or not
waived, thereafter the department shall terminate all personnel expenses
for the remainder of the period. All actions, notices, and decisions
provided for in this section shall be transmitted to the town council
and the town clerk within 7 days. No personnel expenses earned or
accrued, within any department, shall be charged to or paid for that
department's or agency's allotment of a subsequent period without
approval by the mayor, except for subsequently determined retroactive
compensation adjustments, approval of a payroll for payment of wages,
or salaried or other personnel expenses which expenditure in excess
of the allotment shall be a violation of this section by the department
or agency head, including the superintendent of schools and the school
committee. If the continued payment of wages, salaries or other personnel
expenses is not approved in a period where a department director has
exhausted the period allotment or allotments as specified above, or,
in any event, if a department has exceeded its appropriation for a
fiscal year, the town shall have no obligation to pay the personnel
cost or expense arising after the allotment or appropriation has been
exhausted.
No official of the town of Braintree, except in the case of
an emergency involving the health and safety of the people, shall
intentionally expend in any fiscal year any sum in excess of the appropriations
duly made in accordance with law, nor involve the town in any contract
for the future payment of money in excess of such appropriations.
It is the intention of this section that section 31 of chapter 44
of the General Laws shall be fully adopted and strictly enforced.
Any official who violates this section shall be personally liable
to the town for any amounts so expended to the extent the town does
not recover these amounts from the person to whom the sums were paid.
The mayor shall submit a capital improvement program to the
town council at least 120 days before the start of each fiscal year.
The capital outlay program shall be based on material prepared by
the capital planning committee established by ordinance. It shall
include:
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a clear and concise general summary of its contents;
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a list of all capital improvements proposed to be undertaken
during the next ensuing 5 years, with supporting information as to
the need for each capital improvement;
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cost estimates, methods of financing and recommended time schedules
for each improvement; and,
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the estimated annual cost of operating and maintaining each
facility and piece of major equipment involved.
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This information is to be annually revised by the mayor with
regard to the capital improvements still pending or in the process
of being acquired, improved or constructed.
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The town council shall annually provide for an outside audit
of the books and accounts of the town to be made by a certified public
accountant, or a firm of certified public accountants, who have no
personal interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the
town or any of its officers. The mayor shall annually provide to the
town council a sum of money sufficient to satisfy the estimated cost
of conducting the audit as presented to the mayor, in writing, by
the town council. The award of a contract to audit shall be made by
the town council, on the recommendation of its budget/management committee
on or before September fifteenth of each year. The budget/management
committee shall coordinate the work of the individual or firm selected
with the municipal officials. The report of the audit shall be filed
in final form with the town council and the budget/management committee
not later than March first in the year following its award.
